2012 conventions 2012 election 2013 session arts arts and culture author ballot measures basketball bomb books boy scouts budget bullying business charlie hales children clackamas climate change coal college courts crime culture culture club democrats drugs economy education environment family film fluoride food gay rights guns handguns health health care health insurance high school history housing immigration internet kitzhaber law legislature lgbt literary arts living marijuana marriage media medicine mental health military minor parties mohamed mohamud movies music native americans news newspaper obama olympics oregon our town parenting pers photography police politcs politics port portland portland business journal president prevention public safety religion republicans rnc romney rural salem sam adams sandy hook schools science shooting sports suicide supreme court taxes technology television terrorism theater third parties transportation union university of oregon washington wildfire women

Of course dams make a difference for salmon. To take one study and run to the conclusion that they don't, is completely irresponsible. For decades, scientists and hundreds of studies have pointed to dams on the Columbia-Snake River as the major source of salmon mortality ? killing upwards of 90 percent of juvenile salmon and steelhead. Nothing in the Welch study concludes otherwise.

What the study does show us is that the Fraser and Columbia Rivers are two completely distinct rivers that are both very much in trouble. Instead of wasting billions of taxpayer and ratepayer money on technical fixes like barging and trucking fish around dams and funding studies that search for a scenario that will let dams off the hook, I think it's time we accept the scientific consensus that some outdated dams ? like the four lower Snake River dams ? should be removed to recover salmon and restore a river. It's time to study how we remove these dams, restore salmon and make sure all affected communities make it out whole.

posted 4 years, 6 months ago
view in context