Debunking Misinformation Surrounding the lower Snake River Dams
In case if you haven’t seen it, here’s a YouTube video by John Stossel featuring Todd Myers.
People were falling for their unfounded claims hook, line, and sinker. And disinformation is the worst form of propaganda. If people continue to believe these statements, it will lead to further misguided policies that harm the environment and species, not to mention cost ratepayers, and keep the region stuck in a limited old system, blocking the way for multiple businesses and economic opportunities, not to mention restoration. People want to believe those who think like them, especially authority figures. This is why it’s crucial to fact-check and debunk misinformation.
To combat this misinformation, we've compiled a list of Todd Myers' claims and debunked them using research, information, and data from reliable, unaffiliated sources such as NOAA and the EPA. By relying on these reputable sources, we can confidently separate fact from fiction. These claims are presented in the same sequence as in the interview.
Todd Myers Statement: Hydropower - clean and most reliable energy - water power is steady -
Clean - first, it’s not clean. It produces methane. Indeed, they are better than fossil fuels, and there is no argument there. What this means is there is an opportunity to improve hydropower. Further, though, they also damage the ecosystem.
Most Reliable energy - While hydropower itself is reliable for the most part we must be specific, referring only to the four lower Snake River dams. They produce the most energy when the grid doesn’t need it, meaning when the grid needs more energy - these four dams aren’t helping, because they also do not have water. Please check our Energy page to see more information and graphs on this one. Water power is not steady. Water in the rivers doesn’t run the same throughout the year, let alone during hot summer months or the winter when the sources are frozen upstream. Energy is best produced when the river runs at highest volumes - which is during spring, and sometimes in the fall - neither are times of peak energy demand in the Northwest.
TM Statement: Fish can go upriver - ladders on the dams that allow passage - We have made so much progress that we can have salmon recovery and the electricity it provides.
I'm not sure what he’s talking about here. Yes, we’ve certainly made a lot of progress across all kinds of things in the last few decades. Wild Chinook salmon and Steelhead recovery aren’t among them. While efforts have been made to improve passage, the results have not been adequate to stop the decline of wild salmon populations.
TM Statement: The salmon decimation was only when the dams were first built without the innovations to keep the fish away from the turbines.
This statement needs to be clarified. The fact is that salmon populations, especially the crucial spring-run wild chinook and steelhead populations, continue to decline. Please continue reading for more on this.
TM Statement: “Between 96-98% of salmon successfully pass each dam.”
96%-98% of salmon pass, each dam as a performance standard for dam passage. Exactly. This means that with 16 dams only 52% of the fish remain in the best case scenario. Also, what we do see:
Compared to what the populations were, today only 1-2% of fish populations remain - according to research from Oregon State University. Also, according to scientists from the University of Washington, removing the dams is the only way to recover wild salmon populations.
American Fisheries Society also states that the salmon returns are not showing signs of active recovery and calls for the breaching of the four lower Snake River dams.
TM Statement: “Federal scientific agencies say that salmon will recover with the dams in place.”
This NOAA - a federal scientific agency - report clearly concludes that removing the four lower Snake River dams is the only way to restore the fish.
Although we’ve searched for Federal scientific agencies (plural) that say salmon will recover with the dams in place, we could only find the US Army Corps of Engineers referring to potentially saving the populations. For apparent conflict of interest reasons - the same way we are not providing links or references from pro-dam removal NGOs, we are not including references from the BPA or USACE as evidence.
TM Statement: The salmon population is near extinction, but the claim is not true. All you have to do is go and look at the numbers.
According to experts and scientists, they are listed as endangered or threatened in the endangered species list.
According to NOAA - spring Chinook and steelhead populations are listed as endangered. And while fall chinook might be on the list of species that might be delisted, they population recovery is still not there.
According to NOAA - Despite some improvements in recent years, threats from hydropower, habitat degradation, hatcheries, harvest, and predation continue to challenge the recovery of these populations.
According to the EPA - the Chinook salmon populations in the Salish Sea have been declining.
According to the Wild Salmon Center - the salmon are all endangered.
