[q13fox.com] Dozens of scientists are urging lawmakers to breach four dams along Eastern Washington’s Snake River, declaring salmon are at risk of going extinct if they don’t.
In a letter signed by 55 scientists, representatives from Washington, Oregon and Idaho declared that hot water is harming salmon and steelhead in the Columbia-Snake River Basin. They say the reservoirs behind the eight dams in the system are a big part of the problem.
When water temperatures rise above 68 degrees Fahrenheit, salmon die. In late summer and early fall, these scientists say the dams push temperatures more than 6 degrees higher on average, reaching dangerous thresholds.