A big influence on this decision may be the fact that Congress cut the funding for NW salmon recovery by nearly 2/3rds. The Feds and the State view "habitat restoration" as a cheap fix because most of the infrastructure already exists to tackle the habitat issues. They have an "if you build it, they will come" attitude, which translates into "we love to chase our tails, won't you join us."

They're kidding themselves if they think they can substantially increase the runs in the Columbia Basin without seriously tweeking most of the 14 coffee grinders now in existance. Habitat is definitely an issue here, but where are we going to get the most bang for our dilluted government dollar?