{"id":123952,"date":"2021-02-10T19:45:09","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T00:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=123952"},"modified":"2021-02-10T20:27:40","modified_gmt":"2021-02-11T01:27:40","slug":"idaho-congressman-looks-to-spend-33-billion-to-remove-dams-to-save-salmon-population","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/idaho-congressman-looks-to-spend-33-billion-to-remove-dams-to-save-salmon-population\/","title":{"rendered":"Idaho Congressman Looks To Spend $33 Billion To Remove Dams To Save Salmon Population"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fidaho-congressman-looks-to-spend-33-billion-to-remove-dams-to-save-salmon-population%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=123952&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-1227752014-1200x800-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>Hoping to address \u201c<\/span><span>the decades-long problem of how to save salmon populations without upending a system that provides power to millions of people,\u201d Republican Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson has \u201cproposed removing four hydroelectric dams in the Pacific Northwest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Rep. Simpson, a U.S. Representative for Idaho\u2019s 2nd congressional district since 1999, unveiled the proposal to breach four dams on the Lower Snake River by the end of next decade. The proposal is estimated to cost $33.5 billion, while relying on approximately<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bozemandailychronicle.com\/ap_news\/montana\/idaho-congressman-unveils-plan-to-breach-dams-save-salmon\/article_c1dc16fe-5ec9-5ec5-a0f6-1d532b94e208.html\"><span>$33 billion<\/span><\/a> <span>in a \u201c<\/span><span>jobs-and-infrastructure stimulus package expected from the Biden administration this year.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>By breaching the dams, the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ktvb.com\/article\/news\/local\/idaho\/idaho-congress-mike-simpson-plan-remove-four-dams-snake-river-save-salmon\/277-f2aada01-ad57-4d95-b46c-d9327990af08\"><span>goal<\/span><\/a> <span>is to free up \u201c<\/span><span>the waterway for long-ranging salmon that are also a key food source for orcas,\u201d with the plan \u201cfinding ways to replace the dams\u2019 key roles in energy, agriculture and transportation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Known as \u201cThe Northwest in Transition,\u201d the plan\u2019s most immediate actions includes removing the Lower Granite Dam, the Little Goose Dam, the Lower Monumental Dam, and the Ice Harbor Dam.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cRemoving the dams could create economic and logistical problems for farmers and ranchers along the Lower Snake River who rely on the dams for transportation of crops, irrigation and electricity,\u201d reported Chase Biefeldt for the Associated Press (KTVB).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cOn the other hand, there are many conservation organizations in full support of Simpson\u2019s proposal, like Idaho Rivers United.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>According to Simpson, if the dams are not removed, the Idaho salmon population would be condemned to extinction. $16 billion of the proposed funding would be allocated to \u201creplace the dams with other clean energy sources that are friendlier to migrating salmon,\u201d with possible alternatives including \u201crenewable to battery energy, pump storage, and hydrogen storage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cCongressman Simpson\u2019s proposal to end salmon litigation by breaching the four Lower Snake River Dams does little to restore abundant fish runs,\u201d said David Doeringsfeld, general manager at the Port of Lewiston, the furthest inland seaport on the West Coast.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cHis proposal throws billions of tax-payer dollars at unproven ideas and provides no explanation on how his ideas would be implemented\u2026 The Port is in discussion with the Congressman on his proposal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In addition to saving the salmon population \u2014 with the number of Idaho\u2019s salmon runs having decreased from the millions to just a few thousand \u2014 Rep. Simpson has said \u201che\u2019s hoping the plan starts a conversation that also includes tourism and a major role for Native American tribes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On Friday, all four Democratic senators from Washington and Oregon issued a joint release,<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seattletimes.com\/seattle-news\/environment\/gop-congressman-pitches-34-billion-plan-to-breach-lower-snake-river-dams-in-new-vision-for-northwest\/\"><span>stating<\/span><\/a><span>:<\/span> <span>\u201c<\/span><span>All communities in the Columbia River Basin and beyond should be heard in efforts to recover the Northwest\u2019s iconic salmon runs while ensuring economic vitality of the region. Any process needs to balance the needs of communities in the Columbia River Basin, be transparent, be driven by stakeholders and follow the science.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Conversely, Washington Rep. Cathay McMorris Rodgers (R) opposed the plan, saying \u201c<\/span><span>These dams are the beating heart of Eastern Washington. Spending $33 billion to breach them \u2014 with no guarantee that doing so will restore salmon populations \u2014 is a drastic, fiscally irresponsible leap to take.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\">member<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hoping to address \u201cthe decades-long problem of how to save salmon populations without upending a system that provides power to millions of people,\u201d Republican Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson has \u201cproposed &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1893154,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4484,5408,6318,5460,4987,6319],"class_list":["post-123952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-billion","tag-congressman","tag-idaho","tag-looks","tag-remove","tag-spend"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123952\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1893154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}