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Thank Governor Kotek for Standing with Salmon and Modern, Affordable Energy

Write to Governor Kotek

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek is under fire for her defense of salmon, and she deserves to hear our thanks and appreciation.

Our campaign is fighting to restore a free-flowing Snake River – recovering salmon, communities, and orcas in our region – while replacing the lower Snake River dams’ services with affordable, clean, and reliable energy. Governor Kotek knows that we can invest in modern energy solutions that meet our region’s needs and preserve the salmon that local fishermen, Tribes and ecosystems have depended on for generations. 

But a group of public utilities is trying to maintain a status quo that is not working for the people of Oregon and is pushing salmon to the brink. The Bonneville Power Administration is scapegoating the salmon, claiming that they need to raise customer rates in response to court-ordered protections. The federal judge didn’t find their claims convincing. 

What are the facts?

  • The lower Snake River dams currently provide less than 3% of the region’s energy. 

  • The dams have operated at the court-ordered levels before – while maintaining power generation, transportation, and irrigation. 

  • Bonneville Power Administration has a history of overstating the impact of salmon protections on electricity rates: In 2018, they claimed that it needed to immediately raise rates because of a similar court order, and yet they still managed to end the year with a $123 million surplus.

  • The utilities are blaming the wrong target. Bonneville has financial reserves specifically designed to address revenue shortfalls. It doesn’t need to immediately put a financial burden on the people of Oregon - they just want to blame the salmon.

Oregon has stood at the front of the movement to restore abundant salmon and steelhead for over two decades. Governor Kotek has continued this legacy while working hard to bring the federal government back to the negotiating table. 

When politicians let us down, we hold them accountable. When they do the right thing, they need and deserve our thanks. Write to Governor Kotek expressing your gratitude for her administration’s continued defense of the fish that sustain our Northwest way of life.

Blaming salmon for rising costs is both misleading and not a solution to Oregon’s energy challenges. We can have affordable energy and abundant salmon by making smart investments in upgrading our transmission system, using energy more efficiently, and investing in renewable energy sources that reduce pressure on the hydropower system.  

Write to Governor Kotek

Step-by-Step Guide:

  1. Open the Governor Kotek’s Contact Page.

  2. Enter your information in the form.

  3. Copy and paste our suggested text below into the Message box, or write your own!

  4. Click the blue Submit button. You’re done!

Dear Governor Kotek,

I’m writing to thank you for your leadership on salmon and steelhead recovery as Oregon works toward affordable and clean energy solutions for the future. 

When utilities tell us that salmon are what’s causing our energy bills to go up, we know we’re being misled. We know our outdated grid infrastructure is struggling to cope with skyrocketing demand alongside increasingly frequent wildfires and extreme weather events. Addressing these challenges is feasible — and we don’t have to let salmon and steelhead pay the price. 

These fish are the lifeblood of our region, supporting the livelihoods of rural communities, the traditions of Tribal cultures, and the very ecosystem that sustains our way of life. 

Thank you for caring so deeply about affordability and the iconic fish that define our region.