To save orcas, focus on efforts in Puget Sound, not Snake River

I don’t believe tearing down the four lower dams on the Snake River will help our local orca population.

What scientific proof do we have that this will help? Are there tagged Snake River salmon swimming in Puget Sound? Let’s face it our southern resident orcas are swimming through polluted waters of our own making. Puget Sound salmon stocks have diminished as population has increased. That’s a fact.

This is why Alaska and West Coast Canada have strong orca populations and we don’t.

With more cars on the road and unchecked development it is only a matter of time until the whales will starve out. Locally, the Snohomish County Council has given developers permission to cut down our trees and fill in our wetlands. From Picnic Point to Mill Creek and from Lynnwood to Marysville I have seen development after development take out forests and cover waterways.

Instead of criticizing Idaho for wanting to maintain the dams and all the benefits they provide. It would be better to criticize our elected officials and elect ones that will protect our local environment. By the way, I was all for tearing down the Elwha River dam.

Howard Slauson

Lynnwood