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Salmon Breeding by Jeff Ford, Boise Idaho Statesman, Letter to the Editor - September 7(?), 2000

A lifelong resident of Idaho recently witnessed the spawning activity of wild Chinook salmon on the Secesh River. He professed to be in total awe at what he was seeing as a female prepared a nest in a redd while two large males jockeyed for position to fertilize the eggs released by the hen salmon.

In five decades of living in Idaho, this man was seeing for the first time the breeding activitiy of wild salmon. One can excuse the total ignorance of this man as to what is dewperately needed for the survival of wild salmon in Idaho. Before you make excuses for this fellow, remember that he served in the Idaho State Legislature for a number of years, was elected to the United States House of Representatives and now serves as one of the two uniformed sentators from Idaho.

Sen. Mike Crapo, on this photo-op trip, has been adamant in opposing the breaching of the four dams on the lower Snake River. So have the other three members of the other three members of Idaho's congressional delegation, plust the alltime photo-op champion of Idaho politics, Gov. Dirk Kempthorne.

Is it any wonder that the end of wild salmon is inevitable in Idaho?