Salmon Recovery in the Pacific Northwest: A Summary of Agricultural and other Economic Effects

Measures that will be taken in the Pacific Northwest to recover three Snake River wild salmon runs protected under the Endangered Species Act--and to improve the Columbia River Basin salmon fishery as a whole--will result in various benefits and costs to the Northwest economy. This report, which describes the principal findings of a larger USDA study, analyzes the effect of Snake River management alternatives on agricultural production, profit, and resource use in the Northwest. Measures examined include reservoir drawdown along the Lower Snake River and irrigation water supply reductions in the Upper Snake River Basin. For the Northwest region, adjustments in agricultural crop production cause producer profit to decrease by less than $10 million per year (less than 1 percent in baseline profit) under five of the seven scenarios. Two scenarios would reduce profit $30-$35 million per year (2-3 percent of baseline). This report also examines secondary impacts on regional income and employment that result from the adjustments in agricultural production. Agricultural employment could decrease by 50-2,600 jobs, depending on the scenario, while total employment could decrease by 600-5,500 jobs. Finally, this report discusses selected economic benefits of salmon recovery, including improvements in commercial and sportfishing.