The Northwest Power and Conservation Council this week debated how deeply they should plunge into a pool of issues that would be addressed for the first time in its Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program.
Mainstem Columbia/Snake River hydroelectric operations planned in NOAA Fisheries Service's 2008 biological opinion are expected to cost the region's ratepayers an estimated $15 million more per year as compared with 2004 BiOp provisions, according to analysis prepared by Northwest Power and Conservation staff.
Staff members this week were urged to produce details regarding the resources necessary to move forward with an envisioned Columbia River Basin Center of Information -- a comprehensive, publicly accessible repository of information about the basin in its international dimensions.
CBB Shorts: Re-Introducing Chinook To Upper Klamath; Wash. Road-Kill Verified As Wolf; Offshore Aquaculture Forum; Idaho Wolf Killings
A long-sought, and the first ever, "biological opinion" for federal multi-purpose dams in Oregon's Willamette River basin was released today, outlining actions NOAA Fisheries Service says will avoid jeopardy to imperiled fish stocks and spur their recovery.
After two years of discussions with state and federal officials, residents in Washington's upper Columbia River region have netted a 10-year agreement that provides certainty to their fishing future, and potential reductions in impacts on protected salmon and steelhead.
The Washington Department of Ecology is preparing a supplemental environmental impact statement that will explore additional options for improving water supplies and fish habitat in the Yakima River Basin.
CBB Shorts: Oregon Marine Reserves Meetings; Clearwater Salmon Fishing; New USFWS Fisheries Magazine; Domoic Acid Poisoning in Sea Lions
--- Oregon Launches Marine Reserve Public Proposal Process
The captive broodstock hatchery program that has kept the endangered Snake River sockeye salmon population afloat has begun an expansion aimed, through sheer numbers, at helping revive the stock and providing better understanding of its problems.
Protected salmon stocks would be adversely affected by the construction and operation of a liquefied natural gas terminal in the Columbia River estuary, but a proposed mitigation package would largely balance the biological ledger, according to a final environmental impact statement produced by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff.
The Washington Department of Ecology has granted an extension of three months for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, lower Columbia River ports and a Southwest Washington family to reach agreement on a property purchase that will replace wetlands loss from the Columbia River channel deepening project that is under way.
Editor's Note: Results of Columbia Basin Bulletin Survey
I would like to thank the 733 readers who took the time to respond to the 10-question, non-scientific Columbia Basin Bulletin survey. The results, along with the many useful written comments, will be used to help the CBB better respond to readers' information needs.
(Revised From June 17 Version)
A new plan for protecting salmon and steelhead affected by the Columbia/Snake hydro system -- like the document it replaced -- faces a legal challenge from fishing and conservation groups who contend federal agencies changed their biological analysis methods in order to produce a "no jeopardy" conclusion, but changed little else.
A new plan for protecting salmon and steelhead affected by the Columbia/Snake hydro system -- like the document it replaced -- faces a legal challenge from fishing and conservation groups who contend federal agencies changed their biological analysis methods in order to produce a "no jeopardy" conclusion, but changed little else.
Oregon and Washington fishery managers took a cautious approach Thursday in setting Columbia River commercial fisheries for summer chinook salmon, mindful of a spring chinook forecast gone bad and chinook problems up and down the coast.
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council this week released for public comment a "working list" of biological and implementation indicators that would, ultimately, show the worth of its Columbia River Basin fish and wildlife program.
Efforts to revive protected Columbia River basin salmon stocks, and improve the odds for a steady freshwater harvest of hatchery fish, would get a boost if the United States and Canada approve an agreement hammered out by the Pacific Salmon Commission.
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council this week recommended $247,465 in within-year funding adjustments for eight fish and wildlife projects, as well as a $464,000, two-year spending package to implement the Colville Tribes' Lake Rufus Woods creel survey and stocking proposal in central Washington.
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council's Fish and Wildlife Committee on Tuesday decided, in some corners begrudgingly, to give a long-running John Day River subbasin habitat project another chance to prove the work is improving the health of salmon and steelhead stocks.
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council this week recommended $247,465 in within-year funding adjustments for eight fish and wildlife projects, as well as a $464,000, two-year spending package to implement the Colville Tribes' Lake Rufus Woods creel survey and stocking proposal in central Washington.
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council's Fish and Wildlife Committee on Tuesday decided, in some corners begrudgingly, to give a long-running John Day River subbasin habitat project another chance to prove the work is improving the health of salmon and steelhead stocks.
A three-pronged federal strategy announced this week to lift beleaguered salmon and steelhead stocks onto a recovery trajectory has already begun to draw some heat.
Targeted particularly is the leg that addresses hydro system impacts on the Columbia/Snake river basin fish.
Four Columbia River basin tribes and three federal agencies say years of divisiveness over salmon recovery efforts in the Columbia River Basin ended May 2 with the signing of agreements designed to deliver specific, scientifically valid biological benefits for the region's fish.
A three-pronged federal strategy announced this week to lift beleaguered salmon and steelhead stocks onto a recovery trajectory has already begun to draw some heat.
Targeted particularly is the leg that addresses hydro system impacts on the Columbia/Snake river basin fish.
Four Columbia River basin tribes and three federal agencies say years of divisiveness over salmon recovery efforts in the Columbia River Basin ended May 2 with the signing of agreements designed to deliver specific, scientifically valid biological benefits for the region's fish.
An Earthwise Knowledge Initiative Publication
