Submitted by amandaceaser89 on Wed, 2016-11-02 07:44 Groups audience West Slope - 056 Vote Up Down +1 + Thursday, November 3rd, 2016 - 4:00pm to Thursday, November 3rd, 2016 - 7:00pm Environmental Review of Snake River Dams Scheduled in Missoula Dear, WSCTU Members - On Thursday, Nov. 3 from 4 to 7 pm at the Hilton Garden Inn in Missoula, a very important meeting is taking place. It is the start of environmental review for federal dam operations on the Snake and Columbia Rivers. As you know, these dams block the upstream and downstream passage for salmon and steelhead and have caused a tremendous decline in wild fish. With rising temperatures in the slack water behind the dams, this is only going to get worse. If you can, please come and voice your opinion. It has been shown that removing the four lower Snake River Dams is the only action that has the potential to recover wild steelhead and salmon. An environmental review of the system that does not consider this alternative would be woefully inadequate. I will be at the meeting and I hope to see a sizeable number of WSCTU members in attendance. This is going to be a long process but it is starting right now. Thank you, Mark Kuipers, President WestSlope Chapter of Trout Unlimited - - - You will be given an opportunity to comment at the meeting via computer terminals or a stenographer. If you wish to comment, consider highlighting the following points: 1. The Snake River basin holds approximately 70% of wild salmon and steelhead recovery potential in the entire Columbia Basin due to the high habitat quality, but fish survival as they migrate past the dams and reservoirs on the lower Snake and lower Columbia rivers must improve dramatically for recovery to happen. 2. Removing the lower Snake dams is the only action identified to date with the potential to yield the survival improvements necessary to recover wild Snake River salmon and steelhead. The existing problems with the lower Snake dams are only going to get worse as the climate warms. Accordingly, removal of these dams should be analyzed in the NEPA alternatives. 3. The analysis of lower Snake River dam removal should include related actions that will replace the benefits provided by the dams, such as improvements in rail transportation, new irrigation systems for irrigators who withdraw water from the lower Snake, and investments in renewable energy, conservation and electric grid improvements. 4. The potential economic benefits of restoring a free-flowing lower Snake River should also be analyzed, such as elimination of flow augmentation from Libby Dam in Montana, reduced dredging costs, restored fisheries, and new recreational opportunities. Who's attending this event? There is no one currently attending this event.