Huge Fish Runs Predicted for 2014

"Don'cha know the suction dredgers are killin' all the fish?"

Such would seem to be the refrain of the anti-mining environmental crowd, whose most recent demonic spawn appeared as the "Give Fish a Chance Act," which has apparently succumbed to saner heads -- at least for now.

Lest anyone think there might be some shred of truth to the mantra that dredging causes serious harm to fish populations, please consider this recent item in  The Spokesman Review for February 23, 2014:

Huge Runs of Salmon Predicted for Columbia River

The story opens with the following facts:

Another, even bigger, version of 2013’s record run of fall chinook to the Columbia River is forecast for this year – the largest flood of salmon since fish counts began at the new Bonneville Dam in 1938.

State, federal and tribal fish managers expect 1.6 million fall chinook salmon to head for the mouth of the Columbia this summer. That’s a 26 percent increase from the 1.26 million record run in 2013 that allowed anglers to set harvest records from the lower river through the Hanford Reach.

The article, which can be accessed at the link in the title above, is well worth reading in full.

As to whether this news will dampen the ardor of the environmental-crazies crowd, I'm not holding my breath.