Salmon and the Snake 1

There have been so many opinions rendered about the fate of salmon and their possible extinction. Something that always comes up as a potential contributor to their demise is damming rivers because it is difficult if not impossible for salmon to traverse a dam. Such is the case with the mighty Snake River which rises in Western Wyoming and runs into the Columbia River in Tri-Cities, Washington. I talked about this issue with Rob Rich who is with Shaver Transportation Company and is an expert on many aspects of the Snake. "The removable spillway weirs which give a big fish slide for the downstream fish for the fish transport runs from late April to the middle of August by barge and trucking after that. The fish survival, through our fish and lock system is roughly 96% to 97%. That is an incredible survival rate that the Corps of Engineers have been working on steadily since the dams went in. Continual improvement, taking a look at the science of fish survival and what it takes and not stopping with that kind of development.”