Recovering Idaho’s Wild Salmon & Steelhead
Salmon and steelhead are key to Idaho’s culture, identity, and economy. These fish represent the very heart of Idaho. But dams and development on the Snake River have made their migration a deadly gauntlet, pushing these miraculous fish to the edge of extinction.
By allowing these magnificent fish to go extinct, the federal government is breaking promises made to Northwest Tribes more than a century ago. These failed promises also cost electric ratepayers billions of dollars with no return on that investment. It’s past time for a new course of action.
The Northwest can have abundant salmon, reliable irrigation and transportation, and clean, affordable, reliable energy. The key is to create new infrastructure that serves all of us. Now is the time to save our salmon and steelhead. Now is the time to breach the four lower Snake River dams and replace the services they provide.
Our long-term goal is to restore abundant wild salmon and steelhead to Idaho.
The loss of wild salmon to Idaho has catastrophic ecological, cultural, and economic consequences for the Clearwater and Salmon river ecosystems, and the fish, wildlife, and people who call the Northwest home.
ICL is working to restore ecologically significant, harvestable populations of wild salmon and steelhead to Idaho. We engage with Tribes, partner organizations, and grassroots supporters to build bipartisan support for wild salmon recovery through the removal of the four lower Snake River dams and replacement of their services.
Idaho’s Iconic Fish
Salmon and steelhead are integral to Idaho’s identity. Born in the headwaters of the Salmon and Clearwater Rivers, these iconic fish migrate to the ocean and then return to their native waters where they spawn and die—and the cycle begins anew. But salmon and steelhead have a new normal: dams and development have relegated them to the endangered species list.
Although regulation from federal and state governments has kept Idaho’s iconic fish from going extinct so far, salmon and steelhead populations are collapsing and have declined substantially since the development of dams on the lower Snake River. Upstream, Idahoans have protected and restored some of the best habitat for salmon and steelhead anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, the fish are having trouble getting to it. Today, only two percent of historical populations remain.
The Status Quo is Not Working
Salmon and steelhead are integral to Idaho’s identity. Born in the headwaters of the Salmon and Clearwater Rivers, these iconic fish migrate to the ocean and then return to their native waters where they spawn and die—and the cycle begins anew. But salmon and steelhead have a new normal: dams and development have relegated them to the endangered species list.
Although regulation from federal and state governments has kept Idaho’s iconic fish from going extinct so far, salmon and steelhead populations are collapsing and have declined substantially since the development of dams on the lower Snake River. Upstream, Idahoans have protected and restored some of the best habitat for salmon and steelhead anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, the fish are having trouble getting to it. Today, only two percent of historical populations remain.
