The Snake and Columbia River dams and locks were built with taxpayer dollars. Your reporting is informative: a yearly average of 51 million tons of cargo moving through the Columbia, about 33 million tons being wheat, and 8.5 million tons coming through the locks, all for export.

Which leaves me with a question: Are the creators and caretakers of this infrastructure compensated for its construction, maintenance and use? There are no lock fees. Passage is free with only a diesel tax on the tug operators.

Is the financial benefit going where it is deserved? Or is it serving as a price break for foreign markets?

Your editorial states, “getting wheat to international markets without barge traffic would become too expensive to pencil out.” The locks create significant value. If Wal-Mart or Weyerhaeuser built the locks, would they give a free pass to exporters? What’s wrong with the Bonneville Power Administration charging directly for the value it created?

Vernonia-based West Oregon Electric Co-op distributes clean hydropower from BPA. My electric bill includes charges to mitigate the effects of the dams on fish.

Is any of the value of wheat sold overseas directed toward mitigation efforts?

None of the volunteer directors on the board of WOEC that I’ve spoken with are in favor of dam breaching. Their responsibilities lie with the ratepayers in their communities.

Serving on the volunteer board of the Upper Nehalem Watershed Council, I’ve supported many projects to enhance fish runs and watershed health.

Stewardship is a big responsibility. Using science to modify and improve mitigation over time, with revenue from exports passing through the locks could we forestall both fish extinction and dam breaching? Let’s try a dollar per ton.

Cory Colburn

Vernonia, Ore.