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Breach the Dams

Breach the Dams. Erica Digby Clay Callow Heath Korell. http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/26/8500522-hole-blasted-in-condit-dam-to-restore-endangered-fish-habitat. Background .

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Breach the Dams

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  1. Breach the Dams Erica Digby Clay Callow Heath Korell http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/26/8500522-hole-blasted-in-condit-dam-to-restore-endangered-fish-habitat

  2. Background • Lower 4 Snake River dams were build primarily for flood control, navigation, and hydropower (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2002) • Led to severe declines of native anadromous salmonids • Dams removed elsewhere with promising results

  3. Economics of Dam Removal • Smaller dams can be removed at low cost • Copemish and Smyrna Dams (Michigan DNR) • Some dams would cost too much to remove http://www.visitingdc.com http://newtonconsultants.com

  4. Economics of Dam Removal • Market Values • Local business increase from tourism • Harvest of restored fish runs • Improved recreation • Non-market Values • Importance to native tribes • Genetics • Aesthetics alanbell.wordpress.com/2006/07/25/

  5. Economics of Dam Removal http://www.elwhainfo.org/elwha-river-watershed/dam-removal/decisions-remove-dams/economics-dam-removal

  6. Economics of Dam Removal • Alternative energy • Solar • Wind • Geothermal http://knol.google.com http://www.conserve-energy-future.com http://www.scientificamerican.com

  7. Willingness to Pay • Survey by John Loomis (1996) found that: • Residents of Clallam county $59/yr. • Residents of Washington State $73/yr. • Rest of the U.S. $68/yr. • Aggregate benefit for Washington residents would be $138 million annually for 10 years

  8. Ecological Impacts of Dams Negatively affects flow patterns Alters aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems Effects biodiversity Native fish passage

  9. Ecological Impacts of Dams Negatively affects flow patterns Alters aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems Effects biodiversity Native fish passage

  10. Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems • Dams reduce discharge which adversely effects salmonid habitat (Ligon et al. 1995) • Due to changes in flows some salmonids have delay migration (Collins 1976) • Productivity of the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems will be reduced because of diminished wild salmonid runs (Cederholm et al. 1999) • “Habitat fragmentation is considered the primary cause of the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services.” (Wu et al. 2003)

  11. http://ecotrope.opb.org/2011/10/condit-dam-removal-pics http://www.nwrafting.com/river-conservation

  12. Effects to Biodiversity • Dams may have in fact increase biodiversity, but in reality they negatively impact natural occuring species • Reservoirs have become a haven for non-native piscivorous species • Large Mouth Bass, Small Mouth Bass, Northern Pikeminnow, Northern Pike, and Walleye (Riemanet al. 1991) • More than 200 stocks of salmon have became extinct due to dams (McAllister et al. 2001)

  13. Native Fish Passage • Even with fish passage mitigation, spring/summer populations are expected to decline toward extinction (Kareiva et al. 2000) • Historic runs ranged from 10 to 16 million fish (salmonrecovery.org) http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft209nb0qn;chunk.id=0;doc.view=print

  14. Native Fish Passage • New record runs are only a fraction of historical runs http://highered.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0072919833/student_view0/chapter6/additional_case_studies.html http://www.salmonrecovery.gov/Newsroom/FAQ.aspx

  15. Social and Political Aspects to Breaching the Dams Sockeye Salmon: Endangered since 1991 Chinook Salmon: Threatened since 1992 Steelhead:Threatened since 1997(Army Corps of Engineers 2002) http://discuss.hancockwildlifechannel.org/viewtopic.php?f=86&t=1940

  16. Ethics Smolts can get pureed by turbine blades or plunge over spillways to their deaths. Survivors are delayed by sluggish water behind the dams that mightcripple the ability to adapt to saltwater. (Lovette 1999) -Is it morally correct to stand by and watch 92% of migrating salmon be killed?(Garett 2011) -Turbines alone violently kill 10%-15% of fish that pass through (Tatro 1999)-Atrocity to many environmentalists and groups such as “Defenders of Wildlife” and “American Rivers” who believe that this is unnecessary murder to an innocent population Ifish.net

  17. More Ethics… • Comparison:Dam breaching has a 60% chance of meeting all recovery standards, fish transportation has a 30% chance of meeting all recovery standards (Anderson 1999). … In other words we can do better than our current efforts.

