For the second year in a row, Idaho’s longest river takes one of the top spots in an annual list of threatened waterways in the U.S.
The environmental advocacy group American Rivers pegged the Snake River as the second most endangered river in the country for 2022.
The Snake River system used to funnel millions of salmon and steelhead to the Pacific Ocean every year. But American Rivers said those numbers plummeted after the construction of four dams starting in the ‘50s.
“Through land use changes and overharvest and building dams, those runs are now 1-3% of what they once were,” said Wendy McDermott, the group’s regional director for the Northwest.
Declines in salmon runs have threatened a traditional food source for indigenous tribes and hurt the southern resident orca population. It’s also hurt the outfitting and guiding industries that take anglers on fishing trips.
McDermott points to Congressman Mike Simpson’s dam breaching plan as one proposal to boost salmon numbers, invest in clean energy and pay farmers who would lose out on a cheap grain shipping option. But that proposal hasn’t gained much traction.
Instead, the dams have been mired in court battles for years.
American Rivers listed the Snake as the top endangered river in the country for 2021, but it was edged out this year by the Colorado River.
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