A true conservative
I respectfully submit that we have a true conservative who is running for Idaho state representative.
Colton Bennett is passionate about protecting our Idaho way of life. Colton represents the Republican platform, while the other candidates talk, but don’t deliver.
If you want someone who loves our great country, will fight for Idaho’s energy and water, will work hard to protect every life from the moment of conception, then there is only one choice: Colton Bennett for Idaho House. Please vote May 21.
Ingar Blount
Lewiston
Not a dam problem
Recently published research into chinook salmon survival rates in West Coast rivers reveals a serious flaw in the way data has been interpreted for more than two decades.
This research, led by Dr. David Welch, has been published in the scientific journal, Fish and Fisheries. Welch has been a globally recognized leader in salmon research for more than 40 years. This research reveals chinook survival has fallen by an average of two-thirds in nearly every region along the West Coast in dammed and undammed rivers.
This data, collected over decades by government agencies, is supported by sound scientific analysis. It highlights the Pacific Ocean ecosystem, shared by all Pacific salmon, as the source of decline in chinook populations. Dams don’t appear to be a key limiting factor in salmon recovery.
Welch’s study reveals a major flaw in the methods employed to determine adult survival rates for Columbia Basin salmon. These methods rely on passive integrated transponders tags implanted in fish which only track salmon swimming past receivers.
Salmon caught in ocean or in-river fisheries aren’t counted by this monitoring system, completely ignoring harvest. Research has found harvest rates of Columbia River Basin Chinook to be as high as 75% of the total run. This results in erroneous information being produced by these methods.
Welch’s research also indicates dam passage doesn’t usually cause lower survival rates, known as delayed mortality, in salmon smolts.
Scientific conclusion indicates the decline in salmon in our rivers is serious but mostly not a dam problem.
Dick Sherwin
Lewiston
Kudos photographers
Kudos to the Lewiston Tribune’s photographers.
Your imaginative and unique photos are a treat for Tribune readers’ eyes. The shot of pelicans, by August Frank, which ran on the front page of the April 23 edition, especially knocked it out of the park.
Amy Peterson
Genesee
