Sweaney letter: Dams, fishing

I have two things to say: First, in Sunday, Aug. 20 Statesman, the Statesman’s environmental and public lands “expert” Rocky Barker gets his backside handed to him by Terry Flores concerning the clamoring for the removal of the lower Snake River dams. I agree with Flores when she calls Barker’s aim “an incredibly simplistic argument” favoring the removal of said dams. Flores uses simple logic that the occasional surplus of power of the four Snake dams “isn’t an argument for removing them. It’s a reason to preserve them.” Flores then proceeds to lay out facts to support her stance on keeping the dams. These are facts, not wishful supposition that Barker is known for. Thank you, Terry Flores, for bringing clarity and common sense to this debate.

My second thing to say is that I commend the Statesman for having on their writing staff Jordan Rodriguez, the Idaho Outdoors Fish Rap columnist. Jordan is a person that the common Idaho fisherman can relate to. ... One can determine in his wonderful fishing venture stories that he has a passion for fishing that is contagious and very engaging.

This story was originally published September 7, 2017 at 9:54 PM with the headline "Sweaney letter: Dams, fishing."