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Salmon Recovery: The Reckoning by Leslie Ball The Oregonian, February 20, 2011

For a quarter century, tribes have invested countless hours and numerous resources in rebuilding salmon populations. Paul VanDevelder's opinion piece on the Columbia River biological opinion contains many misrepresentations that insult those doing the work ("The reckoning," Feb. 13). Billions of dollars are not "flushed out to sea through failed remedies"; they are entrusted to us to preserve our birthright: healthy salmon.

More salmon are returning to the Columbia and Snake rivers than we have seen in years. Putting fish back in the river and protecting their habitat has turned a listed fall chinook run into a Snake River success story. These are the results that matter.

The tribes and our partners are turning the region's investment into spawning adults in the tributaries. Without these efforts, Columbia River salmon would be a page in the natural history books. Lucky for the Pacific Northwest, extinction is not an option the tribes are willing to endure.