Conservation groups have long claimed that alternative isn't working, and point instead to dam removal as the ultimate solution to restoring the region's salmon and steelhead.
The Administration's invitation to Moscow is all the more troublesome when taken together with the impression likely to arise from President Bush's commitment to the prompt removal of U.S. forces from the region.
For the U.S., the removal of a longtime critic could ease some of the polarization that has characterized the region over the past decade and open a path to more normal relations with Venezuela.