A flood of comments -- many of them raising "significant issues" -- may
push a Corps of Engineers recommendation on lower Snake River dam
breaching into year 2001.
Caspian terns in the Columbia River estuary will remain largely
unmolested this year as a plan to move North America's largest colony
was stopped by a federal court this week.
Wide ranging suggestions on the near-term direction of Columbia Basin
salmon recovery efforts were offered Thursday by witnesses called to
testify at a U.S. House of Representatives Resources Committee hearing
in Pasco. All but a few said dam breaching should be dropped from
consideration.
The smolt-to-adult return rate of Columbia Basin hatchery salmon and
steelhead have been declining during the 1990s, along with the adult
fish's value to fishers, according to natural resource economist Hans
Radtke.
Harvest of salmon in the Columbia River is at the lowest allowed level
ever. Further changes to harvest rates would not add significantly to
salmon recovery.
Breaching four Lower Snake River dams is not the answer for reviving
Columbia Basin salmon populations, a trio of Northwest lawmakers said
Tuesday at a Senate hearing at Bonneville Dam.
Two Northwest Republican senators this week said they suspect the delay
of federal agencies' recommendation for modifying or removing lower
Snake River dams to improve salmon recovery is aimed at helping Vice
President Al Gore's presidential campaign.
Harassment of Caspian terns in the lower Columbia River estuary ran into
a roadblock this week when environmental groups filed for an injunction against hazing the birds on Rice Island. The filing resulted in a
temporary restraining order. More to follow.
The westslope cutthroat trout, a brightly colored fish found primarily
in Montana and Idaho and parts of Oregon and Washington, does not
warrant listing as a threatened or endangered species under the
Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced
today.
A proposed federal land management plan for roughly 63 million acres in
Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Washington is intended to leave a lighter
footprint both on the land and on the resource-based economies within
that territory.
Federal scientists conclude that drastic action must be taken soon to
head off extinction for Columbia Basin salmon runs in the worst shape,
and decision-makers must take that plunge without the certainty that
those actions will work.
The Bonneville Power Administration's top official admitted Tuesday that
ESA-spawned mandates may increase immediate Columbia Basin fish and
wildlife program needs, but she showed a reluctance to juggle funds from
one account to another to answer those needs.
Fishermen in Southeast Alaska have finally found unity on a salmon
management issue, thanks to federal consideration of Alaska harvest
cutbacks in order to restore chinook runs in the Snake River.
Like most farmers, Jerry Scheid grew up in an era when people thought
dams could do no wrong.
The National Marine Fisheries Service reviewed the impacts of proposed
tribal and state harvests of salmon on the mainstem Columbia River and
concluded that a 9 percent harvest rate of the most critical salmon
stocks would be appropriate to avoid jeopardy.
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber on Thursday met with Eastern Oregon
constituents for the first time since he publicly supported breaching
the four lower Snake River dams as a viable option for salmon recovery.
In an effort to drum up more public support for breaching federal dams
to "halt salmon extinction," a national conservation group has declared
the lower Snake River its most endangered river for the second year.
It was almost classic "East versus West" Tuesday as political officials
from Washington's "dry side" urged rejection of dam breaching as an option. More to follow.
Despite his controversial stand in favor of breaching Snake River dams,
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber this week continued to work with fellow
Northwest governors and members of Congress on how best to restore
salmon.
Major changes are foreseen for the region's hatchery operations as fish
managers make adjustments to protect a growing list of threatened salmon
and steelhead populations while still providing promised treaty, and
other, fisheries, according a National Marine Fisheries Service
official.
With Snake River and Columbia River dams in place, augmenting mainstem
flows with upstream water does not do much for achieving a natural river
hydrograph, nor does it have much of an effect on speeding smolts on
their journey downstream.
The Columbia River estuary offers the region an important opportunity to
improve salmon survival.
A new incarnation of a massive plan for federal lands in the Northwest
will be released for comment in the next month.
A new report by a federal budget watchdog group and the National
Wildlife Federation identifies 25 Army Corps of Engineers projects that,
according to the organizations, waste $6 billion and harm the
environment.
On-the-ground implementation of a fish and wildlife plan organized by
subbasins could move forward more quickly -- and it ultimately could be
more successful -- if compliance with the plan is given regulatory
approval and certainty before restoration actions are taken.
An Earthwise Knowledge Initiative Publication
