Dam removal politics and unlikely alliances in the lower Snake River Basin

Abstract

Dams, once considered catalysts for economic development in the Western US, are now being targeted for removal due to their adverse ecological and social outcomes. However, dam removal often remains controversial. In the Pacific Northwest, four dams on the Lower Snake River have long been criticized for their negative impacts on salmon. In 2021, the Columbia Basin Initiative was proposed, seeking to dismantle the dams in order to simultaneously improve salmon health, redesign Idaho’s energy landscape, change transportation pathways, and protect other dams. Response to the initiative has been polarized. In this paper, we build upon political ecology and ‘unlikely alliance’ scholarship by examining the reactions to and points of tension around the initiative. We specifically focus on the viewpoints of key stakeholders who have shifted from their historically rooted alliances and views. We found that being in favour of dam removal in general was not necessarily enough to cause someone to support the Columbia Basin Initiative (and vice versa). In particular, stakeholders were split on views around legal provisions in the initiative that would limit the future utility of current environmental law. We contribute to political ecology and unlikely alliance scholarship by demonstrating that dam removal is a complex issue that can bring actors together in unanticipated ways.

Keywords

• water governance
• collaborative governance
• unlikely alliances
• salmon
• dam removal
• snake river
• pacific northwest
• usa