I cheered when I read Buzz Ramsey’s piece in The Columbian, for he tells it like it is: The energy from the lower Snake River dams comes at an unacceptably high cost if it’s devastating the salmon runs and the businesses that rely on them, like mine (“Snake River dams too costly,” The Columbian, Aug. 23). These dams have had substantial impacts on endangered salmon and steelhead, and the Army Corps’ failure to take any meaningful steps to solve the dam problem has only furthered the risk of extinction.
We had a valuable resource, we had a chance to save it, and as the salmon swim toward extinction, we did nothing. How will we explain this to the next generation?
If we are going to save the wild fish of the Columbia River, we can’t wait another 20 years for federal agencies to do the right thing. It’s time to step out of the courtroom and tell Congress to step in.
