04. WILDLIFE - Columbia Basin Bulletin - Page 192

12. NMFS ADDS 4D RULE HEARINGS

October 1, 2003/in 04. WILDLIFE

The federal agency now gathering input on proposed rules to protect
fish habitat on non-federal lands has padded its public meeting schedule,
though not as much as Washington's senior U.S. senator would have liked.
A National Marine Fisheries Service spokesman said today that a hearing
on proposed 4(d) rules hearing was added in Walla Walla, Wash., per a request
from Sen. Slade Gorton. But a Gorton request for an extension of the comment
deadline from March 6 to July 6 was denied by ...

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2. FRAMEWORK APPROACH INSPIRES CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM

October 1, 2003/in 03. HABITAT, 04. WILDLIFE, 07. POWER

The Multi-Species Framework process drew polite applause this week from
Columbia Basin interest groups that for the most part like the potential
and intent but withheld judgment on its usefulness in guiding salmon recovery
processes.
The Northwest Power Planning Council, which funded the bulk of the 1
1/2-year-long process, on Tuesday heard the results of an initial analysis
conducted on seven different approaches to managing the Columbia River
and its tributaries. The attempt to quantify

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3. DAM BREACHING FOCUS OF FEDERAL ALL-H HEARING

October 1, 2003/in 03. HABITAT, 04. WILDLIFE, 07. POWER, 08. LAW

Federal officials heard repeated pleas about the need to restore salmon
populations, and preserve the economic functions fueled the Columbia Basin's
hydroelectric system, during the first in a series of public meetings planned
around the region to gather public comment on fish recovery planning efforts.
The Thursday meeting in Portland was intended to air several federal
efforts, but a list of nearly seventy commentators during an afternoon
session focused primarily on the prospect of ...

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4. COUNCIL CRITIQUES RECOVERY PLAN ‘STRAWMAN’

October 1, 2003/in 04. WILDLIFE, 07. POWER

A first attempt to describe what the future Northwest Power Planning
Council fish and wildlife program might contain did what the "strawman"
is intended to do -- stimulate discussion about how to produce the best
results from the expenditure of hydroelectric dollars.
The sample "strawman" produced by Council staff received a verbal editing
Tuesday by council members who criticized the document as being indecisive
and occasionally pulling punches, particularly on the issue of dam ...

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7. FRAMPTON PLEDGES CONSULTATIONS WITH TRIBES

October 1, 2003/in 03. HABITAT, 04. WILDLIFE, 07. POWER

Following a meeting between Columbia River Indian tribes and federal
agencies in Washington, D.C., last week, the White House Council on Environmental
Quality has pledged the government will consult them on salmon issues,
including the All-H recovery approach.
The assurance was made by CEQ Chairman George Frampton in a Jan. 28
letter to Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission Executive Director
Don Sampson.
While federal agencies at the regional level will be focusing on ...

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10. TRIBES MOVE FORWARD ON LAMPREY RESTORATION

October 1, 2003/in 03. HABITAT, 04. WILDLIFE

In June, 550 adult lampreys will be released into the Umatilla River
in a restoration program being conducted by the Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
The Tribes will follow a supplementation plan developed over the last
two years in a project expected to be approved Feb. 22 by the Northwest
Power Planning Council and funded by Bonneville Power Administration.
The lampreys, commonly but erroneously referred to as eels, will
be planted in the river to naturally ...

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9. ISAB AGREES TO COMPARE KEY RECOVERY MODELS

October 1, 2003/in 03. HABITAT, 04. WILDLIFE, 07. POWER

Review of the primary analytical processes being used in Columbia Basin
recovery planning, and a hard look at the region's fish harvest practices,
head the near-term work list for the independent science group assembled
three years ago by the Northwest Power Planning Council and the National
Marine Fisheries Service.
Due also in the coming months will be a review of the impacts of Columbia
River estuary conditions and management on the Council's efforts to "protect,
mitigate and ...

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12. HEARING FOCUSES ON REVAMPING ESA

October 1, 2003/in 04. WILDLIFE

During a House Resources Committee hearing this week on an industry-backed
bill to reform the Endangered Species Act, Rep. Helen Chenoweth-Hage, R
Idaho, instead called for repealing the entire law.
Other Western Republican committee members, who support the measure,
H.R. 3160, said it would make incremental but beneficial changes in a law
they said was not working to save species. The bill would increase the
influence of private landowners and states over species protection ...

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4. EASTERN OREGON MEETING TURNOUT BASHES NMFS

October 1, 2003/in 03. HABITAT, 04. WILDLIFE

Farmers, ranchers and loggers took turns in Pendleton Jan. 25 bashing
the 4(d) Rules proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
More than 80 people attended the public hearing, the ninth of 15 scheduled
in the Northwest, to hear about and comment on the proposed rules for 14
species of steelhead and salmon listed as threatened under the federal
Endangered Species Act.
The 4(d) rules are an ESA mechanism for protecting threatened as opposed
to endangered species. They also proposed

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5. STATES, TRIBES VIE FOR CHINOOK HARVEST

October 1, 2003/in 04. WILDLIFE, 07. POWER, 08. LAW

The National Marine Fisheries Service on Thursday told tribal and non-tribal
fishers that there might not be enough Columbia-Snake river spring chinook
salmon to satisfy everyone's harvest desires this year.
Documents sent to NMFS last month indicate treaty tribes would like
to harvest up to 9 percent of this year's run, predicted to be the largest
since 1977. Oregon and Washington would like to allow non-tribal sport
and commercial fishers to take up to 2 percent over the next few ...