TM Statement: Salmon numbers are much higher than they were in the 80s or 90s
While we couldn’t find any evidence that salmon numbers are MUCH higher since their lowest numbers in the 80s and 90s - we did see that with the exception of two or three years in the early 2000s, the wild salmon returns have made little to no progress since the 80s and 90s.
The salmon abundance report from the State of Washington report clearly shows that the majority of the stocks are either in crisis or are not keeping pace.
In case you wonder WHY the stocks were the lowest in the 80s and 90s, here’s a report from the late 90s from the University of Washington that states the fish were showing the results of the cumulative stress of habitat loss, overharvesting, and the full completion of all dams built in the Columbia basin.
Todd Myers Strategy: Discrediting, dismissing, and otherwise insulting non-profit organizations, scientists, and environmental groups who have been studying this topic for decades.
Perhaps Mr. Myers feels pressured by the progress toward unveiling the unnecessary nature of the four lower Snake River dams. Maybe it’s a risk to their funding sources, or perhaps this is just another attempt to dig further into the divide between so called “pro” dam and “anti” dam groups. Why else the need to lie?
The fearmongering has not been from the side of the environmental groups - it has been from those who claim that entire populations will be left in the dark if the dams are removed. The fearmongering comes from those who label people as “pro” and “anti” rather than accurately addressing the issues at hand and finding common ground and solutions. The fearmongering comes from those who claim fellow citizens are attacking American ways of life and attempting to dismantle all that is American while they are the ones attempting to save what is wildly American: the American Wildlife populations, ecosystems and nature.
The truths and the facts are in front of our eyes. The salmon populations are in decline according to every scientific source and report, and this video blatantly spreads a lie that “all you need to do is to look at the numbers” that this is not true, effectively gaslighting all those who follow them.
TM Statement: NY Times 1999 article claimed salmon were going to be extinct by 2017 - yet here we are.
The claims from that article clearly state that if nothing is done, salmon populations will become extinct. As a result, the federal government took action, set limits on sea harvests, and provided funding for salmon recovery programs. However, the article's other point was also true - without recovering the habitat these fish spawn in, other efforts will likely be in vain. After all these years of investing in recovery programs (over $20 Billion), as the scientists predicted back then, it remains inadequate since we haven’t done anything to restore their habitat. The statement was not inaccurate but eerily accurate based on when it was published.
TM Statement: We waste billions on pointless things…
We can all agree on this statement. We wasted billions on so-called “salmon recovery programs” while placing the burden of paying for them on ratepayers, knowing they will not be adequate to recover wild salmon populations. It’s time we put a stop to the insanity and take one true action we know will help restore the wild salmon populations and breach the dams. We are certain that Mr. Myers is very familiar with the definition of insanity. It’s time to be the change.
TM Statement: The 4 lower Snake River dams provide almost the same amount of energy is produced as all the wind and solar in Washington state.
As of 2023 - Washington has 3407 MW of wind power and 604 MW of installed solar energy in Washington, combined equaling over 4000MWs.
Although the lower Snake River Dams theoretically have the capacity to generate over 3000MW of power, they have never generated more than 900MW. For the last three years, they’ve rarely generated 700 MW of power.
TM Statement: Wind turbines - The problem is that there is no wind several times a year.
Aiiyyy- It’s 2024, and civilization has developed something called batteries.
TM Statement: Spend $35 billion on culling seals and sea lions instead.
How does this make sense? He’s saying - let’s kill more wildlife so we can continue to kill more of the other wildlife we’re claiming we’re protecting from the sea lions.
TM Statement: It’s more about feeling good than environmental results.
Isn’t it, though, Mr. Myers? After spending over $20 billion in so-called fish recovery programs that even include trucking salmon to their spawning grounds, and fish cannons that shoot them out of hoses, we hope it’s time we realize this is the epitome of insanity and decide we are all much better than fighting to keep the status quo and to stop blocking the recovery of our precious wild keystone species.
We are open to data from reliable and unbiased sources providing different information. Our intention is to ensure we are saving wild salmon populations and the entire ecosystem that goes with it while also providing local economic opportunities.
There is no reason to believe that without the lower Snake River dams the region would be left in the dark or lose any opportunity, including transportation.
