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Dam Breaching Wrong Strategy by Kristina Bahr Spokesman-Review, June 18, 2009

It seems like during hard times, there's never enough money to go around. Already our neighbors are having trouble paying electricity bills, mortgages and health care.

As a mother of four and a board member of Inland Power and Light, I know firsthand the challenges many are facing, because I'm facing them, too. Prices are rising, and our family is feeling the pinch. It's hard to balance day-to-day expenses with saving for my children's education or my retirement - but before I can set money aside for the future, I have to stretch dollars to cover bills today.

Keeping electricity affordable is more important than ever, and the breaching of the dams on the Snake River will do nothing to achieve that goal and does not guarantee the recovery of salmon.

Currently, a plan called the biological opinion is under consideration to run the Snake and Columbia in a way that balances environmental problems and affordability. Part of that plan keeps the Snake River dams in place, because it recognizes that they provide clean, affordable power and, based on the best science, promises to rebuild salmon runs.

Please join me in supporting this plan. Our children's future is at stake.