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Solutions Needed by Lisa Therrell High Country News, March 1, 2023

"The Body of the Snake" (January 2023) focused on the pros of dam removal and barely gave a nod to its impacts. Our family farmer transports 124 semi-truck loads of grain per year to the Lewiston port on the Snake, taking several hours for the 50-mile round-trip journey. Without barges, they'd have to truck crops to the Tri-Cities, a 300-mile round trip. Multiplied times many farmers, the net effect would be heavy truck traffic throughout the region, significant fossil fuel use, and an extreme hardship on family farmers.

Trains are at capacity, hauling more lucrative oil and coal to West Coast ports. Saving salmon is important, but so are viable solutions for those impacted by dam removal.