Letter: Some advice from ‘Uncle Al’ might be good for the river

Dear Editor:
Sidney Korshak, a legendary attorney active in Chicago in the 1930s, was famous for his negotiating skills, particularly in labor and union affairs. He did favors for his friends and he had many. Some people thought some of his friends were gangsters, but it could not be proved.
He was flamboyant in some respects, circumspect in others. So, he would never have given out the secret of his negotiating success, but it could have been advice from his friend “Uncle Al.”
“You can achieve a lot with a kind word” Uncle Al might have said in his soft, low voice. “And even more with a kind word and a gun.”
And very often disputes were settled with only a suggestion from Uncle Al, with both sides appearing to be satisfied. Was this intimidation?
(Intimidation is defined as making someone timid, scared or frightened so that they might do something they don’t want to do, or agree to something against their will. Do you think Uncle Al used intimidation?)
Uncle Al could help a lot with the problem in Meeker with algae building up in the White River during the summer. It makes fishing difficult by fouling fishing flies. It deprives the river of bug life necessary for the fish to eat. It depletes the oxygen. And there are other strange things growing on the rocks and under them. No one seems to know how this began about five years ago but it seems to be getting worse.
Perhaps it is a consequence of the fire near Trappers Lake. It may be from the disturbance of the river bottom by well-meaning actions dredging the bottom of the river to make “better fish habitat” near Trappers Lake which began about five years ago. Or maybe similar “improvements” near the confluence of the White River and North Elk Creek more recently. It might be from massive fish feeding. It may be horses and cows near the river, or on a ranch in the winter. Or the warming effect of ponds near the river. Or the use of efficient fertilizers with irrigation. Or all of the above. It seems there may be no law that prohibits anything.
But think of what would happen if Uncle Al came and sat down with all the possible individuals, and just asked them nicely to do everything they can with the problem, whether anyone can prove they are causing the problem. Would they all do everything they could as if they were 100 percent of the problem? If so, maybe the algae would be gone, and fishing on the White River would be saved.
Sincerely,
Jim Magid
Meeker