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Tough Dam Choices Needed by Jeff Holmes Spokesman Review, May 18, 2007

I applaud the Spokesman for taking a more realistic viewpoint regarding the role of the four lower Snake River dams and salmon recovery in general. Gathering independent data to evaluate restoration efforts is the best way to cut through the rhetoric of dam-removal proponents and opponents.

The federal government has failed miserably to recover salmon so far, denying science and on-the-ground evidence while dumping billions of taxpayers' dollars into absurd "solutions" that have done little more than to slow steadily diminishing returns of fish.

If power companies and the other heavily subsidized industries that the current and previous administrations have supported really want to recover fish, then why do they ignore the compelling science that already exists? Why are they unwilling to engage in serious discussions about doing what's best for fish? And why do they scare us with rate hikes while they, all the while, raise our rates anyway?

As a ratepayer, a die-hard salmon and steelhead angler and someone who believes civic action should be based on what makes sense for most, I agree that it's time to independently commission the evidence and make the tough decisions, even if that means breaching the four lower Snake River dams.