Dam Tours Inform and Educate Commodity Groups, Legislators and More

During the August recess, many federal legislators have had the opportunity to find out more about the Columbia-Snake River dam system through tours with the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association.

Executive Director Kristin Meira said they’ve done this for a while.

“There’s just nothing like seeing it first hand and August is, of course, a wonderful time here in the Pacific Northwest when the weather is usually cooperating. It’s a beautiful time to get out there and to see these projects.”

They also get to show to decision makers how critical the dams are to grain movement and the successes they’ve had in salmon passage.

Meira said right now a lot of those critical infrastructure pieces are living off the sweat and money of our grandparents.

“We need our members of Congress to know about our projects, able to see them and then take that knowledge back to D.C. with them so that when those very dear infrastructure pots are being divvied up, that our representatives are able to speak about the value of our projects and what they mean, not just to the Northwest but to the competitiveness of our nation.”

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