According to a federal report, one of the major solutions to protect endangered salmon runs is breaching the Snake River dams. The Snake River is the main tributary of the Columbia River, which acts as a habitat for various species of salmon that are facing the risk of extinction. With the historic drop in salmon returns in 2021, federal agencies have been assigned the responsibility of developing a plan to rescue the endangered Snake River salmon. In July 2022, the Biden Administration released a federal report suggesting that the Lower Snake River dams should be removed as a way to restore the populations of Snake River Salmon.

The report argues that breaching the Snake River dams would reduce stress for juvenile salmon, since the number of dams the fish must pass through as they move to the ocean would be reduced. This would also help young fish increase their speed downstream. According to scientists, restoration of the lower Snake River by getting rid of the dams is the best remedy for salvaging salmon. It is argued that the heating up of the river, as well as the pools behind the Lower Snake dams, is making the conditions unbearable for salmon. Kober suggests that getting rid of the dams would “create the refuge that salmon need in a warming world.”

However, if the dams have to be breached to salvage the salmon runs, which are on the verge of extinction, then the benefits offered by the four giant hydroelectric dams along the Snake River should be replaced. According to the New York Times, the dams are a source of clean energy, and removing them would increase the costs of energy in the neighborhood and raise greenhouse gas emissions from alternative power sources. Todd Myers, a member of the Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Council, says that the removal of the dams would be a "foolish and costly" act. He adds that the fall Chinook salmon runs, as well as the steelhead on the Snake River, are about to recover in Washington.

The question for debate, should dams on the Snake River be breached to save endangered salmon runs?