SJM condemns Simpson's dam removal plan

Senate Joint Memorial 103, which calls four Snake River dams multipurpose and beneficial to the state while condemning their removal, was passed by the Idaho Senate on Tuesday.

The legislation comes in response to a detailed plan by U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, calling for removal of the four dams. While Simpson has said over many years that removing these dams is one of his goals during his time in office, Idahoans are taking a different view to his proposal.

The memorial was sponsored by Regina Bayer and was first presented in a hearing in the Senate Resources and Environment Committee on Monday, where 25 testimonies were on the docket.

Idaho citizens, conservation organizations, agriculture organizations, tribes, and transportation companies testified in support or opposing the memorial.

The general trend saw tribes like the Shoshone-Bannock, conservationists, outfitters and guides, and local Idahoans from small towns that rely on fishing such as Riggins and Salmon all oppose the memorial. Idaho’s agriculture and agriculture transportation industries all supported the memorial.

Major issues held was the language used surrounding anadromous fish, where all native Idaho species of salmon and steelhead are under and endangered or threatened status.

After 18 of the 25 groups testified, with a majority opposing the memorial, including the seven unheard testimonies, committee chairman Steve Vick ended comments, and the committee sent the memorial to the Senate floor with a “do pass” recommendation.

In a 28-6-1 vote, the memorial was adopted by the Idaho Senate on Tuesday. On Thursday, an informational presentation was given on the Columbia-Snake River system.

It's a very efficient system," David Doeringsfeld, general manager of the Port of Lewiston, told Idaho lawmakers on Thursday.

Doeringsfeld and other stakeholders spoke to the Idaho Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee on Thursday about the importance of the Columbia-Snake River system to Idaho agriculture.

"Idaho produces a lot of wheat," Stacey Satterlee, executive director of the Idaho Grain Producers Association, told the committee, about 112 million bushel production last year. "Generally, half of that wheat, the half grown in southern and eastern Idaho, stays in the United States for domestic uses. The other half … makes its way to Lewiston, is put on a barge, makes its way down the river to Portland, and then on to customers around the world."

Paul Arrington, executive director of the Idaho Water Users Association, told the panel Idaho's economy relies on a developed river system.

While this presentation had no effect on policy or any votes connected, a big theme in the Legislature this week centered on Simpson’s plan and many Idahoan’s voices that oppose the removal of the Snake River dams.

Connor Swersey is an intern with the University of Idaho McClure Center for Public Policy Research and the UI JAMM News Service.