"Salmon Life Cycle" Ride and the Case for Removing the Lower Snake River Dams
On August 6th, GHCC, along with event partners Save Our Wild Salmon and Pacific Rivers, hosted a vibrant Pedalpalooza bike ride in Portland to raise awareness about a critical environmental issue dear to our hearts and close to our origin story as an organization—the removal of the four Lower Snake River Dams (LSRDs). The first annual "Salmon Life Cycle" was more than just a bike ride; it was a powerful statement of our collective commitment to restoring wild salmon populations and protecting the ecosystems they support.
Participants enjoyed a creative salmon painting project, ate popsicles, and got the chance to mingle and ask questions. Lindsay Shuelke of Pacific Rivers (and one of GHCC’s beloved board members) created a thoughtfully curated river-themed playlist, which set the tone for an unforgettable and upbeat ride. Abby Dalke of Save Our Wild Salmon provided hand painted, silk, salmon windsocks which followed us as we rode along Salmon Street, catching attention. Another beloved GHCC board member, Larissa Gordon dressed for the occasion as a human representation of a river (pictured in a blue wig of course). It was an incredibly moving experience to be riding for salmon recovery and the message that we need to honor Tribal treaties. I’m sure we were a spectacle. I sure hope we were a spectacle! Because that may be what it takes to affect change.
Starting from Laurelhurst Park, 60+ enthusiastic participants joined us on an out-and-back ride to Salmon Street Springs along the Willamette River in downtown Portland. Along the way, we shared information about the challenges salmon face as they attempt to navigate dams on their upstream journeys. These challenges are so much more than just obstacles in the water—they are barriers to the survival of entire species.
The presentations given during the ride offered insights into the current state of wild salmon populations and the pressing need for action. At the end of the ride, many participants took action by signing postcards addressed to Senators Merkley and Wyden, urging them to support the removal of the LSRDs. Our collective message was clear: Senators Wyden and Merkley must advocate for federal budget allocations that prioritize salmon restoration, honor tribal treaties, invest in renewable energy, and restore critical salmon habitats.
A message that resonated with participants was the urgency of the situation: we are in the midst of the most momentum we've ever had towards breaching these dams, and the time to act is now. The federal government’s long-standing approach to protecting wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia-Snake Basin has been ineffective. Over the past twenty years, five consecutive federal salmon plans have been ruled inadequate and illegal by three different judges. Despite spending over $10 billion of public money, federal agencies have yet to recover a single salmon or steelhead population. This is a stark reminder that the current strategies are not working.
The economics of the four Lower Snake River Dams have been in question since before their construction in the 1960s and 1970s. Their modest contributions, particularly in energy and transportation, have been declining, while the costs of maintenance and operations continue to rise. These services can be cost-effectively replaced with more reliable and sustainable alternatives like wind, solar, and rail.
A restored, resilient Lower Snake River will not only protect endangered wild salmon and steelhead but also save taxpayer and energy consumer dollars, create thousands of regional jobs, benefit struggling wildlife populations—including the endangered Southern Resident Orcas—and honor our Treaty obligations to Native American Tribes in the Columbia Basin. Removing these costly dams presents the greatest river and salmon restoration opportunity in the nation today. It's a chance to restore a vital ecosystem and revive wild fish populations that are on the brink of extinction.
If you caught July’s Hells Bells newsletter you may have seen a call to action from Emily Cain with updates on the efforts to remove the LSRDs. While we continue to make significant strides in advocating for the removal of the LSRDs, there are still major challenges ahead. One of the most pressing issues is a recent development in the House’s Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2025. This bill includes a troubling policy rider (Sec. 513) that could severely undermine salmon restoration efforts by limiting the Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) funding for these initiatives.
If enacted, this rider would not only break a legal agreement between BPA, the Tribes, and other parties but would also sabotage the United States' moral and legal responsibility to address the historic and ongoing impacts on Tribes due to the management of the Columbia River Basin. This is particularly unacceptable in light of the Department of the Interior’s recent Tribal Circumstances Analysis, which acknowledges these responsibilities. Read more about the analysis (an analysis of the analysis, if you will) on Save Our Wild Salmon’s blog.
This message resonated with ride participants. We didn’t just promise to protect salmon, honoring an absolutely crucial lifeway of Tribes, we signed a treaty in exchange for their land. We continue to exploit this extractive process, harvesting power from the dams while salmon slide toward extinction.
I felt incredibly proud to have represented GHCC at this event and share about how the work we do strives to ensure that salmon have a healthy place to return home to. Our mission statement to connect, protect, and restore the Greater Hells Canyon Region in this case can refer to the headwaters - the vital cold-water habitat where salmon are born and return to in order to spawn and then die.
High-elevation rivers and streams are the bookends of a salmon’s journey. The Greater Hells Canyon Region has over 1,000 miles of perennial streams and rivers. Our landscape's north-facing slopes and deep shady canyons keep the water cold: a boon to fish impacted by climate change.
As we reflect on the success of our first annual "Salmon Life Cycle" ride, we are filled with hope and determination. This event was a rallying cry to our community to restore the Lower Snake River and protect our wild salmon.
Thank you to everyone who participated and to our partners at Save Our Wild Salmon and Pacific Rivers for their collective knowledge and passion. Together, we hope to ride towards a future where wild salmon can thrive and where our rivers run free.
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