Follow the money
In a letter published on Jan. 28 [“Environmental issues: Salmon runs,” Northwest Voices], Terry Flores, executive director of Northwest RiverPartners, Portland, claims that the premise in “Getting past the dams” is wrong. The premise of the original editorial is that the court-ordered spill program on the middle and upper Columbia and Snake River dams has a measurable impact on salmon survival. In her letter, Flores distorts the opinion piece.
What made me respond is the source of this letter. In the case of Northwest RiverPartners, you need to follow the money. This organization’s board members work for the following groups: Avista Utilities, McMinnville Water and Light, Industrial Customers of Northwest Utilities, Inland Power, PNGC Power and Flathead Electric Cooperative [among others].
These are the “RiverPartners.” They are mostly utility companies who continue to stonewall scientific evidence that the dams on the middle and upper Columbia and Snake rivers have a large impact on salmon survival. Fish scientists and courts battles have consistently held that this impact is quite real.
It’s OK to believe that energy generation and utility company profits are more important than salmon survival. It’s not OK to distort the science that clearly shows we have to make choices between these competing factors. Personally, I’ll vote for the salmon.
— Ed Morrison, North Bend