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Not to Blame by David Cannamela Lewiston Tribune, December 5, 2018

Conservation groups should be thanked not criticized. They are doing what the feds and the state have failed to do -- fight to restore wild salmon and steelhead. Five times the feds have been told that their plans to restore wild salmon are inadequate, specifically because they didn't include actions to restore the lower Snake River to a free-flowing condition, i.e. remove the earthen portions of the four lower Snake River dams.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game hasn't mentioned the "natural river option" since Phil Batt was elected governor, and Gov. C. L. "Butch" Otter took the "B word" out of their vocabulary when he signed the Bonneville Power Administration accords.

Conservation groups and people who rely on salmon and steelhead for their livelihoods have worked together tirelessly to move politicians to broker the deal that will restore the fish and the ecosystem while meeting energy and transportation (Port of Lewiston) needs. But Idaho politicians (and Fish and Game) have steadfastly turned their backs on their river community constituencies by not working toward the scientifically proven solution -- dam removal.

This is despite the fact that dam removal and river restoration represent a net gain to Idaho and the Pacific Northwest. There is a path forward, but Idahoans must force their leaders to take it.

Related Pages:
Conservation Groups did Idaho a Favor by Ending Steelhead Season by Josh Babcock, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, 11/16/18