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Divisive Danielson by Paul Hopfenbeck Idaho Statesman, November 30, 2006

Judi Danielson, one of Idaho's representatives on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, should try climbing a fish ladder instead of the political ladder. Judi's recent opinion piece, published Nov. 9, was 90 percent fiction.

Judi is right; the fish have survived these last 10 years. All three sockeye salmon made it back to Redfish Lake this year. All wild fish numbers have steadily declined since the highs of 2002. Judi's claims of healthy fish runs are hallucinatory and irresponsible and reflect the current science as accurately as her remarks about "straying," and "silt will sterilize the river."

Her projections for power replacement, if the dams are removed, are grossly inaccurate. Does she just make this stuff up?

Judi's final insult to the people of Idaho and our wild fish: trivializing the impact of losing "only four" of the 13 EPA-listed species in the Columbia River Basin. Those "four" species just happen to be our entire Idaho salmon and steelhead population. It's becoming obvious that Judi just wants the fish to go away. Either Gov. Jim Risch or soon-to-be Gov. Butch Otter needs to stop this blatant political polarization of Idaho's fish problems and replace the divisive Danielson with a real problem-solver.

Related Sites:
Adult Salmon Return Comparison - compares current year to last year and the ten year average.
Adult Salmon Passage at Lower Granite Dam Yearly Adult Counts 1975 - Present