April 24, 2018
Rep. Donald Edwin Young
District: AK01
Phone:(202) 225-5765
Fax:(202) 225-0425
Sen. Daniel Scott Sullivan
District: AKS02
Phone:(202) 224-3004
Fax:(202) 224-6501
Sen. Lisa Ann Murkowski
District: AKS01
Phone:(202) 224-6665
Fax:(202) 224-5301
SUBJECT: Opposing HR 3144
I am asking you to oppose HR 3144 & ensure that it does not become law. This bill will roll back critical salmon protections, waste public dollars, harm jobs & communities plus undermine an important court-ordered environmental review. There is an immediate need to start breaching this year,2018, and legislation is not asked for or needed; the NEED is to press the chief of engineers to take action now. The Corps long ago set up an EIS 2002 to cover this breaching on the lower Snake river. The Corps needs to be pushed to implement the EIS. It is pretty simple, make a phone call. All the labor and leg work has long been done on this issue.
BPA is already losing money so why should we let them continue with this to the point of extinction of these species & a terrific expense to the tax payers??. These dams need to be removed this year 2018! or all of this is pointless. Our country is moving to green energy to combat global warming and you want us to continue with this stupid nonsense and terrific waste of tax payer’s money??!! What are you thinking? Why would anyone in their right mind think this is ok???
What right do you have to simply overturn a court of law decision? What does that do to our democracy & our judicial system if you disregard the court’s decision? If passed, it would overturn two recent judicial decisions from the U.S. District Court in Portland (OR), undermine the ESA and NEPA, and strike a blow against endangered Southern Resident Orcas & sport, commercial & tribal fishing communities that rely upon healthy, abundant salmon populations. The tribes are seeing a huge increase in diabetes because in the past, have relied on salmon and steelhead for their nutritional needs. Now the absence is impacting their tribal health.
If passed It will prevent dam agencies from providing more spill (water releases over the dams) to better protect young endangered salmon as they migrate past federal dams & their reservoirs to the ocean. Spill is our most effective near-term action to aid wild salmon while we work on breaching these dams in 2018 to clear the way for the salmon to swim upstream. There does not need to be further studies and more waste of money. This issue has been studied too death & judges have ruled to breach and the Corps recommends it as well. The Corps needs to be compelled to implement the EIS 2002 this year in 2018.
In the long run this can impact Chinook salmon in Alaska. Some of Alaska king salmon catch is from the Snake river dams & at some point, may damage the AK population. I’m not sure that is something any of us wish to even think about especially those of you who wish to remain in office & the fisherman whose livelihood depends on them.
We do not need more studies PERIOD! This issue has been studied too death and is pointlessly wasting money. The Corps recommends breaching, the people want breaching, yet BPA wants to live in the past when we are past that age and into green energy. They refuse to face the reality of the situation because money means more to them than anything else – a very sick and sad scenario.
Many in the Northwest are frustrated with the region’s long history of wasting taxpayer money while putting the region’s culturally & economically important wild salmon and steelhead at the edge of extinction. Salmon & fishing advocates are ready to work with other stakeholders to remove these old dams to protect our endangered salmon & steelhead from extinction and invest in healthy, resilient rivers while meeting the needs of affected interests. HR 3144 moves the Northwest in the wrong direction: putting salmon and orca at risk of extinction, wasting billions of dollars, harming tribal and non-tribal communities. Please stop HR 3144! I look forward to hearing from you abo
ut this important matter.
Joyce D. Parks