Our say: Needed: Some follow-up on river restoration efforts

RIVER AND STREAM restoration is one of the most popular types of environmental work. There is seldom a problem rounding up volunteers. School systems and local groups seize on such projects as a way to combine education about ecology with community service work.

The results of the work are usually visible to the naked eye and yield an immediate sense of pride and accomplishment - not always the case with efforts to conserve energy or reduce air pollution.

Most people do not begrudge the money, most of it tax money, spent on such programs. More than a billion dollars a year is spent in the United States, according to a team of...