  18. Money… • 373 million… over the course of 100 years to breach the dams, according to research by the Army Corps of Engineers in 2002.-We would be saving money both in the short term as well as long term if this solution is chosen. • 550 million dollars per year towards.. -salmon recovery -minimizing extinction risk through non-permanent methods (ex. Artificially produced salmon, artificial salmon migration through displacement by trucks) (Waples 1991) • IF salmon do become extinct: potential for billions of dollars in compensation payments! -Why take the risk? Responsibleaquaculture.wordpress.com

  19. Money and Politics 373 million dollars over 100 years vs. 550 million dollars on average over 1 year for normal recovery processes that do not seem to maximally benefit the salmon and the surrounding areas (Army Corps of Engineers 2002). Many studies show that it is in fact cheaper in the long run (mitigation costs would be reduced) • “We can affordably meet new energy needs and fulfill our climate andsalmon-recovery responsibilities.It's not an either-or.”- Sara Patton, Executive Director of the NW Energy Coalition, Seattle WA.(Working Snake River 2010)

  20. Cultural Juggle.com Fishbrewing.com • One of the ways the Northwest is defined is by the salmon • Salmon are essential to the lives of many North westerners (economically and environmentally) • “Restore the River, Recover Salmon, RebuildJobs” • Businesses, sports, farmers, and more local communities! • rebuild our region'ssalmon economy,bringing jobs andincome to localcommunities.(Seattle Pi 2011) Dailykos.com

  21. Conclusions • More cost effective to breach the dams: long term as well as short term • People from local businesses all the way to native tribes will benefit if the dams are breached • Aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity will thrive and have a better quality of life • The heritage of the river will be protected and the health of the surrounding communities will profit.

  22. References… • Anderson, James. "Review of PATH." Columbia Basin Research. School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences WSU, 20 Jan. 1999. Web. http://www.cbr.washington.edu/papers/jim/handout.html. • Army Corps of Engineers.2002. The Four Lower Snake River Dams. Improving Salmon Passage, Walla Walla District. Available from http://www.bluefish.org/fourdams.html. (Accessed October 2011) • Cederholm, J.C., M.D. Kunze, T. Murota, and A. Sibatani.1999. Pacific salmon carcasses: • essential contributions of nutrients and energy for aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Fisheries 24: 6-15. • Collins, G.B. 1976. Effects of dams on Pacific salmon and steelhead trout. Marine Fisheries Review 38:39-46 • Elwha Watershed Information Resource. 2011. Economics of Dam Removal. http://www.elwhainfo.org/elwha-river-watershed/dam-removal/decisions-remove-dams/economics-dam-removal (accessed October 2011) • Garrett, C. The Political Symbolism of Dams. Whitman Environmental Studies. Available from http://www.whitman.edu/environmental_studies/WWRB/damsymbol.htm (accessed October 2011) • Kareiva, P., Marvier, M., McClure, M. 2000. Recovery and the management options for spring/summer chinook salmon in the Columbia River Basin. Science 290:977-979. • Lovett, R.A. 1999. As Salmon Stage Disappearing Act, Dams May Too. Science 284 :74. • Loomis, J.B. Measuring the economic beneifts of removing dams and restoring the Elwha River: results of a contingent valuation survey. Water Resources Research 32:441-447. • McAllister, D., Craig, J., Davidson, N., and Delany, S. 2001. Biodiversity Impacts of Large Dams. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://intranet.iucn.org/webfiles/doc/archive/2001/IUCN850.PDF. (Accessed November 2011) • Michigan Department of Natural Resources: Fisheries Division. 2007. Michigan Dam Removal Case Studies. http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/systems_planning/Environment/hrimp/Documents/Completed%20dam%20removals%20in%20MI.pdf (Accessed October 2011) • Patton, Sara. "Voices Across the Northwest." Working Snake River for Washington. 28 May 2010. Web. <workingsnakeriver.org>. • Reiman, B., Beamesderfer, R., Vigg, S., and Poe, T. 1991. Estimated loss of juvenlie salmonids to predation by northern squawfish, walleyes, and smallmouth bass in John Day Reservoir, Columbia River. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 120:448-458. • Seattle Pi. Condit Dam Breached to Help Local Fish. 2011. Available through http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Condit-Dam-breached-2238048.php (Accessed October 2011) • Tatro, S. B. 1999. Dam Breaching. Civil Engineering 69: 50. • Waples, R.S. 1991. Genetic interactions between hatchery and wild salmonids: lessons from the Pacific Northwest. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 48:124-133. • Wu, J., Huang, J., Han, X., Xie, Z., and Gao, X. 2003. Three-Gorges Dam– experiment in habitat fragmentation?. Science : 300:1239-1240

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