For more than two decades, Uncle Sam has dropped the ball on salmon recovery in the Columbia and Snake River basin in the Pacific Northwest. Attempts to save these endangered species have shred billions of federal dollars like fish through a turbine. All the while, the federal government has turned a blind eye to the most cost-effective solution to the problem: Dam Removal.

A new decision ignores the scientific consensus that removing four dams on the Lower Snake River in eastern Washington is the best option for salmon recovery. Northwest ratepayers and federal taxpayers have already spent more than $4.5 billion on salmon recovery efforts. Yet, several stocks of lower Snake River salmon and steelhead are already extinct and the remainder could be pushed into extinction as early as 2016.

Last May, a federal court decision exposed salmon recovery efforts for the monumental failure that they are. In response, a new $6 billion salmon recovery plan was released earlier this month. Sadly, this new plan repeats most of the same mistakes of the past and ultimately is more about saving dams than saving fish.

Demonstrating a complete lack of common sense, the government's new plan has a “throw money down an expensive rat hole” attitude. The plan blames Shamu and Sammy the Sea Lion for the demise of the salmon even though studies show that more than 85% of the fish are “harvested” by the four dams. Instead of even considering dam removal as an option, the plan focuses on costly infrastructure upgrades at the dams and controlling terns, sea lions, and orcas that rely on salmon in their diets.

Finally, the plan throws a Brink's truck full of money at barging salmon around the dams. Over the last decade, the cost of barging salmon around the dams has become more expensive but has had little positive effect. It involves siphoning juvenile fish out of the river, loading them onto overcrowded barges and trucks and shipping them hundreds of miles down river to give them a lift past the dams. Who says there is no such thing as a free ride?

Since billion dollar techno-fixes fail to save salmon from the jaws of extinction, removing the four dams on the Lower Snake river is really the only option. It's time to tell the administration to “ixnay” this overpriced recovery plan that doesn't do anything. We need to hold the administrations' feet to the fire and seriously consider dam removal as an option to restore salmon to avoid wasting billions more on salmon recovery failures.

Tribes, commercial and sport fishermen, outdoor enthusiasts, businesses, and conservationists have all vehemently opposed the new plan. Tens of thousands of citizens across the nation have also voiced their opposition. You can join them by taking action to let the President know dam removal must be included in the plan to restore the fish and stop the never-ending cycle of wasting taxpayer money on silly schemes.