Full spill ahead
Editor, The Times:
Thank you for weighing in on the importance of spill to help salmon in the Columbia Basin [“Spill water, move salmon,” Opinion, April 8.] I thought the harmful Bush administration policies were in the past, but apparently there are some in the Obama administration that have the same misguided management philosophy for these endangered fish.
Fishermen fought hard to get court-ordered spill measures in place in 2006 and every year since. And now, every year, we are seeing slightly higher returns of salmon from the ocean. Scientists say that spill is a big reason for that.
It makes no sense to stop these measures when they clearly help. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association needs to keep the measures in place until stakeholder negotiations could help create a solid Columbia River and Snake River salmon plan. Fishing communities have suffered too long from these types of managing-for-extinction policies. If the Obama administration rolls back spill, it will be no different from the Bush administration.
— Patrick Donovan, Seattle
Save the salmon
I applaud the editorial urging the Obama administration to adopt strong spill measures for dams along the Columbia and Snake rivers.
Until there is a real recovery plan for Columbia salmon, such as bypassing the dams on the lower Snake River, measures such as increased spill are crucial for ensuring salmon will not become extinct. I am disappointed that the administration would consider getting rid of a proven way to help boost salmon returns.
I hope federal agencies will heed your advice — and that of scientists — and commit to a full spill program for this year’s salmon migration.
But spill is only a short-term measure. We also need some type of settlement process put into place. I hope that Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell as well as other leaders in Washington will take the initiative on this and move us toward a real solution to the salmon crisis.
— Amy Lindberg, Vashon