Letter: Removing Snake River dams might not help orcas
It was interesting reading the lady from Oregon’s letter to the editor, “Removing Snake River dams would help save orcas,” (TCH, Dec. 9).
She, and others, are concerned for the health of the orcas. She stated that “Granny” is estimated to be 100 years old. OK, so what? If she has been feeding on the salmon from the cool clear water coming from Idaho rivers, she has been hungry for a long time.
The dams in question have been in place for 60 years, depending on which one you are looking at. Those on the Columbia longer than that.
The point being, we have an accumulation of silt built up behind each of these dams. When and if they are breached, no one has been able to predict how long it will take, or even if ever, these rivers will return to their normal flows.
I have not found anyone yet who has those answers. So, are we just going along blindly and changing something as beneficial and productive as the dams in the hope we can make a couple of things better?
Where do we go when the dams are gone and Granny and her pod are still hungry?
Dale Morrison, Burbank
This story was originally published December 28, 2016 at 3:57 AM with the headline "Letter: Removing Snake River dams might not help orcas."