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Commentaries and editorials

The Fishing Lobby Demands Removal
of Lower Snake River Dams

by Bill Colley
KLIX News Radio, September 15, 2021

It truly is Lefty's way or the highway. Always.

Graphic: Recent Downriver Grain Shipments on the Snake River (2000 - 2019) Anglers are a special interest. Just as deer hunters are a special interest and vegans are a special interest. America is filled with special interests. One of my favorite college professors passed away last month. During a history class some 40 years ago a fellow student was criticizing our founders and made the same point. Professor Baker glowered. “All governments are founded by special interests,” he replied. Some interests want to silence and replace others as witnessed by the modern ”woke”.

I cite anglers (and I'm told it's a more politically correct word than fishermen) because a publication dedicated to fishing is wading into a controversial subject. The removal of four dams on the lower Snake River. You can see what I'm talking about by clicking here. The piece reads like campaign literature from United States Representative Mike Simpson.

The writer maintains the electricity generated by the dams is a pittance of what is used in Seattle and makes a pitch for more solar energy.

I shared details on-air about the writer's arguments and from a story about how unreliable alternative energy can be. Albeit, solar and wind are apples to oranges but both still fall short of promises.

Furthermore, the piece gives the impression if you remove the dams, sea lions currently gobbling fish will lose their targeted approach, although. The writer calls it learned behavior. Perhaps sea lions are smart enough to then come up with a new approach to feeding. There's also no mention of foreign fishing fleets and drag nets.

A caller to my program shared indigenous tribes are allotted a percentage of returning salmon. He then claimed the tribes sell it to Anglos at roadside stands. My caller also noted when shipping of Idaho agricultural products is moved from barges to trucks, the liberals will then whine about the threats to climate from the increased trucking. It truly is Lefty's way or the highway. Always.


Bill Colley
The Fishing Lobby Demands Removal of Lower Snake River Dams
KLIX News Radio, September 15, 2021

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