Dammed to Extinction
Jake Scarlett | December 2019
It’s crunch time. Most countries have finally caught on to the fact that climate change might be an issue, and are finally crawling to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Ever since the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned the world that we only have eleven more years to cut emissions almost in half, most countries got the message. Accomplishing this will require a complete reboot of our old and dying fossil fuel energy grid, as well as our old and dying fossil fuel addicted government. In the United States, not much has been done to begin handling this onus task, but one source in particular contributes to almost a quarter of the country’s renewable energy production: hydroelectric power. Hydroelectricity, in short, is produced when enormous amounts of water fall downward through a dam to turn a generator. With our current (and aging) infrastructure, the best bet for significant amounts of electricity generation lies within the massive, high flow rivers in the mountainous regions of our west coast. In fact, one lone river basin in the Northwest is responsible for generating 44 percent of all hydropower in the US, with the help of well over 150 dams, including the sixth largest one in the world. I’m talking about the Columbia River Basin, which spans 258,000 square miles from Idaho, through Montana, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.
Unfortunately, this river basin is not only incredibly important for generating electricity without any fossil fuels (except for all of the ones used to build all of them). Long before the rivers had been blocked off and redirected for human use, this river basin was pristine habitat for many iconic American species like: grizzly bears, wolves, bald eagles, beavers, and sea lions. One species in particular discovered that this region was perfect for breeding into flourishing populations, the Chinook salmon. Also known as the king salmon, the chinook is the largest salmon species in the Pacific. Every breeding season, millions of this anadromous fish would make a dangerous and lengthy journey from the oceans where they grew up in, to the Columbia River where they transform from a silvery-pink ocean dweller into brown and green expecting parents. This migration couldn’t go unnoticed by the other life around the basin, they are a keystone species afterall, being the basis of energy for the carnivores. The pinnipeds of the region: the Pacific harbor seal, the Stellar sea lion, and the California sea lion, always cash in on this perfect opportunity to fatten up before their own mating season. The orca whales tend to catch them on their way out, back into the ocean. Bears find it the easiest to catch them in their huge jaws as they are moving upstream towards their breeding grounds, and eagles scoop them up at their own discretion.
This feeding frenzy used to be no problem, it was just another part of nature’s great balancing act. Recently, however, the seals are going hungry and the orcas, which are part of the endangered Southern Residence population, have actually stopped reproducing as frequently due to the decline of salmon that they’ve depended on. The dams that line literally thousands of miles of rivers and tributaries are keeping the mature salmon from reaching their genetically ingrained breeding locations. Not even innovations like fish ladders are enough to make a difference when over half of all breeding spots are “permanently blocked” by dams, some taller than 500 feet. Not only are the dams providing physical barriers, but increasing temperatures which these very dams are helping to mitigate are creating chemical and physiological barriers to the migration. Water temperature, which heats up alongside air temperature as a positive feedback loop, is considered to be the “master factor” in salmon health, in the words of Xiao Zhang, a leading salmon biologist. Water temperature not only regulates breeding rates, but also food availability, disease resistance, stress levels, etc. The earlier snowmelt coming from the Rockies are significantly altering when the basin is flushed with a new source of freshwater, which no longer coincides with seasonal migrations of the salmon, making it that much more difficult for them to navigate upstream. King salmon are resilient fish, but the timing of their spawning season reflects historical adaptations, which are genetically instilled. Some of the more adaptive populations are already responding to climate related shifts through their genome. If not for the dams, their survival might be a little brighter.
Fundamentally, the only thing any species wants to do is to survive. The salmon want a future just like we want to future, but it seems like our future might be the downfall of theirs. Some ecologically minded people are trying to turn the salmon’s survival into a reality, but their efforts seem to be too little, too slowly. Current trends project regional populations will be gone and forgotten by the end of the century. Salmon populations can’t keep up because they are hardly being born, and the ones who are born now have a 99 percent chance of dying on their way out to sea. This is absolutely unsustainable especially when stacked with the desperation of hungry predators and unknown hydrological patterns. If the chinook salmon are going to survive, we need to get rid of at least some of these dams. But if we don’t have these dams, how will the region compensate for all of that beautiful, clean energy? Will they be substituted by solar farms? This seems unlikely and only shifts destruction; just one dam in the region, the Grand Coulee, powers the equivalent of 4.2 million houses per year. To remove this would require the likes of 13,000 acres of panels to replace it. Maybe adding over 1500 of the largest variety of wind turbine could help the Army Corps to kill birds on sight that might try to prey on juvenile salmon. Yeah, they actually are doing that. All we know is that fossil fuels cannot be the answer.
