Benton PUD Perspective on the Fish Passage Center Analysis

On September 13, the Fish Passage Center (FPC) issued a preliminary analysis of in-river survival rates of Snake River fall Chinook from court-ordered spill at federal dams this summer.  The FPC work is very preliminary and has not been thoroughly analyzed or peer-reviewed.  The data behind the report has not been provided by the FPC. 

The FPC report is an incomplete look at the issue of spill and the impact it had on salmon survival through the hydrosystem this summer.  For example, the report only looks at survival in the Snake River, ignoring the Columbia River. It does not compare salmon survival through the spill process to survival of salmon transported by barge - which is the heart of the scientific debate.  It also only covers the first four weeks of the spill leaving out the last ten weeks. Survival in the late summer timeframe is typically far lower as a result of high temperatures and predation.  Using a selective, limited time period suggests a misuse of the data by the FPC.  

Unfortunately, the report’s results, incomplete as they are, have been provided to the press and media in the region and are being portrayed as evidence that the spill program is working. This approach does a grave disservice to the people who support and care about the protection of salmon, including Benton PUD, Franklin PUD and the Northwest RiverPartners members.  Summer spill and summer recovery efforts merit an approach that is scientifically rigorous and based on a complete set of data and facts – not what some interest groups want to hear.

Both Benton and Franklin PUD support restoration of the region’s salmon resources based on the best possible science and in ways that optimize the investment this region is making.  This preliminary, incomplete report by the Fish Passage Center does not promote good science or objective findings and should not be taken as credible evidence to support the summer spill program that cost ratepayers, including our customers, $70 million. 

Submitted to the Tri-City Herald by:
Jean Ryckman, Franklin PUD Manager
Jim Sanders, Benton PUD Manager