TACOMA, Wash. — Calls to breach four hydroelectric dams in Washington state have grown louder in recent months as the plight of critically endangered Northwest orcas has captured global attention.

Some argue the best way to get more salmon to the starving whales is to tear down four dams on the Lower Snake River, a tributary of the Columbia River, to help migrating fish.

But federal agencies and others have pushed back, saying the dams provide benefits to the region in low-cost hydropower, navigation and recreation.

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