Sustainable Idaho is a collaboration between the Portneuf Resource Council and the ISU Sustainability Club.
On Today’s Episode I interview the Executive Director of Idaho Rivers United, Greg McReynolds. In this episode we discuss the purpose of Idaho Rivers United, how the loss of salmon are affecting people, the economic and recreational benefits that the rivers in Idaho provide and more.
With Idaho United Rivers being the state leader in conserving Idaho's rivers and organizing conservation efforts since 1990, what is the organization's history and the purpose of the organization?
The birth of the organization was as a whitewater organization, but over the last 34 years. Our mission has become so much more than whitewater.
We are really a free flowing river organization. That means native fish, wild rivers for rafters, clean rivers for anglers. It also means drinking water. We are 100 percent river focused, and we've really stayed true to that mission. We are focused on a few very tangible things and at the end of the day, we want to see clean wild rivers in Idaho, like our parents experienced.
We want to make sure that our next generations of Idahoans can experience that same thing.
It's nice how Idaho United Rivers is focusing on tangible goals instead of ones that are very far outreached and hard to obtain.
With Idaho United Rivers taking a comprehensive look at the dynamic forces that impact rivers and fish, including dams, mining, and municipal water use across the state, how do you tackle the many factors that play into these dynamic forces?
We really focus on the outcome. The outcome is we want these incredible rivers that we have to remain clean and free flowing, so that's where we start. And so we do look holistically at rivers, but we try to really focus on places where we can make a difference and things that we think are issues worth fighting on.
It makes sense to look at rivers holistically when it comes to the many dynamic forces that impact rivers and fish here in Idaho.
What is Idaho United Rivers currently doing to remove the four lower snake river dams?
Idaho Rivers United, like a lot of other organizations, we are part of a collaborative that is tribally led that is working to remove the dams.
So that's a few different things. That is working with the current administration on an agreement. Basically, there's been litigation on the dams, there's a stay in that litigation, and we are working to replace the services. That the dams currently provide. So the administration is working with the state of Washington and Oregon to map out what the transportation requirements would be after the dams come down, what the electricity requirements would be after the dams come down, how you replace the irrigation services.
So ensuring that there's a seamless transition and that no one's left behind is a big part of our work. So, you know, I think the people who want to see salmon come back, understand that we are going to have to remove the dams in a way that lifts all boats.
Part of that though, is understanding that when the dams were built, not all boats were lifted.
A lot of people did suffer from the loss of salmon, a lot of rural communities, a lot of guides, a lot of outfitters, and most especially tribes.
According to the treaty with the Nez Perce tribe that was signed In 1855 it says that the Native Americans have the right to fish for salmon. And the four lower snake rivers in opposition of this treaty
So I think for IRU, we're part of this collaborative where we want to help build a future that benefits all of Idaho, but we do have to acknowledge not everybody's whole right now. So we got some work to do, which is why we want to see the dams come down and the services replaced.
When Greg previously mentioned IRU he means Idaho Rivers United
There are definitely a lot of important factors that go into the removal of the dams. which makes it very hard.
On the Idaho Rivers United website, it says that you partner with multiple Native American tribes. Would you please tell us about that and the other organizations involved in these projects?
The number one partnership that Idaho Rivers United does is the Lower Snake Campaign, because there are so many stakeholders. We work with multiple tribes on that campaign. It is being led by the Nez Perce tribe. We're also working with the Shoshone Bannock. One of our core tenets at IRU is that we'll talk to anybody.
That means not just working with the people that we agree with. We will always pick up the phone and have any conversation about a river.
It's terrific to see multiple organizations and tribes coming together to tackle this large problem.
With these projects focusing on conserving the health of the rivers and the organisms that depend on these rivers in Idaho, how will your work benefit Idaho as a whole?
I think it's already benefiting Idaho. Outdoor recreation is neck and neck with agriculture in Idaho for the most important industry. I think the last Outdoor Industry Association report showed that outdoor recreation in Idaho is worth about 4 billion dollars. It's a lot of money, and it's a lot of jobs. For And it's also a ton of small businesses that are built on the back of free flowing rivers and public lands.
Hunting and fishing, it's lucrative. I mean, as much as I want to protect it because I want to hunt and I want to fish and I want to run whitewater, there's real value in it. And it is, it's a renewable industry. It is an industry that benefits Idaho without taking a lot. And I think that is important as we think about, frankly, in Idaho, that it's getting more popular.
And so finding ways to live in Idaho and enjoy the things that we want to enjoy while leaving them the way that we found them is going to be really important. So the benefits of conservation, and particularly river conservation in Idaho, they are spiritual, they are recreation based, but they're also part of our economy, an important part of our economy.
I think the other piece of that is, besides the threats that we've already talked about, there are other policy threats.
That's shocking to know that outdoor recreation in Idaho is such an important aspect to our economy. But it also makes sense because Idaho has so much outdoor recreation available.
With a lot of the rivers in Idaho interconnected to many large river systems that expand outside of Idaho, why are they so important to Idaho, as well as the areas that these rivers connect to?
We're upstream of everything. When you're at the mouth of the Columbia and you look All the way to the tip top.
And you see that tiny little trickle up there at the headwaters of the Lemhi, or that tiny little trickle at the headwaters of Big Creek, that's as far up river as you can go. And it, it's the cleanest, clearest, most pristine water anywhere. And what makes it even more special is that those salmon and steelhead that come out of the Pacific into the mouth of the Columbia, they swim all the way up to the very tip tops of those little places.
And the more of them that we can get back, if we can open that narrow spot, that challenge through the lower four, I think it'll make Idaho even more special. If we could bring abundant salmon steelhead back to those pristine places in Idaho.
With Idaho already being very unique and very special, bringing the salmon back will only make it even more special and more unique.
We hope you enjoyed today’s episode. Thank you to Greg McReynolds for discussing Idaho united rivers and what they are doing to restore salmon in Idaho. Hopefully Idaho united rivers and their collaboration with other organizations and tribes will restore the salmon runs here in Idaho.
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