Lower Snake River - Impact Area Special Groups

Participating stakeholders will discuss, update and finalize this section. The Group’s objective is to discuss solutions on how to restore the Snake River while also meeting the impact area needs and, most times, improving on what is thought to be possible today. To add your voice, to discuss your concerns and to collaborate on a mutual solution, please Join Us.

Breaching Authority Experts - Call to Action

We have the opportunity to expedite the restoration of the NW ecosystem by leveraging legal frameworks.

Through collaboration, we call on all Breaching Authority Experts to address the challenges with the urgency required to determine how dam breaching can occur without requiring congressional approval.

  • Evaluate existing legal and regulatory frameworks to identify pathways for dam removal that do not necessitate congressional action.

  • Acknowledge the potential for executive actions and administrative orders to facilitate the breaching process, leveraging existing environmental and wildlife protection laws.

  • Address the potential for litigation and opposition, and develop robust legal defenses and public engagement strategies to support the breaching initiative.

By uniting our expertise, we can develop a comprehensive plan that accelerates the breaching process, supporting both ecological restoration and legal feasibility.

Challenges & Benefits - Breaching Authority

A subset of topics included as starter - additional to be added by workstream leads and collaborators

  • The President and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have the discretion to stop funding the dams, place them in caretaker or non-operational status, and secure them by breaching. This can be done through a Presidential Executive Order or directives from the Corps' leadership.

  • The Endangered Species Act, the National Emergencies Act, and the River and Harbor Act of 1945 provide legal grounds for the executive branch to take action in furtherance of breaching the dams to protect endangered species and address environmental justice.

  • The Corps can act under its existing authority to modify or decommission dams without specific congressional authorization, especially when addressing safety, environmental concerns, or treaty obligations with Native American tribes.

Additional Topics & Resources

TBD by Subject Leaders and Experts

This section to be developed by the Leads in the Unification.

If you are a wild salmon or fish expert who would like to collaborate in restoring the Snake River please Join Us.

The Answers are Out There

We only need to ask HOW.