It takes a big man to admit he was wrong, Mr. Neal. Which is why the govmint bureaucrats will never admit (as one park employee did to me off-the-record) that fish ladders could have been built for far, far less, and dredging of the lakes could have moved silt downstream while maintaining flood control and drought protection of those wonderful reservoirs. Once government gets it in its head to do something no amount of reason and facts will dissuade it, e.g. the Fluoride Four controlling P.A.'s city council in opposition to the clear will of the majority of the population.

It really is unfair to limit the cost of dam removal to $325 million however. As you note, repair of flood damage to roads and residences and loss of freshwater storage will mean this "gift" from radical "free-the-river" advocates will keep on costing us in perpetuity now.