Snake River dams vital to recreation, irrigation and wildlife

Story and photos by RYAN HALL | RURAL MONTANA EDITOR

The four lower Snake River dams play a vital role in recreation and environmental stewardship in Idaho and Washington, and have some important impacts on irrigated farmland.

“Whenever you build a dam, you have a bunch of associated missions that go along with that,” said Chad Rhynard, chief of the technical support branch for the Walla Walla District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

He said the Corps of Engineers oversees Habitat Management Units (HMUs), where it manages lands specifically for recapturing native habitats.

“We do a little bit of everything in our portfolio, because of how flexible hydropower is,” Rhynard said.

Recreating

“People will always recreate,” Rhynard said. “They will always find ways to get to water.”

He added that the Corps of Engineers does everything it can to present fun, safe opportunities that also protect the environment.

“As people find their way to the water, they do it in such a way that is safe to them, others and the environment,” Rhynard said, adding the Corps also is focused on preserving cultural habitats.

“We have a lot of cultural significance along our shorelines,” he said. “It’s where your grandfather took you fishing for years growing up.”

Rhynard said the Corps has created and oversees parks, boat launches and beaches, as well as tent and RV campgrounds.

He said people fish, boat, swim and do watersports, in addition to taking advantage of the primitive and full hook-up camping with shower facilities “all up and down the Snake (River).

An osprey perches near its nest close to Ice Harbor Lock and Dam. Photo by Ryan Hall

“We are trying to manage native landscapes the best we can,” Rhynard added.

He said that the dams present unique recreational opportunities because just upstream of each dam, the Snake River seems more like a lake, while downstream areas have more of “a river feel.”

“It really just depends on where you are along the river,” he said.

The more developed campgrounds have become very popular in the summer months, according to Corps staff.

“Charbonneau Park is pretty much a destination location,” said Brandon Frazier, assistant natural resource manager for the Army Corps of Engineers, in describing the area in eastern Washington that features camping, swimming, hiking, fishing, boating and more.

In addition to the parks and campgrounds, the HMUs the Corps manage are valuable to both recreationists and wildlife.

Goats are used to trim grass and weeds on the Lower Granite Lock and Dam site. Photo by Ryan Hall

People can hunt, bird watch and ride horses in the HMUs, in addition to other activities. But those activities don’t come at the expense of the wildlife or habitat, in fact that’s exactly what the HMUs are designed to protect.

“We manage those areas for habitat and wildlife diversity,” Frazier said. “I think they’re very vital.”

He explained that much of the habitat in the HMUs is water dependent.

“Without the dams, those opportunities would be lost,” Frazier said. “A lot of those riparian areas would be dry.”

Irrigation

It may surprise some people to learn that irrigation is not one of the core missions for the lower Snake River dams. However, that does not mean they are not vital to area farmland.

“We don’t have an irrigation mission in the Corps,” said Paul Ocker, chief of operations for the Walla Walla District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

However, Ocker said there are about 48,000 acres of irrigated lands as a result of Ice Harbor Dam. Apples, cherries, grapes, wheat, canola, mint, and more are all aided by irrigation.

According to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s 2022 Lower Snake River Dams: Benefit Replacement Report, potatoes, and onions are also grown on lands irrigated as a result of Ice Harbor Dam. The report further states that the combined production value of irrigated land along the Snake River in 2021 was estimated to be $327.89 million.

The report also states that if Ice Harbor Dam was ever to be breached, as has been proposed by some environmental groups, the cost estimates for mitigating impacted irrigation from wells and surface water combined would range from $188 million to $787 million. The additional annual maintenance cost would be another $7.4 million. Over 50 years, these annual maintenance costs equate to an additional $218 million, the report states.

Republished with permission from Rural Montana Magazine, the magazine of Montana’s Electric Cooperatives Association (MECA).

Read this article in the October edition of Rural Montana: Rural Montana Magazine | October 2024 (PDF)

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