I was deeply troubled to see lobby groups attempting to mislead us about the impact dams are having on our wild salmon and steelhead populations. Thank you Josh Mills and Mike Leahy for setting the record straight in your recent letter (“Clean power and abundant salmon: Both are possible,” Nov. 13).

The last thing we need is a well-funded advertising campaign attempting to convince us that salmon are rebounding in the Snake River, when the experts– our region’s state and tribal fishery managers – say just the opposite is true. Wild salmon returns to the Snake River basin are at 0.1 to 2% of their historic abundance, and many runs are near extinction. Each summer, scientists log higher, harmful temperatures and more toxic algae blooms in the Snake River’s dam-created reservoirs – trends that are lethal to salmon.

Solving the salmon crisis in the Columbia Basin will take hard work. It will require thoughtful policies, focused attention and our community’s shared understanding about what’s at stake – not false narratives meant to mislead and obfuscate. Let’s get to work addressing the real issues at hand, based on solid data and good science. Only then can we make progress in ensuring that salmon and steelhead – iconic fish at the heart of our region’s identity – survive into the future.

Amy G. Mazur
Moscow

Spokesman-Review: Impact of dams on the salmon (Nov 17)