BOISE, Idaho - Groups are urging Northwest leaders to act on U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson's infrastructure and Snake River dam proposal.

The plan would breach the four lower Snake River dams to help salmon, whose numbers have dwindled for years. It aims to restore what American Rivers calls in a report out this week, "the most endangered river in the country."

Julian Matthews, a Nez Perce tribal member and co-founder of the group Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment, said the dams are harming tribal treaty rights to fish for salmon in the region.

"We didn't give them up and say, 'Well yeah, but if there's no fish, then we won't have that right'," he said. "We said that we have that right, and want to make sure that right is enforced by the federal government and our elected officials."

The proposal by Simpson, R-Idaho, has received criticism from some conservation groups that say its pause on litigation in the region lasts too long. The agriculture industry also has pushed back, saying breaching the dams would harm barging and irrigation. In a joint statement, U.S. senators from Oregon and Washington said all the region's stakeholders need to be heard before moving forward on this plan.

Sammy Matsaw, co-founder of the Shoshone-Bannock organization River Newe, said he hopes this proposal can be a step toward breaching the dams. He said the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes have salmon-based cultures, with the fish as the basis of their knowledge systems and spiritual beliefs. The salmon's near-extinction is like a psychic wound for the region's indigenous people, Matsaw said, comparing the situation to western philosophy.

"When we lose our salmon, it's like losing Aristotle from your memory," he said, "and as time goes on, the less and less you're able to talk about Aristotle, the more and more your link to him as a philosopher and the underpinnings of your culture are gone forever."

Robb Krehbiel, Northwest representative for the group Defenders of Wildlife, pointed out that Simpson's proposal also includes plans to modernize the region's power grid, including through improved battery storage and energy efficiency.

"It would just be a total shame if our region and our political leaders missed the opportunity to advance these big priorities in the upcoming infrastructure bill," he said.

Some groups and tribes in the region are pushing for more negotiations on the proposal so it can be included in the Biden administration's infrastructure plan.

Today is Earth Day, and one initiative in southern Arizona is helping build public gardens providing beneficial habitat for pollinators, from Monarch butterflies to bees and bats.

Emily Bishton, founder and coordinator of the Arivaca Pollinator Pathway Project, said the human population depends on these animals and insects, as many of our foods and plant-based products require pollination. But human activity and climate change have put pollinators in jeopardy and Bishton wants to increase awareness of how crucial they are.

"The best chance you have for attracting and nurturing pollinators is with the species that they've co-evolved with," Bishton explained. "They will instinctively know that is food for them, or a place they can lay their eggs. They also are more likely to be able to put up with the way our climate is now and the way it is changing."

Bishton pointed out one focus of the project is to get Arizonans to plant more native species like milkweed, which is especially critical for Monarch butterflies. She would also like people to reconsider the use of pesticides since they do kill pests but also other beneficial insects. She suggested contacting a local county extension service or master-gardener program for alternative methods.

Madian Romero, technical assistant supervisor for the Caviglia-Arivaca Library, has been responsible for getting teenagers in the area to participate in the Arivaca Pollinator Pathway Project. They not only help build garden spaces around town but grow their knowledge behind the importance of pollinators, as well as community building.

"The teens, they've come up with ideas on how to fundraise for the projects," Romero emphasized. "Each business that agrees to have a garden, it can be free."

Romero added the project has also been a character-building exercise for the young people of Arivaca, and hopes it is an experience they will cherish.

The state Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University are looking for volunteers to help create a new Bumble Bee Atlas.

Bees are an important part of the ecosystem, and scientists are figuring out their habitats to help them thrive.

Iowa is home to at least 14 species of bumble bees that help pollinate native wildflowers and flowering crops in farm fields and backyard gardens.

Iowa State University University Professor of Sustainable Agriculture and plant pathologist Matt O'Neal said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently listed several bee species as endangered.

"And that includes the Rusty Patch bumble bee," said O'Neal, "20% of what it used to be, and that includes parts of Iowa. There is also evidence that other bumble species are in decline and so, this survey will give us a chance to see where those bees are and how abundant they are."

With that information, O'Neal said scientists can work to protect the bees' habitats and create Iowa's Bumble Bee Atlas.

It's part of a larger project to map the bees and foster bee development nationwide. Sign up online to volunteer.

The national project is part of a collaboration with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

Some 900 people have volunteered for the national atlas project, and counted more than 20,000 bumble bees - which O'Neal said face several major threats.

"Pesticide exposure, parasite and pathogens," said O'Neal, "and then the last 'P,' and probably the most important, is poor forage."

The researchers will work to alleviate those threats by knowing where the bees are.

Volunteers have discovered species thought to be gone from their states, contributed to new field guides, and improved scientists' understanding of bumble bee populations across the country.




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A coalition of conservation groups has sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for refusing to relist wolves under the Endangered Species Act.

Helena-based Alliance for the Wild Rockies is part of the suit. The Alliance sued to successfully overturn the wolf's delisting in 2012 but the move fell victim to congressional funding bill negotiations.

Mike Garrity, executive director of the alliance, said the wolves clearly qualify to be protected under the Act and hunting is driving down their numbers, which could cause problems for the animals.

"As their numbers decline, they are at greater risk for inbreeding," Garrity pointed out. "Once inbreeding sets in, the population is sunk."

Livestock and cattle owners argued wolves are a threat to their flocks and herds and want their numbers reduced. The suit was filed in federal District Court in Missoula.

Beyond keeping a robust population of wolves on Montana's lands and helping their species thrive, Garrity noted wolves can also help reduce the population of diseased animals.

"We're starting to have disease in deer, such as Chronic Wasting Disease," Garrity explained. "Predators like wolves are really good at focusing on the sick animals, so that's an excellent way to control Chronic Wasting Disease."

Garrity added wolf management policies in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, all of which allow aggressive hunting of the animals, fail to protect wolves and all native species for future generations, the primary mandate of the Endangered Species Act.