Probably it's worth noting that the president didn't divert Air Force One to Klamath Falls on Thursday to announce the decision by his Department of Commerce to officially declare the failure of the West Coast commercial salmon fishery.
Yet it's fair to point out that federal habitat policy in the Klamath Basin -- which the president tilted toward farmers and irrigators with a great deal of fanfare like his 2002 fly-by -- had no small role in this year's disastrous commercial salmon fishing season.
Don't get us wrong: It was a good thing that David Sampson, deputy secretary of commerce, came out to Oregon to make the announcement because it clears the way for Congress to move on the most important piece of federal aid to help the commercial fishing industry this year.
And it's good news that Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., is pushing for generous consideration of the aid package in Congress in September. In the normal course of events, the designation of fishery failure wouldn't come until February, and an aid package allowed by the Magnuson-Stevens Act wouldn't clear Congress until late next summer or fall. And if any money trickled down to the folks in the boats or on the docks or in dozens of related enterprises, it wouldn't get there until winter 2007 or 2008.
State disaster aid and federal Small Business Administration loans and other ways of shifting money to the deeply stressed industry already have done some good, but Thursday's announcement can trigger the greatest amount of help.
As useful as it will be, though, it's important to remember that the degraded salmon habitat in the Klamath Basin is not a one-year problem. Along with the disaster aid, federal and state efforts must be directed to rebuilding the habitat for salmon, thus rebuilding the industries and communities that depend on the fish.
There are plenty of culprits for the sad state of the salmon fishery this year and the administration's habit of dealing with the industries involved, but not managing the resources is central among them. The Klamath run's demise has been accelerated by dams, drought, loss of habitat, warm and polluted water and diversions for irrigations. The administration has operated as if none of these things relates to the other, when they are really all connected. That has to change, and our representatives in Congress have to push for that change.
Oregon families and communities need the federal aid that this week's events are likely to bring. We were glad to see Smith and others come to Oregon to say help is on the way. But we'd rather see such trips become unnecessary.