FAR MORE SALMON AND STEELHEAD ARE IN THE COLUMBIA AND SNAKE RIVERS SINCE DAMS WENT INTO OPERATION

VIDEO: Dams and fish coexist in the Pacific Northwest.

According to the University of Washington’s Columbia River Data Access in Real Time (DART) website, tens of thousands–often hundreds of thousands–more salmon and steelhead return to our rivers than when the first federal dam was constructed in the 1930s. In 2024, a record 755,000+ adult sockeye passed Bonneville Dam–a record in the 86 years that dam has provided affordable, reliable, carbon-free hydropower and river transportation for the people of our region. More than 1.7 million salmon and steelhead have returned to the Columbia River system so far in 2024 — 370% more than when the first federal dam went into operation in 1938. It’s recognized that dams do have an impact and that there is always more work to do, but the billions invested through public power rates to mitigate for those impacts are making a real difference for salmon recovery.