Snake River salmon are on the brink of extinction. We've got one shot to get this right and bring them back.

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Dear Friend,

There’s finally good news for Snake River salmon. After more than twenty years of litigation, Earthjustice, our partners, and federal agencies responsible for operating dams on the lower Snake River have agreed to pause further litigation until July 22, 2022. The reason: the Biden administration announced its commitment to finding a comprehensive solution that restores Snake River salmon, provides long-overdue justice for Northwest Native American tribes, and invests in clean energy and communities. As part of the agreement, we also won stopgap protections to help migrating salmon, such as increased spill of water over the top of the dams to help juvenile fish survive passage over these deadly obstacles.

Earthjustice uses the power of the law to hold the government accountable in court — so why did we agree to this pause? Working together with leaders from every level of government, we have a legitimate chance to return abundant salmon to the Snake by taking the biggest step we can to ensure a healthy future for them — restoring a free-flowing lower Snake River by breaching the four lower Snake River dams.

Snake River salmon desperately need the Army Corps of Engineers, the government agency that owns these dams, to breach them and restore the river. These four federal dams impede salmon passage through an essential migration corridor that joins with the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean downstream and flows out of millions of acres of wilderness in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon upstream. As long as these dams remain in place, salmon and steelhead migrating along this route will continue their slide to extinction.

Dismantling those dams would set in motion one of the greatest river restorations ever, opening free-flowing access to some 5,500 miles of pristine salmon-spawning habitat, the best remaining salmon incubator in the lower 48 states and one that will remain relatively cool and productive even as the climate warms.

We didn’t get here alone. Thousands of Earthjustice supporters like you demanded action from our state and federal elected officials — and now you can help us get the job done. Because of you, federal agencies are finally charting a path to salmon recovery, and Senator Patty Murray and Governor Jay Inslee of Washington are working to determine how best to replace the power and services the lower Snake River dams provide.

The July 22 deadline is approaching quickly, and we need your help to up the pressure on our leaders to find a solution. If we don’t work out a deal before then, we’ll be forced to take the government back to court. And we will do that if we must — as we have done successfully for more than two decades. But the best way forward remains for the Biden administration and congressional leaders like Senator Murray to work with us and other interests to forge a comprehensive plan to restore salmon that includes a free-flowing lower Snake River.

The next six months are a once-in-a-generation chance to halt and correct decades of damage from dams, and the power of our activism will influence the development of the plan. We’ll be asking you to use your voice in the months ahead — and we’re counting on you to show up for the salmon, orcas, and communities that rely on the Snake River.

Sincerely,
Todd True
Senior Attorney

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