Guest Editorial By Dr. Karl Spees – Student of Natural History and History
“Starting in 2011, the National Park Service removed two obsolete dams from the Elwha River in Olympic National Park, Washington. It was the world’s largest dam-removal project.”
The excuse was restoration of the ‘fish’. The unstated agenda was the ‘Rewilding’ of the Olympic Peninsula and ‘Saving the Planet’. This is also part of the Dogma of UN Agenda 21. Few know that the Olympic National Park has been declared a UN Biosphere. This is all ideology and power politics. Cover-up of the negative consequences has been systematic, hidden from the public by the local ‘propaganda wing’ of the Democrat Party.
Western Civilization is the greatest blessing the human race has ever known. Beneficial use of the earth’s crust by mankind is not all bad.
Negative Consequences of removing the Elwha Dams are many and varied. Removing other hydroelectric dams would have their own unique negative consequences. Building more hydroelectric dams on the Olympic Peninsula would be a wise utilization of the abundant natural resource of falling, flowing, fresh water, capturing the energy from the sun.
1. Loss of the Port Angeles, WA stable water supply.
2. Loss of clean renewable hydroelectric power.
3. Increased electricity rates and increased burning of fossil fuel to compensate for loss of the dams hydropower.
4. Loss of open water habitat and the breeding Trumpeter Swan colony as well as many other open water animal species.
5. Destabilization of the Hwy 101 bridge.
6. Loss of recreational opportunities.
7. Destruction of the Elwha Valley Road once the gateway of the ONP. This has seriously limited “[to] preserve for the benefit, use and enjoyment of the people,…” FDR
8. Destruction of the CCC Altair Campground and loss of a great recreation opportunity. (CCC = Civilian Conservation Corps) This was a historical treasure.
9. Loss of the Elwha Chinook. A robust successful Elwha Chinook hatchery thrived for many decades when the dams were in. (Thank you Earnest Brannon.) Politics prevented creating practical fish ladders to circumvent the dam.
10. The disclosed costs of dam-removal is 1/3 Billion Dollars. The undisclosed costs of this monumental disaster most certainly exceed a Billion.
With the Boldt Decision of 1974 (Social Engineering and Judge Shopping at its finest) the Tribal Nylon Nets went into every salmon bearing waterway in the State. The invaluable limited salmon brood-stock were harvested and killed. The number of salmon returning to their native waters declined in a linear fashion until 1993 when for all practical purposes the unique wild salmon stocks of Washington State were EXTINCT.
Removing the Snake River Dam might not be such a good idea!
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