This is an inadequate proposal. It does not demonstrate that other entities aren't already investigating the sedimentation question or why this type of investigation wouldn't be a standard part of the US Army Corps of Engineers' planning for dam removal should that become a realistic possibility. No explanation or itemization of the $10k budget is provided.

The background section duplicates much of the information presented in proposal 20073744. It discusses different perspectives on the problem of Snake River juvenile salmon mortality and the question of improving survival. It provides extensive excerpts from the Corps' report "Lower Snake River Juvenile Salmon Migration Feasibility" to demonstrate that although dam breaching is identified by the Corps as a less preferable alternative to major system improvement, it may become a more realistic alternative if adaptive migration efforts are not successful. A detailed discussion of sedimentation problems is presented for various dams and reservoirs.

The rationale for the proposed work is based in citations of Court findings and the 2000 BiOp RPAs 147 and 148 describing the Corps' responsibilities for developing project management plans and engineering and design work. Also included are extensive excerpts from the Lower Snake and Salmon Subbasin Plans, including the vision and strategies designed to achieve objectives related to terrestrial species and habitats. These include reference to the Snake River dams but don't appear to have direct relevance to the work proposed here.

A single objective is to provide information about reservoir sediment deposition after removal of Lower Snake River dams. Methods are inadequately described. No detail is provided. The proposal does not demonstrate why the approach described would be the appropriate one.