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Show trout fishing for channel cat. That noise you hear is Isaac turning over in his grave. CONGRESSMAN DAWSON REPORTS Something Fishy The mail this week contained a blistering attack on Echo Park Dam signed sign-ed bv officers of the Oregon Isaac' Walton League, an organization organi-zation that supposedly is dedicated dedi-cated to promoting the interests of the nation's fishermen. The lettiT was loud in' its praise of freshman Sen. Richard L. Neu-berger Neu-berger (D., Ore.) whose major contribution to the nation 'has been a defense of squirrels and who is also a backer of Hell's Canyon Dim and an opponent of Echo Park. Salmon, Indeed The same mail also contained a $5 book sent free to all Congressmen entitled en-titled "This Is Dinosaur" and containing colored shots of the monument. One of the pictures shows a man on shore casting for what the book labels "Colorado "Colo-rado River salmon." What the book means by "salmon" is catfish cat-fish which is all the Green River at Echo Park now produces. These catfish are all head and backbone and have the flavor and fight of an. equivalent length of garden hose. Can't Understand What puzzles puz-zles the informed person Is how the Isaac Walton League can oppose Echo Park Dam which western states game commissioners commission-ers say will improve fishing 100 per cent and still praise Senator Neuberger who is the sponsor of Hell's Canyon Dam on the Snake I River in Idaho. For in contrast to Echo Park which would promote pro-mote fishing, Hell's Canyon Dam if constructed, would block one of the most important salmon real salmon spawning runs in the nation. Expert Opinion Here's what the experts say: Thomas L. Kimball, Kim-ball, Colorado fish and game director: di-rector: "There can be no other conclusion drawn than the fact that the construction of Echo Park Dam would provide significant signifi-cant enhancement to the region from the fisheries standpoint." And the Washington Department of Fisheries: "Considering Hell's Canyon Dam, we request its deletion de-letion from the overall regional development plan at least until a time that adequate protection can be assured the Snake River fish runs." No Outcries The Washington survey of the disastrous effect of the construction of Hell's Canyon Can-yon has, to my knowledge, evoked evok-ed no opposition to its construction construc-tion from the Isaac Walton League Lea-gue which is heralding opponents of Echo Tark as friends of the fishermen. Yet this scientific study states that the potention annual value of fish that would be destroyed by Hell's Canyon would total "$2 million or more." Compounded Confusion Here again, then, we have the same story. Spokesmen for the fishermen fisher-men opposing their best interests. inter-ests. Remaining silent about a project that would erect a concrete con-crete tombstone for hundreds of spawning salmon to batter themselves them-selves to death against at Hell's Canyon. Loudly opposing Echo Park Dam that would substitute |