July 19, 2024
Marin Plut, Seattle
Re: “Soaring water temps put record sockeye salmon run on Columbia River in peril” [July 11, A1]:
Thank you to Lynda Mapes for her timely coverage of the hot water blocking sockeye salmon passage to their Canadian spawning grounds. Their record numbers this year are a cause for celebration, demonstrating that in-stream salmon recovery efforts do increase survival. But this heat wave is a sobering moment for us to remember that without removing unnecessary dams within the hydropower system, our rivers cannot be truly safe for these fish.
Especially imperiled are the Snake River sockeye, on the brink of extinction. Already this summer, three of the four Lower Snake River Dams have registered days above the 68 degree “harm” threshold. The Army Corps’ plans for mitigating hot water in the Columbia and Snake are insufficient to meet Clean Water Act responsibilities. As heat waves become more common and temperatures rise, failure to adequately address the hot water problem puts salmon survival at risk.
The hot water conditions salmon are facing underscore the need to press forward urgently with the commitments in the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement and the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (the larger tribal-state plan) upon which the commitments are based. We have to move faster if we want to save these iconic fish.
