The Columbia River — 2,000km from British Columbia to the Pacific — was once North America's greatest salmon river, with runs of 10-16 million fish annually. Fourteen dams on the main stem have reduced most runs by 90%+, creating one of the continent's most significant freshwater wildlife welfare crises.
Four lower Snake River dams — Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite — have been at the center of a decades-long debate over dam removal. These dams block access to 800km of prime salmon habitat in Idaho. Biden administration released a report recommending their removal; the Biden-era record was continued by salmon advocates. The welfare case for removal: restoring access to cold, clean spawning habitat for millions of salmon annually, reducing thermal stress, and providing critical prey for starving Southern Resident Orcas.
Columbia River white sturgeon can live over 100 years and reach 6m length. They are the longest-lived animals in North America's freshwater systems. Dam construction trapped populations above dams, creating isolated subpopulations. Bonneville Dam sturgeon population is managed intensively — including supplementation from hatcheries — but populations above Grand Coulee Dam (with no fish passage) have collapsed. Long-lived animals blocked from spawning migrations represent a profound disruption of natural life history.
The Columbia basin produces more hatchery salmon than almost anywhere on Earth — a deliberate attempt to compensate for dam-caused wild fish losses. Hatchery welfare concerns: overcrowded rearing conditions; disease outbreaks; chronic handling stress; and behavioral deficiencies in hatchery fish that reduce survival post-release. Wild fish welfare is also impacted: hatchery fish compete with wild fish for food and territory, sometimes carrying disease that spreads to wild populations.
The Elwha River dam removals (completed 2014) — the largest dam removal project in US history — demonstrated remarkable wildlife recovery: salmon recolonized 90km of previously blocked habitat within years; steelhead returned; orca prey availability in the Strait of Juan de Fuca improved. The Klamath River dam removals (completed 2024) are already showing early salmon recolonization. These successes strengthen the welfare case for Snake River dam removal.