Port managers defend Snake River dredging
Port managers David Doeringsfeld and Wanda Keefer said Tuesday the four lower Snake River dams and the water transportation and hydroelectric power they make possible are critical drivers of the local economy.
They also said planned dredging of the lower Snake River navigation channel and port berthing areas, which is subject to a court challenge, is needed to keep the river transportation system safe and viable.
Doeringsfeld of the Port of Lewiston and Keefer of the Port of Clarkston spoke Tuesday to the Clarkston Rotary Club and sought to counter a recent campaign by port critics and supporters of dam breaching that paints both the ports and dams as economically unjustified.
Critics allege the cost to keep the dams and maintain the navigation channel far outweighs any economic benefit derived from shipping goods on the river. Last month, the Nez Perce Tribe and a coalition of environmental groups led by Idaho Rivers United filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the planned removal of about 400,000 cubic yards of sediment from the Lower Snake and Clearwater rivers. That work could start as soon as Jan. 12, but a hearing on a requested dredging injunction will take place Monday.
He said dredging is needed about every seven to nine years. The navigation channel was last dredged in 2006, and the channel, authorized at 14 feet deep, is as shallow as 7 feet in some places.
Doeringsfeld said all three ports bring in about $1.8 million in taxes and generate $5.70 in economic activity for each tax dollar spent.
Keefer said more than 26,000 people visited the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley last year via cruise boats, the second-highest passenger tally on record. But she said those visits are at risk if dredging doesn’t take place.
Keefer said strong salmon and steelhead runs over the past few years, some of which have set records, are evidence that dam breaching is not needed to recover salmon and steelhead.
“The fact is the fish are returning in record numbers,” she said. “It’s not quite at pre-dam numbers but it’s really close.”
Although fall chinook, coho and sockeye that return to the Snake River and its tributaries have shown improvements in recent years, many of the runs remain imperiled. Snake River sockeye are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and wild runs of fall chinook, spring chinook and steelhead are threatened. Each of the runs has been boosted by hatchery production, and the number of hatchery fish generally far outpaces the return of protected wild fish.