ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, US — The potential breaching of four dams on the Lower Snake River, considered a vital link for US grain shippers in the Pacific Northwest, has been halted by the administration of President Donald Trump, an action commended by the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA).

In a presidential memorandum signed June 12, Trump directed federal agencies to withdraw from agreements made during the Biden administration that would have advanced the potential breaching of four Eastern Washington dams – Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite – as part of a salmon recovery plan.

“We applaud the Trump administration’s leadership in rescinding the 2023 directives and recognizing the fact that these dams are critical to transporting US grain and oilseeds to global markets,” said Mike Seyfert, president and chief executive officer of the NGFA. “One barge tow moves the equivalent of 140 rail cars or 538 trucks – infrastructure that cannot be easily replaced. Breaching the dams would have caused a ripple effect throughout the US agricultural value chain, and a significantly negative impact on US exports and the rural economy.”

The NGFA represents grain, feed, processing, exporting and other grain-related companies that operate more than 8,000 facilities handling grains and oilseeds across the United States. It has long maintained that the Lower Snake River dams are essential to the competitiveness of American agriculture. 

In addition to enabling navigation for more than 10% of US wheat exports, the dams provide affordable, renewable electricity and support irrigation for farmers on thousands of acres of productive farmland, the NGFA said.

The initiative to study breaching of the four Lower Snake River dams was implemented with a memorandum of understanding signed in December 2023 by the Biden administration, the states of Oregon and Washington, four of the largest Native American tribes in the Columbia Basin and conservation organizations.

The NGFA said the Trump administration’s action ensures that federal policy will continue to support balanced, science-based salmon recovery efforts without undermining the nation’s food and energy security and export competitiveness.