McMorris Rodgers, Newhouse request GAO report on declining salmon stocks

U.S. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Dan Newhouse  (R-WA) recently requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) review federal efforts to recover declining salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest’s Puget Sound off the coast of their home state.

Numerous federal agencies have spent millions of dollars to institute programs to restore Puget Sound salmon, yet their numbers continue to decline, the members wrote in an Aug. 11 letter sent to U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro.

“Of particular concern is that municipal wastewater treatment facilities in Puget Sound continue to exceed standards for water quality discharges,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter, which was also signed by U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-OR).

The members also requested that the GAO report identify the contributing factors to the declining salmon stocks, which they said serve as the primary food source for the Southern Resident Killer Whale.

They also asked Dodaro to answer several questions in its report to Congress, including what key programs and other efforts exist to restore Puget Sound salmon and what funding they receive, as well as the federal and state actions being taken related to Puget Sound water quality, among others.

Rep. McMorris Rodgers also recently visited the Lower Granite Dam on the Lower Snake River and received an update from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the dam’s hydroelectric output, improvements being made to tag and track fish passage, and ongoing efforts to improve Chinook returns, according to her staff. 

“Data shows that salmon runs on the Lower Snake River closely mirror the runs of rivers across the basin. The dams are neither the problem nor the solution. Dams and salmon can — and do — co-exist,” Rep. McMorris Rodgers said. “I was glad to have an opportunity to see first-hand the work the Army Corps is doing to maximize the power and navigation benefits of the dam while prioritizing fish passage.”