Dear President Bush:

The Snake and Columbia rivers are a national treasure, and the salmon of these rivers have fed Native Americans for thousands of years. When Lewis and Clark traveled to the Pacific Northwest, wild salmon numbered in the tens of millions. But today, the Snake River is one of America's most endangered rivers, and wild salmon are on the brink of extinction.

So far, your administration has failed to implement existing salmon restoration measures while simultaneously disabling fundamental laws and treaties. A federal court judge recently ordered your agencies to rewrite the Federal Salmon Plan, finding your current plan insufficient and illegal. Meanwhile, your administration's operation of the four dams on the lower Snake River caused violations of Clean Water Act standards for 63 consecutive days this summer, rendering the river lethal for salmon.

Billions of dollars have been squandered on futile efforts such as trucking young salmon around the dams. With the infrastructure and enforcement of their protection deteriorating, the salmon are in trouble.

I call on you to include removal of the four lower Snake River dams as a mandatory recovery action in your new Federal Salmon Plan. Please include my letter in the formal comment period during your re-write of the Federal Salmon Plan; i.e., FCRPS Biological Opinion. Please let me know your position on this important issue.