Cherry-picking the data
I finally managed to grind through the vast array of numbers, calculations, procedures, and conclusions presented by Marvin Duggar in his Dec. 15 column (Lewiston Tribune Opinion). Using cherry-picked and outdated data, Mr. Duggar concluded that by releasing water to assist outgoing smolts over the dams, we are actually killing the fish, not helping them. Current science disputes Mr. Duggar’s conclusion.
In his last paragraph, he implies that dams are not harmful to anadromous fish. He states “More than 755,000 sockeye returning in 2024 across nine dams and reservoirs shows ... .” There are a few problems with Mr. Duggar’s closing statement.
First, 755,000 sockeye did return from the ocean but Mr. Duggar forgot to mention that number was taken at Bonneville Dam, the first dam on the Columbia River, not the ninth.
Second, the vast majority of those fish (99.3%) are Columbia River fish, not Snake River fish. Of the 755,000 sockeye counted at Bonneville, only 2,947 made it past Lower Granite Dam on their way to Stanley Basin.
Third, it is great that the Columbia River sockeye run was huge, but don’t use that run to further the inaccurate arguments that the lower Snake River dams and reservoirs do not harm anadromous fish.
John Hull
Lewiston
