Damnation DamNation

Havre, Montana

September 18, 2024

I don’t know where I come out on this issue. Did Reclamation and the Corps of Engineers build unnecessary dams? I believe the answer is yes — they were in the dam building business and they never met one they didn’t want to build.

But we also benefit greatly from the clean electricity from hydropower plants. Do those plants kill fish? Yes they do. It’s a trade off.

The salmon story is a compelling one. We are all moved by the incredible effort they make to swim hundreds of miles against the flow to spawn. I would like to know what was thought at the time the dams that block their migration were approved. Was it “damn the salmon”?

I suspect those dams would not be built today. That tells us something.

The people protesting the dams don’t present an alternative to how to replace the lost generating capacity. It seems to be all about the salmon.

I stopped watching when they were clubbing the salmon. That’s going overboard to prove their point. Most people will find that scene disturbing. But the truth is that much of the animal protein we consume comes from a process most of us would find upsetting.

Babble, babble. I’m glad the pastor in Chinook told me about this film.