Las Vegas Sun

November 28, 2009

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Letter: Salmon aid costs little compared with return

Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007 | 7:23 a.m.

Regarding the Las Vegas Sun's Sept. 21 story "Left high and dry, salmon makes powerful friends in Nevada":

It seems legislators think Western families care more about low-cost energy and holding onto a few dams than protecting our rivers for future generations. But thank you, Sen. Harry Reid, for taking a stand for Northwest salmon and communities. I suggest fellow decision-makers follow his lead.

We spend much of our time figuring out how to adapt nature to fit our needs. Maybe it's time for us to change. As humans, we sometimes forget that we can adapt to fit into our environment.

Idaho has the lowest power rates in the nation - mostly because of the Northwest's extensive hydropower system. Providing fish passage to the Hells Canyon dams would probably go unnoticed to most ratepayers.

Installing fish passage, as suggested by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department , would only cost about $5 million annually - that's about 50 cents a month for the average ratepayer. That cost is nothing if we can ensure that our children and grandchildren can watch salmon return to Idaho and Nevada rivers.

Katie Louvat, Reno

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