I want to thank Josh Mills and Mike Leahy for their thoughtful and accurate letter discussing the importance of keeping salmon recovery front and center while we scale up to meet our growing energy demands. (“Clean power and abundant salmon: Both are possible,” Nov. 13.)

So many of our public discussions these days are cast as an either-or – pitting one side (or issue) against another. That way of thinking is deeply harmful, keeping us from making real progress on our shared goals and values as a community. As the authors point out, we can advance both energy resiliency and salmon recovery if we’re honest, clear-eyed and thoughtful.

The Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement did just that, and the Trump administration’s decision to dismantle it is unfortunate. But we must continue to fight for the concepts embedded in that accord – a path forward that both protects and recovers our beloved wild salmon and steelhead while working to meet the growing energy demands of our region. I urge our regional leaders to continue to press for such an outcome.

Scott Putnam
Lewiston

Spokesman-Review: Keep fighting to protect our beloved salmon (Nov 15)