Jan. 3 Letters: Our Readers’ Opinions

Habitat lost

Marvin Entel was absolutely correct in his Dec. 20 letter, “Wrong dam plan.” There are many dams impeding fish migration to their spawning grounds, but they are not on the lower Snake River.

Traditionally, salmon spawned high in the mountains of Nevada, in the headwaters of the Owyhee River. Steelhead spawned more than 1,450 miles from the ocean in Salmon Falls Creek, Nev. Fifty percent to 60% of the steelhead and 65% of Chinook that formerly spawned in the Clearwater River basin once spawned above Dworshak Dam. The Hells Canyon complex of dams effectively blocked 100% of the prime fall chinook spawning grounds above Hells Canyon.

Idaho has 140 hydroelectric plants, including 37 hydropower dams. Not one of these facilities have a fish ladder. Not one.

The four lower Snake River dams all have the most effective fish passage systems in the world. These dams do not block even one single mile of anadromous fish-spawning habitat. The time has come to stop blaming the wrong dams for declines in fish runs and put the onus directly on the real problem areas.

Did I mention there is not one single fish ladder on any Idaho dam?

Dick Sherwin

Lewiston

Idea for a new tax

The United States will soon be $34 trillion in debt.

You can play the blame game all day long. Politicians do nothing but add to it. We need to create a tax to pay down the debt.

Every day we drive by businesses that have drive-through services. Lines of cars are at each one waiting for their next burger, pizza or overpriced cup of coffee.

Estimates are, while at idle, the average vehicle burns a half-gallon of gas per hour. Don’t think for a second that we’re going to give up the convenience of the drive-up window, however.

I believe this is an opportunity to create a tax, a charge of 25 cents per vehicle at every drive-through window.

Really, if you can afford the luxury and waste the gas while drinking a $6 cup of coffee, what’s 25 cents?

I’ll let the bean counters take it from here.

Richard Mitchell

Lewiston