James D. McDowall, Interlachen, Fla.

I am writing this in hopes of drawing attention to the plight of the Minot Retriever Club, which I consider to be a Minot area institution. Due to the opening of the dam on the Des Lacs River near Burlington, the club is in danger of losing the necessary water to conduct their field trials and hunt tests.

This club was formed by a group of sportsmen in 1956 and every year since, dog lovers by the hundreds, both amateur as well as professional trainers, have travelled from all over the country to compete. We stay in Minot motels, eat at Minot restaurants and shop in Minot stores. But it’s not the enhanced revenues that is most important.

These competitions as well as selective breeding greatly improves the retriever breeds, resulting in fewer lost birds in the field and in the marsh.

In these times of big screen TV’s, video games and increasing pressure on hunting this is an institution that the Minot area can ill afford to lose. Let’s do everything we can to preserve the dam and the Minot Retriever Club.