SEATTLE — Against the backdrop of rapidly escalating energy demand, H.R. 7066 would prohibit the use of federal funds to implement the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative and thereby derail much-needed upgrades to the Northwest’s energy infrastructure. The initiative to restore the Columbia Basin, proposed by four Columbia Basin Tribes (Nez Perce, Yakama, Umatilla, and Warm Springs) and the states of Oregon and Washington—and now backed by federal commitments—was announced last December. The plan totals more than $1 billion in federal funding to replace the energy, irrigation and transportation services currently supplied by four deteriorating dams on the lower Snake River.

“The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative charts a clear course for the Northwest to meet its escalating energy demands and will usher in the important opportunity to recover endangered salmon runs and make good on our obligations to Tribal Nations,” said Abby Tinsley, vice president for conservation policy at the National Wildlife Federation. “Congress should focus their efforts on passing a wildlife-friendly energy transition for the Northwest and reject efforts to undermine the region’s energy reliability and future prosperity and dam the Snake River salmon to extinction.”

The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative plan and the accompanying federal commitments announced last December will allow the Pacific Northwest to modernize energy services while restoring Columbia and Snake River fish and meeting climate goals.