I’m one of those government workers… so be warmed that I may just be a secret environmentalist extremist agent. The Great Salmon Hoax by James Buchal was written by an east coast lawyer... and that's why it was loaded with psuedo-scientific conclusions with an bias toward dam proponents (i.e. his clients). Try Salmon without Rivers by Jim Lichatowich, a biologist from the NW. Or, use some common sense… Dams have an obvious negative impact, as does over harvest, declining habitat and poor water quality. Duh. Environmentalists often over state dam effects relative to other causes, but after all they are driven by emotion over science. Those dams are easy targets for them. At least they are trying to make a stand as we enter the final stages of extinction for the Snake River fish.

Anyone who has spent time on a river and has put an ounce of thought into these issues knows there's a combination of over fishing (Indian, commercial), screwed up habitat, sediment laden water quality in the winter and abnormal temperature increases in the summer and, yes, adult/juvenile passage issues in dammed rivers (ever been to the Elwa?).

The bummer is that we are at the mercy of NFMS (which is run by another east coast lawyer) to address all of the salmon issues. They are a messed up bunch, incapable of making a real decision even with 20 million dollars and five years time. So, it doesn’t look good from where I sit…