| Fish passage
is why it only considers eight of those immediately affected. And although the report at times describes situations applicable Basin-wide, for the purpose of its analysis, it only addresses impacts from 11 specific dams from across the basin: The four lower Columbia dams (Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, and McNary). The two upper Columbia dams (Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee). The four lower Snake dams (Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite). Dworshak dam, located on the North Fork Clearwater River just upstream of a tributary to the lower Snake River.
Several recommendations are also offered to further the federal government’s responsibility and achieve a healthy and resilient Columbia River Basin for generations to come. These include fully considering and integrating the unique inequities Tribes have suffered as a result of federal dam construction and operation into future National Environmental Policy Act reviews, as well as further pursuing co-stewardship and co-management agreements; continuing efforts to consolidate Tribal homelands; and incorporating indigenous knowledge into decision making.
A Chinese challenge The impact of dams on global migratory fish
stocks is a major challenge and remains seriously underestimated, Zhenli Huang and Haiying Li claim in their study published in Science Advances. According to the two researchers from the China
Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, 40 years of Chinese effort to save fish from the verge of extinction on the Yangtze River has failed.
The Yangtze River is the longest river in China and the third longest in the world. It is China’s most abundant water resource, with the highest freshwater fish biodiversity and the largest number of migratory fish species. It is also home to more than 400 species of fish, 22 of which are listed as nationally protected species. After four decades of implementation, what is collectively known as the Fish Rescue Programmes (FRPs) of the Yangtze dams, has failed to achieve the goal of protecting five flagship fish species – Chinese sturgeon, Chinese paddlefish, Yangtze sturgeon, Chinese sucker, and Coreius guichenoti. However, the authors claim that the failure of the FRPs provides “a rare opportunity to examine the true impact of dams on migratory fish”.
Above: Fish ladders aid salmon on their upstream migration at the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River in Oregon, US. © steve estvanik / Shutterstock. com
Below: New research claims that efforts to save fish from the verge of extinction on the Yangtze River in China have failed
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