"riverman" wrote in message
...

"Tim J." wrote in message
...
JR wrote:
gary wrote:
I think the dams and transportation for the famers is in the long
run way more inportant than any fish.
Has anyone ever noticed that we need electricy?

I've noticed even with electricity it's possible to end up an
ill-educated boob.

Now THAT just depends on the voltage and how tightly they're strapped to
the chair.

Shocking treatment, I say.

--riverman
(who is always up for remedial education of a boob or two...)

It has the potential to be a current topic.

gary wrote:
I think the dams and transportation for the famers is in the long
run way more inportant than any fish.
Has anyone ever noticed that we need electricy?

Yes, I have noticed that we need electricity, but I have also noticed that
there are more important things in the world than cheap power, and that it
is important to read a newspaper once in a while, so that informed decisions
can be made. Have you considered the possibility that we can have farming,
electricity, *and* healthy salmon runs?

The dams on the lower Snake River are paralleled by a railway that can serve
the farmers needs just fine. It does cost more than barge transportation,
but it is still reasonably priced. As far as the power, the dams do generate
a modest amount of electricity, but there are lots of ways to generate
electricity, such as wind generation. If there is a shortage, it could be
made up elsewhere.

On the other hand, the most practical way for salmon and steelhead to
migrate is in a river without artificial impediments, and removing the four
dams would help a LOT in that regard. The Bush administration's plan to use
barges and/or freight cars will cost much more than the costs associated
with dam removal, and will not work nearly as well to restore the salmon
runs. It is a holding action at best.

Do you really believe that paying an extra 25 cents for a sack of potatoes
(and that's probably a gross overestimate) is too high a price for
protecting these fish?


--
Rusty Hook
Laramie, Wyoming

Rusty Hook wrote:
gary wrote:

I think the dams and transportation for the famers is in the long
run way more inportant than any fish.
Has anyone ever noticed that we need electricy?


Yes, I have noticed that we need electricity, but I have also noticed that
there are more important things in the world than cheap power, and that it
is important to read a newspaper once in a while, so that informed decisions
can be made. Have you considered the possibility that we can have farming,
electricity, *and* healthy salmon runs?

The four dams on the Lower Snake River are "run of the river" dams. That
means they only generate electricity during periods of high flow, when
the electricity supply is already at a maximum. The only remotely
plausible economic benefit of these dams is to supply subsidized
transportation for agricultural and aluminum interests.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to a press conference in Boise. Idaho Rivers
United, a conservation organization dedicated to protecting Idaho's fish
and rivers, is releasing an economic study that estimates
(conservatively) that fully restored salmon and steelhead runs would
generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity due to
sport fishing alone. I'll be representing the City of Stanley's
interest. (We support the study.)

This study is important, I suppose, if you have to convince influential
people who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. My
major concern, and I believe the concern of the great majority of people
living in the Sawtooth and Stanley Basins, is that the heritage of the
region is being sacrificed to subsidize otherwise unprofitable
downstream interests. That makes us angry.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.