Dear free-flowing river lovers,
We have a very important and time-sensitive window to work with the Obama Administration to begin breaching (removal of fill) the lower four Snake River dams! President Obama has been made aware of the situation and has expressed interest in researching the issue further. Therefore, we are asking you to PLEASE email or mail a short letter to him supporting dam removal and once again establishing a free-flowing lower Snake River for the benefit of all.
Read our letter to the Obama Administration.
You can communicate your support for dam removal via form with this link. If you would prefer to mail a letter (sometimes they can have a bigger impact), send it to: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500.
Below are talking points that you may wish to include in your letter to President Obama.
- Army Corps of Engineers $600-million System Improvement efforts on the lower Snake River has failed.
- The four lower Snake River dams are driving species to extinction.
- Lower Snake River freight transportation is in long-term decline.
- Increased rail efficiency and truck-rail transport for the shipment of grain to Pacific Northwest ports continues to rise and prove dependable.
- In its 2002 Lower Snake River Juvenile Salmon Migration Feasibility Report, Army Corps of Engineers underestimated the average annual cost of dam maintenance by $161-million.
- With a decline in federal budgets, the Army Corps of Engineers can no longer financially support aging and nonproductive infrastructure.
- Demand for wind energy has grown in Washington and Oregon and currently produces more electricity than the hydroelectricity produced by the lower four dams.
- Climate change and increased sediment loading poses serious challenges for the continued operation of the lower four dams.
- The four lower Snake River dams violate U.S. Treaty obligations.
- We have multiple examples of successful dam removal projects around the country (watch the documentary DamNation).
If you are able to write a letter to President Obama, send us a copy, too, so that we can track all the great support for this ever-growing and exciting dam removal campaign!
Thank you,
Brett Haverstick
Education & Outreach Director