To the editor,
There is a clever parable once quoted in a speech by feminist icon Gloria Steinem. Paraphrased, a group of people are frantically pulling drowning people out of a dangerous river. One man gets up and walks away. The others ask where he is going. He replies, “I am going upstream to find the hole in the bridge and fix it so people stop falling into the river.”
The Salinas River is one of the defining natural features of Paso Robles, originating in the mountains and ending at Monterey Bay. It is the only river in North America that flows from south to north. The picturesque Salinas River Walk is a major civic asset that provides recreational opportunities for biking, walking, running, or merely observing nature. As one of California’s premier wildlife resources, environmental monitoring and preservation of the Salinas River is imperative.