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Snake River Dams Vital Part of US by Walt Meglasson Tri-City Herald, June 23, 2019

The recent letter regarding the removal of the dams
on the Lower Snake River got the juices flowing again.

The continuing dust-up over the future of the Snake River dams has gone on far too long. Unfortunately, we seem to be lecturing the converted.

Nearly 20 years ago, I attended a “Save our Dams” rally on a Columbia River bridge, and since then the vital benefits these dams provide have been discussed ad infinitum. The time has arrived to terminate the expensive and totally disasterous notion of breaching, now and forever, and focus on fish restoration solutions that actually work, many of which are being ignored by a hard core cadre of environmental and political fanatics through lies and distortions. If successful, they would no doubt go after the Columbia River dams and reservoirs of all kinds.

These self-anointed experts hypocritically use the power generated by the dams; the products grown, irrigated and shipped under the purview of the dams; and flood risk management and navigation/recreation in the shadow of the dams. It is clear we are not defending just our farming, irrigation, shipping and hydropower, but our culture, economic future and way of life.