From the looks of it, the chinook doesn’t have much of a shot, but we might have the ability to turn that around. Just like all of our problems, we’ll have to coordinate, plan, and act. Maybe if the ecology of the river for which the hydroelectric dams depend on were actually considered, we could find a way to generate electricity while also allowing such an important species to thrive. Instead, at least for now, it seems like utility companies are more concerned with expanding their infrastructure and profits. I guess, it’ll remain the work for upset environmentalists protesting or something. Chinook salmon are deeply caught in this tug of war for our society to continue, and I’m afraid they, with the vast ecosystem they support, could be lost.
Sources
Keefer, Matthew L, et al. “Thermal Exposure of Adult Chinook Salmon and Steelhead: Diverse Behavioral Strategies in a Large and Warming River System.” PLoS One, vol. 13, no. 9, 21 Sept. 2018.
Provenza, Nick. “Army Corps to Begin Killing Birds at Columbia, Snake River Dams.” The Seattle Times, 28 Mar. 2014, http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2014/03/army-corps-to-begin-killing-birds/.
Rub, A. Michelle Wargo, et al. “Changes in Adult Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha) Survival within the Lower Columbia River amid Increasing Pinniped Abundance.” Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, vol. 76, no. 10, 2019, pp. 1862–1873., doi:10.1139/cjfas-2018-0290.
Zhang, Xiao, et al. “On the Variable Effects of Climate Change on Pacific Salmon.” Ecological Modelling, vol. 397, 2019, pp. 95–106., doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2019.02.002.
“Dams: Impacts on Salmon and Steelhead.” Dams: Impacts on Salmon and Steelhead | Northwest Power and Conservation Council, Northwest Power and Conservation Council, https://www.nwcouncil.org/reports/columbia-river-history/damsimpacts.
“Today in Energy.” The Columbia River Basin Provides More than 40% of Total U.S. Hydroelectric Generation - Today in Energy - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA Independent Statistics and Analysis, 27 June 2014, https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=16891.
Jake Scarlett | December 2019
It’s crunch time. Most countries have finally caught on to the fact that climate change might be an issue, and are finally crawling to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Ever since the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned the world that we only have eleven more years to cut emissions almost in half, most countries got the message. Accomplishing this will require a complete reboot of our old and dying fossil fuel energy grid, as well as our old and dying fossil fuel addicted government. In the United States, not much has been done to begin handling this onus task, but one source in particular contributes to almost a quarter of the country’s renewable energy production: hydroelectric power. Hydroelectricity, in short, is produced when enormous amounts of water fall downward through a dam to turn a generator. With our current (and aging) infrastructure, the best bet for significant amounts of electricity generation lies within the massive, high flow rivers in the mountainous regions of our west coast. In fact, one lone river basin in the Northwest is responsible for generating 44 percent of all hydropower in the US, with the help of well over 150 dams, including the sixth largest one in the world. I’m talking about the Columbia River Basin, which spans 258,000 square miles from Idaho, through Montana, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.
Unfortunately, this river basin is not only incredibly important for generating electricity without any fossil fuels (except for all of the ones used to build all of them). Long before the rivers had been blocked off and redirected for human use, this river basin was pristine habitat for many iconic American species like: grizzly bears, wolves, bald eagles, beavers, and sea lions. One species in particular discovered that this region was perfect for breeding into flourishing populations, the Chinook salmon. Also known as the king salmon, the chinook is the largest salmon species in the Pacific. Every breeding season, millions of this anadromous fish would make a dangerous and lengthy journey from the oceans where they grew up in, to the Columbia River where they transform from a silvery-pink ocean dweller into brown and green expecting parents. This migration couldn’t go unnoticed by the other life around the basin, they are a keystone species afterall, being the basis of energy for the carnivores. The pinnipeds of the region: the Pacific harbor seal, the Stellar sea lion, and the California sea lion, always cash in on this perfect opportunity to fatten up before their own mating season. The orca whales tend to catch them on their way out, back into the ocean. Bears find it the easiest to catch them in their huge jaws as they are moving upstream towards their breeding grounds, and eagles scoop them up at their own discretion.
