Last year, Idaho U. S. Rep. Mike Simpson and some of his staff went to Marsh Creek, the headwaters of the Middle Fork Salmon River, to watch a returning salmon create its redd, or nest, lay its eggs and die. "She swam 900 miles to get back to Marsh Creek. All to lay her eggs for the next generation of salmon, " Simpson said Tuesday in his keynote speech during the Andrus Center environmental conference on salmon, energy, agriculture and community at Boise State University. "It was the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new one, " Simpson said. "These are the most incredible creatures, I think, that God has created. It is a cycle God created. " But, Simpson lamented, they saw only one salmon. "You have got to ask yourself, " he said, "after spending $16 billion on salmon recovery over the last how many years, is it working? " It isn't, Simpson said. "All of Idaho's salmon runs are either threatened or endangered, " he said. "Look at the number of returning salmon and the trend line is not going up.
According to a news release from the governor's office, under the settlement agreement, Idaho Power will implement significant investments in water quality projects, resulting in cleaner, colder water flowing downstream. In addition, the company will increase production at its Rapid River Hatchery, enabling 800, 000 additional Chinook salmon to bolster state and tribal fishing opportunities in the future. In return, Oregon will not require fish passage as a condition of its water quality certification for the operation of the Hells Canyon dams. Little also announced he is creating a statewide working group to develop an Idaho-based solution to salmon recovery. The project "is in its infancy, and there is no timeline yet for selection or announcement of group members, " Little's communication director, Emily Callihan, told the Statesman. "Gov. Little has tasked his Office of Species Conservation with assembling a group of stakeholders and industry representatives with knowledge and expertise in salmon and energy issues — including many of the individuals who were present at the conference today, " she said.
Everyone agrees current efforts are not enough, he said. Little said predictability with salmon and steelhead runs, power supply and regulations are key. Like Simpson, Little acknowledged climate change. "Things change. Idaho must adapt to change. There are changes in the climate. There are changes in ocean conditions, " he said. "What stays the same is our cumulative desire to maintain our incredible quality of life in this beautiful state. " Little made two announcements during his brief speech. Since 2005, Idaho and Oregon have been working to resolve disagreements on water quality and fish passage along the portion of the Snake River that is shared by both states. In 2016, after reaching an impasse, the two states and Idaho Power — which operates three Snake River dams — agreed to one last effort to resolve the outstanding issues. Idaho and Oregon announced on Monday significant advancements to resolve those disagreements in Hells Canyon, Little told the audience. "This long-awaited agreement supplies clean, affordable energy for Idahoans, improves water quality, and provides additional fish for recreational and tribal ceremonial purposes, " Little said.
Of all the power being produced by the BPA, about 6% comes to Idaho, Simpson explained. The power generated "is very important for Washington and Oregon. But we pay for it by sending 487, 000 acre feet of water down the river … and most of all, we are not getting salmon back in Idaho. " Simpson said he is about ready to tackle the first step in reworking the power plan and restoring Idaho's salmon. "One of the challenges I am going to have to face sooner rather than later is I am going to have to sit down with the Pacific Northwest (congressional) delegation, Republicans and Democrats, and tell them what I am doing, " Simpson said. "It used to be that we were all supportive of the BPA, Republicans and Democrats. But I am starting to see some division within the Pacific Northwest delegation, " he said. "Maybe I am causing some of it because I ask the question, 'You get all the benefits, we pay all the costs. What the hell is going on? ' They don't want to address that. " But, Simpson stressed, it needs to be addressed.
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