LETTERS: EFFORT AGAINST FLOODING GETS BIPARTISAN NOD

To the editor:

The attached letter from U.S. Sen. Blanche Lambert Lincoln of Arkansas should be of interest to your readers. Her letter points out how bipartisan support should work in our form of government. She has laid aside politics for the benefit of the American public and particularly for the citizens of Missouri

An Oct. 12 editorial in The Wall Street Journal (published elsewhere on this page) addresses the same problem that Senator Lincoln, U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond and a large majority of senators have supported. However, we see our president and his vice president yield to special-interest groups to promote an agenda that is not what the majority of the citizens in America want.

Here is Senator Lincoln's letter:

"Thank you for contacting me regarding attempts in the U.S. Senate to allow controlled spring rises on the Missouri River, a significant tributary of the Mississippi River.

"I supported Senator Bond's amendment to prohibit the controlled rise and successfully defended it during attempts to remove it from the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill. Having grown up near the Mississippi River, I know firsthand how devastating a spring rise can be to communities located along the flood plain. No one can predict what kind of damage the Mississippi River can inflict.

"I understand the importance of protecting the environment for future generations. River flooding threatens wildlife habitat just as it harms our own communities. Flooding particularly is devastating in the spring when young, unprotected wildlife are driven from their nests or protected shelters.

"Although the technology used to predict weather is constantly improving, the ability to predict with complete certainty is not yet possible. Unexpected rains combined with an unnaturally high river level could have a devastating impact. We must balance environmental concerns with the concerns of those people who live and make their living along our waterways."

LARRY D. DOWDY

Executive Vice President

Little River Drainage District

Cape Girardeau