This new information, combined with studies which support restoring more free-flowing, natural river conditions to save salmon, demonstrates that retiring these dams is one of the most credible salmon recovery options. Retiring the four dams on the lower Snake River is the fiscally responsible thing to do. American taxpayers should not be forced to pay for these outdated dams with their own money and dead salmon. The economic analysis was prepared by Philip Lansing, a resource economist from Boise, ID, for the Oregon Natural Resources Council, a conservation group working to restore healthy salmon runs to the Northwest. The report is endorsed by 24 fishing, conservation and taxpayer groups from across the nation.
Taxpayers lose money because the government is paying out of both pockets.
From the right pocket, the government subsidizes these dams to benefit barge transportation and a few irrigators. This report says retire the dams, leave salmon in the river and leave money in the taxpayers' pockets. The report analyzes the current annual costs of operating the Snake River dams, including the costs of power, transportation and irrigation subsidies. These costs are compared with the costs of retiring the dams, restoring the river, replacing lost electricity and transportation as necessary, and economic compensation for some river users. The information on reducing unfair subsidies, shifting spending away from failed salmon recovery strategies like fish barging and trucking, and restoring healthy salmon runs and fishing businesses should be a benchmark for the ongoing federal study on retiring these dams.