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Presenters tell council spill operations and policy shifts are straining farmers, while fish returns show improvement
Summary
Northwest River Partners told the Richland council that court-ordered increases in spill have reduced hydropower output and harmed irrigation and river transport, while fish counters show higher adult returns at federal dams; the presentation and Q&A highlighted competing explanations for salmon trends.
Clark Mather of Northwest River Partners told council members that recent court rulings and increased spill operations have degraded federal hydropower output and that those changes have real impacts on agriculture and river transport. He cited a court finding he said reduced output "by an average of 300 megawatts over the course of a year" and noted a summer loss that he described in the presentation as on the order of more than a thousand megawatts.
Mather also presented fish-count data from the University of Washington and federal counters, saying adult returns at Bonneville Dam rose from roughly 456,000 in 1938 to about 1,100,000 last year and that average 21st-century returns at Snake River projects have increased. Council members pressed on causation: some asked whether ocean conditions, commercial or tribal harvests, or pinnipeds explain variability. Mather cited NOAA's assessment that ocean conditions (sea-surface temperature) and other factors are significant contributors, while also noting legislation under consideration to address pinniped predation.
Why it matters: The council heard competing policy and scientific points—Mather framed dam operations and spill as having direct economic effects on irrigation and river freight and argued for stakeholder engagement to seek solutions; council members sought data and sources to verify specific numerical claims.
