Simpson plan a start

Thank you Shawn Vestal for the Op-Ed on July 11th (“Misleading claim about salmon twists statistics”) pointing out how statistics can, and have been, turned into lies that do a disservice to what he noted as “The salmon crisis is complicated …”.

Today’s complicated crisis is the result of the false promises and mistakes of pork barrel politics made over 70 years ago. It seems to me that our elected leaders are taking advantage of this complication to cover their willful negligence by ignoring the body of scientific, economic and cultural facts that should lead them to uncomplicating this issue. They were all elected to provide leadership and solve complicated problems.

On the one hand, Representatives McMorris Rodgers and Newhouse echo the manipulated data coming from the industries that support protecting the dams at all cost.

On the other hand Senators Murray and Cantwell and Governor Inslee timidly say that they value the salmon and the need to restore them, but then vaguely say that we need to “convene stakeholders and find consensus.” I have heard them say versions of this same insincerity for over 25 years.

Representative Simpson has boldly put forth a broad-based plan, the centerpiece being the breaching of the four lower Snake River dams. His plan is not perfect but it could serve as a template leading to a solution that corrects the mistake on the Snake.

My slim hope is that the liars and the gutless will put politics aside and honestly seek a solution before all hope for salmon recovery is gone. It will be their legacy that Snake River salmon are either saved or extinct.

Harvey Morrison

Spokane