Dams appear safe for now

Dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers provide an appropriate balance between the economic needs of Eastern Washington and fish protections.

While we already knew that here in Eastern Washington, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers came to that conclusion, too, after completing yet another environmental study this spring. The results of that new study were released last Friday, and they support keeping things essentially the way they are on our rivers.

The dams will stay, for now. Our power generation, flood control, irrigation and commerce will be protected, for now. And there will remain some fl...