There is much to gain from restoring the lower Snake River, including growth for our communities.
Bringing our river back to life will bring a huge boost for tourism. Businesses in Lewiston-Clarkston will prosper by creating a great vacation or weekend-getaway experience. New business ventures will launch. Hotels, cafes and local shops will see growth in the number of patrons. Combine the valley’s great weather with the opportunities for outdoor recreation, and we’ve got an ideal vacation location with great fishing, hunting, and whitewater sports.
Photo credit OARS/Dylan Silver
Photo credit Josh Mills
With a free-flowing river, Lewiston-Clarkston would be well-positioned to take advantage of changes that have occurred in the past 50 years, including:
- Recreation-based travel has become mainstream, with outdoor recreation now accounting for 2.2% of total US GDP
- High-quality, flexible rafts and nimble kayaks have made white-water sports a mainstream commercial industry
- Recreational fishing has increased dramatically, surging 200% to 57.7 million participants in the US since 1960
Click here to see our Recreational Opportunities
Here are just some of the things that restoring the 144-mile-long, free-flowing Lower Snake River would mean for residents of Lewiston and Clarkston:
Photo credit Owen Deutsch Silver
- A wealth of opportunities for outdoor recreation
- A booming tourism industry resulting from Lewiston’s amazing list of future outdoor recreation options
- Restored sandy river beaches in our cities and nearby
- The return of wildlife
- Great hunting
- Abundant fish to catch
- Prosperity for our communities
- Healthy forests
- Restored archaeological and historical sites
- 14,000 acres of land currently buried under the reservoirs would re-emerge
- Prime spots for outdoor recreation would return
- All kinds of river activities would again make Lewiston an ideal place to grow up, raise a family and enjoy an active outdoor life.
Restoring the lower Snake River to its natural free-flowing state would “fix” many of the problems that Lewiston-Clarkston face, as illustrated by this poster: Quality of Life Comparisons for Lewiston/Clarkston Residents (PDF)