This feeding frenzy used to be no problem, it was just another part of nature’s great balancing act. Recently, however, the seals are going hungry and the orcas, which are part of the endangered Southern Residence population, have actually stopped reproducing as frequently due to the decline of salmon that they’ve depended on. The dams that line literally thousands of miles of rivers and tributaries are keeping the mature salmon from reaching their genetically ingrained breeding locations. Not even innovations like fish ladders are enough to make a difference when over half of all breeding spots are “permanently blocked” by dams, some taller than 500 feet. Not only are the dams providing physical barriers, but increasing temperatures which these very dams are helping to mitigate are creating chemical and physiological barriers to the migration. Water temperature, which heats up alongside air temperature as a positive feedback loop, is considered to be the “master factor” in salmon health, in the words of Xiao Zhang, a leading salmon biologist. Water temperature not only regulates breeding rates, but also food availability, disease resistance, stress levels, etc. The earlier snowmelt coming from the Rockies are significantly altering when the basin is flushed with a new source of freshwater, which no longer coincides with seasonal migrations of the salmon, making it that much more difficult for them to navigate upstream. King salmon are resilient fish, but the timing of their spawning season reflects historical adaptations, which are genetically instilled. Some of the more adaptive populations are already responding to climate related shifts through their genome. If not for the dams, their survival might be a little brighter.
Fundamentally, the only thing any species wants to do is to survive. The salmon want a future just like we want to future, but it seems like our future might be the downfall of theirs. Some ecologically minded people are trying to turn the salmon’s survival into a reality, but their efforts seem to be too little, too slowly. Current trends project regional populations will be gone and forgotten by the end of the century. Salmon populations can’t keep up because they are hardly being born, and the ones who are born now have a 99 percent chance of dying on their way out to sea. This is absolutely unsustainable especially when stacked with the desperation of hungry predators and unknown hydrological patterns. If the chinook salmon are going to survive, we need to get rid of at least some of these dams. But if we don’t have these dams, how will the region compensate for all of that beautiful, clean energy? Will they be substituted by solar farms? This seems unlikely and only shifts destruction; just one dam in the region, the Grand Coulee, powers the equivalent of 4.2 million houses per year. To remove this would require the likes of 13,000 acres of panels to replace it. Maybe adding over 1500 of the largest variety of wind turbine could help the Army Corps to kill birds on sight that might try to prey on juvenile salmon. Yeah, they actually are doing that. All we know is that fossil fuels cannot be the answer.
From the looks of it, the chinook doesn’t have much of a shot, but we might have the ability to turn that around. Just like all of our problems, we’ll have to coordinate, plan, and act. Maybe if the ecology of the river for which the hydroelectric dams depend on were actually considered, we could find a way to generate electricity while also allowing such an important species to thrive. Instead, at least for now, it seems like utility companies are more concerned with expanding their infrastructure and profits. I guess, it’ll remain the work for upset environmentalists protesting or something. Chinook salmon are deeply caught in this tug of war for our society to continue, and I’m afraid they, with the vast ecosystem they support, could be lost.
Sources
Keefer, Matthew L, et al. “Thermal Exposure of Adult Chinook Salmon and Steelhead: Diverse Behavioral Strategies in a Large and Warming River System.” PLoS One, vol. 13, no. 9, 21 Sept. 2018.
Provenza, Nick. “Army Corps to Begin Killing Birds at Columbia, Snake River Dams.” The Seattle Times, 28 Mar. 2014, http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2014/03/army-corps-to-begin-killing-birds/.
Rub, A. Michelle Wargo, et al. “Changes in Adult Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha) Survival within the Lower Columbia River amid Increasing Pinniped Abundance.” Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, vol. 76, no. 10, 2019, pp. 1862–1873., doi:10.1139/cjfas-2018-0290.
Zhang, Xiao, et al. “On the Variable Effects of Climate Change on Pacific Salmon.” Ecological Modelling, vol. 397, 2019, pp. 95–106., doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2019.02.002.
“Dams: Impacts on Salmon and Steelhead.” Dams: Impacts on Salmon and Steelhead | Northwest Power and Conservation Council, Northwest Power and Conservation Council, https://www.nwcouncil.org/reports/columbia-river-history/damsimpacts.
“Today in Energy.” The Columbia River Basin Provides More than 40% of Total U.S. Hydroelectric Generation - Today in Energy - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA Independent Statistics and Analysis, 27 June 2014, https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=16891.