RAFT's Claims Are Misleading: Time to Move Forward with Modern Solutions for Salmon and the Pacific Northwest
The Columbia Snake River Campaign (CSRC) today issued a strong rebuttal to recent statements by an industry-backed group called Regional Alliance for Transparency (RAFT), which criticized the federal government’s decision to pursue a new Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) on the Columbia and lower Snake River dams. CSRC firmly supports the development of a new SEIS to redress a flawed and now outdated 2020 EIS for the hydropower system that is dooming salmon to extinction.
The federal government committed to additional environmental analysis in the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA), signed in December 2023 by federal agencies, the states of Oregon and Washington, four lower Columbia River Tribes, and plaintiffs in decades-long litigation aimed at protecting and rebuilding Columbia Basin salmon.
RAFT and its members, which include various industry groups such as Northwest River Partners, Northwest Waterways Association, Washington Public Utility Districts Association, among others, continue to misinform and mislead the public about the environmental and economic dangers of maintaining the lower Snake River dams – at the expense of salmon and all Northwest communities whose lives and livelihoods depend on them. Their campaign, as reported in the Seattle Times, has repeatedly misconstrued fish returns to make it seem like fish are doing better than they actually are and dismissed or downplayed the well-documented negative environmental and economic impacts of the dams both historically and currently.
“Preparing this SEIS is not just a legal requirement—it’s an ethical obligation,” said Kayeloni Scott, Executive Director of the Columbia Snake River Campaign. “This process provides an opportunity to correct past injustices against Tribal Nations, restore our wild salmon, and transition the region towards a resilient and modern energy future. Any efforts to discredit this vital work are an affront to the communities, ecosystems, and economies that need bold action and collaboration to restore salmon.”
The SEIS will build on new scientific findings and changing circumstances that were not addressed in the 2020 EIS, ensuring decisions are grounded in the best available data. Contrary to RAFT’s claims, the SEIS is neither redundant nor unlawful. It is a legally-mandated and necessary step forward in addressing the intertwined challenges of salmon recovery, energy resilience, and Tribal justice.
1. Misrepresenting Salmon Recovery:
Wild salmon and steelhead runs have been in precipitous decline, with 37% of Snake River Spring/Summer Chinook populations and 19% of Snake River steelhead populations below critical quasi-extinction thresholds, according to a Nez Perce fisheries study updated in 2024. RAFT’s focus on total salmon returns is patently misleading and in no way represents the threat of extinction to wild salmon and steelhead populations. Average total returns of salmon and steelhead, which include both hatchery-raised and wild fish, have been stagnant for decades and are far below regionally-set abundance goals. Wild Snake River fish populations have not significantly increased since the species were listed in the 1990’s.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has emphasized that hatchery fish can skew population assessments and undermine wild salmon recovery efforts.
The Fish Passage Center data shows that wild salmon populations, particularly in the Snake River Basin, remain far below recovery goals. This is a stark reminder that “total returns” do not equate to a healthy, sustainable ecosystem.
NOAA Fisheries’ Columbia Basin Partnership Task Force has established recovery goals for smolt-to-adult returns (SARs) of 2–6%, but SARs in the Snake River are consistently below 1% (NOAA Fisheries, 2022).
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council has stated that "current approaches will not achieve recovery goals for Snake River salmon and steelhead" (Northwest Power and Conservation Council, 2023).
2. Supplemental Environmental Impact Study Authority:
It is not only completely within the authority of the agencies to prepare an SEIS (supplemental environmental impact statement), the agencies are legally obligated to do so when there is “new information or circumstances relevant to environmental concerns and bearing on the proposed action.” (23 CFR § 771.130). There is substantial new information and circumstances that need to be considered as part of a supplemental EIS, including DOI’s recent Tribal Circumstances Analysis, NOAA’s 2022 Rebuilding Report, and the operational changes and studies ongoing under the CBRI/RCBA. Failing to update the EIS in light of this information would mean leaving in place the significantly flawed 2020 EIS, which has already been challenged as unlawful by several conservation and fishing groups, the state of Oregon, and the Nez Perce Tribe.
3. Dismissing Tribal Justice:
RAFT completely ignores the U.S. government’s obligations to Tribal Nations whose treaty rights have been undermined by the dams. The Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement commits federal agencies to addressing these historic injustices—a commitment the SEIS process directly supports.
The U.S. Department of the Interior's 2024 report on the "Historic and Ongoing Impacts of Federal Dams on Columbia Basin Tribes" outlines significant harm caused to Tribal communities (DOI, 2024).
Tribal treaty rights require the federal government to restore salmon populations, as established in landmark cases like United States v. Winans (1905).
4. Inflating the Role of the lower Snake River dams:
Hydropower from the lower Snake River dams represents just 2.8% of the region’s energy generation. Generation from the dams has declined for years as climate change and drought deplete them of water, especially in summer when the region needs energy most. The dams themselves are antiquated – nearly 40% of their power components were rated as “Poor” or “Marginal” in condition, as of July 2023.
A 2022 Northwest Energy Coalition report found that replacing the power generated by the lower Snake River dams with clean energy sources is feasible and cost-effective (NW Energy Coalition, 2022).
The same study found that portfolios of new renewable resources would actually provide greater regional value than the LSRD, as new resources could provide more energy when the region needs it most – winter and summer.
The lower Snake River dams are far from “cheap power” - they’re nearly twice as expensive ($36.69 per megawatt hour) as the other major dams on the Columbia River ($21.25 per megawatt hour). (BPA, 2024)
5. Blaming the Ocean:
While marine conditions like rising sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are a challenge, RAFT fails to acknowledge that healthy, free-flowing rivers are what give salmon the resilience to adapt to changing conditions. The lower Snake River dams represent a critical choke point that must be addressed to allow recovery to proceed.
Peer-reviewed studies show that free-flowing river systems significantly improve salmon survival rates, even under challenging ocean conditions (Keefer et al., 2018).
The Snake River sockeye remains one of the most endangered salmon populations in the world, with NOAA Fisheries identifying the lower Snake River dams as a primary threat (NOAA Fisheries, 2023).
The hot, stagnant water in the lower Snake River dam reservoirs is proving lethal to salmon and steelhead, as well as contributing to large toxic algal blooms that are health and safety hazards for humans, pets, salmon, and the environment. Fish populations cannot recover from marine conditions in a contaminated river.
A Vision for the Future
The SEIS process provides an opportunity to move the Pacific Northwest away from outdated technologies and toward a sustainable, equitable future.
“We’re not just talking about removing dams—we’re talking about building the infrastructure of tomorrow,” said Scott. “Modernizing our energy grid, investing in renewable energy, and restoring salmon runs go hand in hand with creating a vibrant economy that serves all communities and supports a healthier ecosystem.”
The Truth About RAFT
While the RAFT coalition claims transparency, it is backed by industry groups invested in preserving a hydroelectric system on the lower Snake River at a rapidly escalating expense to the Northwest region’s environmental, economic and energy security in addition to salmon recovery, Tribal justice and the region’s long-term economic future.
“RAFT’s claims are nothing more than hot air,” said Scott. “Their so-called transparency hides an agenda to cling to failing technologies, ignoring science, and perpetuating environmental and cultural harm.”
Standing with the Northwest
The Columbia Snake River Campaign remains steadfast in its commitment to the region’s communities, ecosystems, and future generations.
“We invite all stakeholders—Tribal leaders, conservationists, farmers, and energy experts—to join us in advancing solutions that work for everyone,” said Scott. “Let’s stop clinging to the past and start building a future we can all be proud of.”
