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<br />) <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />you lose something basic, something that all the museums and mitigation projects in the world <br />can never repair. <br /> <br />The national debate over the Snake River dams is under way. All parties, including the states and <br />the Indian tribes, are turning to the scientists for an objective look at the alternatives. And the <br />fisheries biologists are moving toward a consensus assessment - marginal mitigation projects are <br />not enough. We probably cannot have salmon runs up into the Rocky Mountains and maintain <br />four dams on the lower Snake River. We have reached the point where the arteries are so clogged <br />that surgery to reduce the blockage may be the only hope, and it will finally be up to the people <br />of the Northwest, their Governors and other elected representatives to decide. <br /> <br />Several months ago I participated in a dam busting event in Califomia, the removal ofMcPherrin <br />Dam on Butte Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River. A farmer who had helped construct the <br />dam in the 1950s told me he was sorry to see the darn go, but that the new substitute water <br />delivery system would probably work, although he wasn't entirely convinced. And then he got to <br />the point. "Are you going to try to take down all the darns?" I told him not to worry, that we had <br />so far taken down only about a dozen structures, all with community support, and that, by my <br />reckoning, meant that we had 74,988 more to go. Those dams are still blocking 600,000 miles of <br />what was once free flowing rivers. That's about seventeen percent of all river mileage in the <br />nation. <br /> <br />No, we're not taking aim at all dams. But we should strike a balance between the needs of the <br />river and the demands of river users. Where the balance should be is something I can't predict. <br />We have no comprehensive inventory of the darns in this country, much less knowledge of the <br />benefits and environmental costs associated with each. In all probability the process will <br />continue on a dam by dam basis, with states and community stakeholders making most decisions. <br />But there can be no doubt that we have a long way to go toward a better balance. <br />