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Fishing Community Speaks Out by Liz Hamilton The Oregonian, September 14, 2004

The Oregonian really missed an opportunity and let down the 20 percent of its readership who purchase fishing licenses by failing to report on the rally that the fishing community held on Sept. 8.

Hundreds of fishermen (and women) from Oregon and Washington brought their boats to Delta Park and drove a miles-long caravan to the offices of the Bonneville Power Administration and the fisheries service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Portland.

They were joined at Holladay Park by commercial and tribal fishermen over our outrage at a federal plan that gave a no-jeopardy conclusion to the dams, as if they are a part of the natural landscape.

Columbia River salmon are a vital component of an industry that employs more than 36,500 in mostly rural parts of the Northwest. More than 10,000 sportfishing jobs have been lost since the Snake River dams were put in place, gone the path of tens of thousands of wild salmon.

Salmon fishing is an unparalleled activity for connecting and bonding with friends and family. For the sportfishing community, salmon represent economic, cultural and environmental wealth.

To us it is a disgrace that the federal plan purposefully avoids recovery, and may not even avoid extinction. We are disappointed that the voice of the fisherman was so unimportant to The Oregonian as well.