Save the Columbia Salmon.The challenge is enormous, the task even larger An excerpt ex·cerpt n. A passage or segment taken from a longer work, such as a literary or musical composition, a document, or a film. tr.v. ex·cerpt·ed, ex·cerpt·ing, ex·cerpts 1. from The Seattle Times editorial by Lance Dickie and Ross Anderson, June 8, 1997 So what are the next steps, or the first steps, toward a balance of economic and biological interests on the Columbia River Columbia River River, southwestern Canada and northwestern U.S. Rising in the Canadian Rockies, it flows through Washington state, entering the Pacific Ocean at Astoria, Ore.; it has a total length of 1,240 mi (2,000 km). ? This is our list: Quit talking about removing four Snake River Snake River River, northwestern U.S. It is the largest tributary of the Columbia River and one of the most important streams in the Pacific Northwest. It rises in the mountains of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and flows south and west through Idaho, turning north at dams. It is not going to happen. Those dams pack too much economic and political clout, and the benefits of dam removal are uncertain. In light of the recent court ruling that allows economic interests to sue over federal environmental rules, an extended debate over dam removal only distracts the region from more-promising options. Exhibit A for the folly of more prattle about dam removal are the Elwah River dams on the Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound and the Hood Canal. . Removing the abandoned dams would restore legendary runs of all five species, yet central interests, including Washington senator Slade Gorton, refuse to pay for demolition. The Snake River dams need $200 million worth of repair and rehabilitation rehabilitation: see physical therapy. . An Army Corps official said that only breakdown maintenance is being performed; no money is being spent on preventive maintenance The routine checking of hardware that is performed by a field engineer on a regularly scheduled basis. See remedial maintenance. preventive maintenance - (PM) To bring down a machine for inspection or test purposes. See provocative maintenance, scratch monkey. . . . . Dam removal does not mean blasting holes in the concrete, but breaching dams at their earthen earth·en adj. 1. Made of earth or clay: an earthen fortification; an earthen pot. 2. Earthly; worldly. berms. The goal is to lower the water level so it more closely resembles a fast, free, flowing river. Four dams on the lower Snake are prime candidates, and the first choice might be the Lower Granite Dam, the first obstruction encountered by the juvenile salmon. The Corps estimates modifications to the powerhouses on the four dams at $530 million to allow power generation at natural river levels. A study financed by the Corps said flatly the only way to get to natural river conditions is breaching the dams; drawing down Snake River reservoirs, whether permanently or seasonally, would be too expensive and ineffective. The Corps promises a decision by 1999. Can the fish wait that long? Take Snake River dam removal off the table and start instead with small steps and commitments that work toward bigger fights with larger purses. |
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