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The Northwest is known for its carbon-free, affordable power. It’s also known for its iconic salmon runs. In a battle over dams and salmon, what will happen when one side wins?

Wild salmon are struggling in the Pacific Northwest. And in some cases, one of the culprits is also a key producer of clean energy. But dams on the Snake River get in the way when salmon try to migrate to and from their historic spawning grounds. That’s why tribes and some scientists are calling for their removal. But there’s a drawback with this solution: the dams provide a steady source of electricity to the region, and they don’t emit carbon pollution that adds to the climate problem.This video was produced in collaboration with NOVA and is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

The Northwest is known for its carbon-free, affordable power. It’s also known for its iconic salmon runs. In a battle over dams and salmon, what will happen when one side wins?

Wild salmon are struggling in the Pacific Northwest. And in some cases, one of the culprits is also a key producer of clean energy. But dams on the Snake River get in the way when salmon try to migrate to and from their historic spawning grounds. That’s why tribes and some scientists are calling for their removal.

In a battle over dams and salmon, what will happen when one side wins?

Wild salmon recovery and the need for carbon-free energy

Tech & Engineering

Narrator: Wild salmon are struggling in the Pacific Northwest. And in some cases, one of the culprits is also a key producer of clean energy.For thousands of years, salmon reigned the rivers here.Julian Matthews: It's part of your culture. You expect it to be there.Narrator: Now, hydro-electric dams on these rivers provide reliable carbon-free power to thousands of people.Rick Dunn: Hydro is everything to us.Narrator: But those dams get in the way when salmon try to migrate to and from their historic spawning grounds.Some fish are able to navigate around the dams. When young salmon migrate downstream, they can spill over the tops of the dams, or go through fish bypass systems. Some even manage to swim through the turbines. When adult fish come back upriver to spawn, some are able to climb fish ladders — like this one.But the obstacles make the 900-mile journey even more challenging, and some fish biologists say they’re decreasing the salmon population.Now, some salmon numbers here are so low that tribal biologists say some species have reached a “quasi-extinction threshold”And, the fish face added threats: warming waters and low water flow brought on by climate change.David Johnson: We have to do something right away.Narrator: David Johnson is the fisheries department manager of the Nez Perce Tribe whose historical lands incorporate the Snake River. Salmon are a source of food and hold importance in many Indigenous cultures.For decades, the Nez Perce could harvest seventy to one hundred fish per year for each tribe member. But that has changed.David Johnson: The number of fish that people have had to harvest in some of these poor return years have been about a third of a fish per person.Narrator: But it’s not just the tribes that are hurting. Salmon is considered a “keystone species.” During their migration, they carry crucial nutrients from the ocean to freshwater rivers, enriching the ecosystems here.Not only do dams hamper salmon migration, but they also can make the waters warmer. Warmer water contains less oxygen, and speeds up the fish’s metabolism. Both stress the fish and can lead to reduced reproductive rates - or death.Jay Hesse: It's a measure of really huge concern, and options running out.David Johnson: So, we need a lot of fish coming back. That's why we're looking at doing something big. You got to do something really, really big that's going to affect a lot of the populations.Narrator: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently made several habitat recommendations to help the salmon population, including the removal of four dams on the Snake River.The idea is simple: Allow the river to flow more naturally, and this will allow salmon free passage up and down the river. It’ll remove one of the biggest stressors on the fish population – giving them a better chance to handle warming water.Lisa Crozier: It may help salmon, if we remove the dams, as long as it doesn't keep us from doing other things. So it's one thing, and they need 100 things.Narrator: The hope is, the ecosystem will then start to restore itself.Chris Jordan: Once nature is allowed to function, it solves the problems.Narrator: And there’s evidence it works. Over several years, engineers removed two dams on the Elwha River in northwestern Washington. And salmon returned.Chirs Jordan: It’s the largest dam removal project that's happened in North America.Narrator: But there’s a drawback with this solution: the dams provide a steady source of electricity to the region, and they don’t emit carbon pollution that adds to the climate problem.Rick Dunn is the general manager with Benton Public Utility District.Rick Dunn: Hydropower is the foundation of a carbon free portfolio today. We're deepening our dependence on the hydro system for reliability, and it is the real workhorse for the Northwest.Narrator: Dunn says hydropower is more reliable than wind or solar because it’s around 24/7; whenever people need it. He says salmon and dams can coexist.Rick Dunn: As temperatures become more extreme, you're gonna have to have technologies that can produce flexible amounts of electricity like hydro can.Narrator: But many believe the dams and salmon cannot coexist.David Johnson: Those dams provide such an important benefit for so many people here in the Pacific Northwest. There are other ways that we can get our energy, and the way those dams are operated and located, it is the largest source of man-caused mortality on these fish.Narrator: The tribe argues the fastest way to help salmon is to remove the four dams on the lower Snake River immediately — while also steadily working to replace the power the dams provide with other clean energy sources.That’s Julian Matthews’ vision. For him, each decision the Nez Perce tribal members make looks seven generations into the future.Julian Matthews: It's kind of like these kids here. A lot of them are Nez Perce, and they have treaty rights. So I want to make sure that I do what I can. So 20 years from now, they can fish and get salmon because it's a part of our culture.Narrator: The Nez Perce Tribe is working to break its connection with the dams by putting up solar panels on tribal buildings and developing hydropower in areas that won’t affect salmon.But still, to fully compensate for the amount of clean energy the dams provide, newer carbon-free power sources like advanced nuclear technology or floating offshore wind farms would need to come to market.Rick Dunn: I think with time, we'll get there. But right now, we're not ready.Narrator: But, scientists say these salmon are running out of time.Lisa Crozier: It is a race against time for all of us, for people as well as fish. I think we need to be very conscientious of the fact that people are going to start struggling as a result of climate change. And so if we don't act now, we may really lose an opportunity to help save these fish.

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Wild salmon recovery and the need for carbon-free energy

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