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6. OREGON SETS WILLAMETTES CHINOOK HARVEST LEVELS

October 1, 2003/in 04. WILDLIFE

Oregon set harvest levels for returning Willamette River spring chinook
at the lower of two options and further reduced harvest in the Clackamas
and North Santiam rivers.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife staff laid out two options for
this years harvest, the higher a 20 percent level and a recommended harvest
level of 15 percent, at the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting
last week. Commissioners voted unanimously for the lower option as the
state prepares for recovering the

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1. PLAN SET TO EVICT RICE ISLAND TERNS

October 1, 2003/in 04. WILDLIFE

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will harass Caspian terns on Rice Island
in the Columbia River estuary this spring so that no terns will nest on
the island.
The new plan to remove terns from the island will use humans to ensure
the birds move downstream so they feed less on salmon smolts and more on
other types of fish.
In 1999, a plan to encourage at least some of the 9,500 nesting pairs
of terns on the island at river mile 21 to move to East Sand Island, 17
miles downstream, ...

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13. CBB INTERVIEW: JUDI JOHANSEN, BPA CEO

October 1, 2003/in 03. HABITAT, 04. WILDLIFE, 07. POWER, 08. LAW

( Editors note: Larry Swisher, independent political columnist for
Northwest newspapers, recently interviewed BPA Administrator Judi Johansen
in Washington D.C. The following is an account of their discussion.)

Bonneville Power Administration CEO Judi Johansen is defending the
Federal Caucus' decision in December not to propose a Columbia Basin salmon
plan and instead seek regional discussion of its All-H Paper.
"The reaction we've gotten from the region is, 'Gosh, feds. You ...

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2. BASIN FORUM COMMITTEE BACK ON TRACK

October 1, 2003/in 03. HABITAT, 04. WILDLIFE, 07. POWER

The Columbia Basin Forum Committee this week met for the first time
in three months, setting for itself an ambitious agenda to begin its policy
level exploration of the regions four Hs -- hydro, harvest, habitat and
hatcheries
This was its ninth meeting since March 1999, but the first since October,
when it nearly decided to disband. Stan Grace, Montanas representative
to the Forum and one of Montanas Northwest Power Planning Council members,
declined to attend the meeting, ...

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3. MEETINGS SET ON FEDERAL RECOVERY DOCUMENTS

October 1, 2003/in 03. HABITAT, 04. WILDLIFE, 07. POWER

The federal caucus will be taking its developing salmon recovery products
on the road next month, spotlighting Corps of Engineers study of Lower
Snake River hydrosystem configuration options; a Phase 1 study of John
Day Dam drawdown; the multi-agency "All H's" recovery plan; and other documents.
The effort to educate the public about those processes begins Feb. 3
in Portland and touches down in 12 other locations in Idaho, Montana, Alaska,
Oregon and Washington over the following five ...

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6. ADULT PASSAGE STUDY FUNDING IN LIMBO

October 1, 2003/in 04. WILDLIFE, 07. POWER, 08. LAW

Objections from Idaho and Oregon fish and wildlife officials have left
in question planned pilot studies intended to explore impacts of dam passage
on adult salmon's survival and reproductive success.
The two studies related to adult passage through the federal Columbia
River hydrosystem were late additions to the fiscal year 2000 research
program. They were developed in part due to criticism in a 1999 Independent
Scientific Advisory Board report that certain adult passage issues were
not

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7. NMFS SEES SALMON RECOVERY STAFF CHANGES

October 1, 2003/in 03. HABITAT, 04. WILDLIFE, 07. POWER, 08. LAW

Key positions in the National Marine Fisheries Service's salmon recovery
staff hierarchy will witness change due to personnel shifts and an early
retirement.
Rick Applegate ends his tenure at NMFS with retirement at the end of
the month. He has served for the past year as assistant regional administrator
for habitat conservation, one of four division chiefs who report directly
to administrator Will Stelle. The others are Brian Brown in hydro, Bill
Robinson in sustainable fisheries and ...

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8. OREGON TO DECIDE WILLAMETTE HARVEST LEVELS

October 1, 2003/in 04. WILDLIFE

Allowable commercial and sport harvest levels for Willamette spring
chinook will be decided at this weeks Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission
meeting. Just as in 1999, the harvest level will be based on salmon returning
to the river.
However, since last year when both commercial and sport fishers harvested
the salmon, the National Marine Fisheries Service listed on May 24, the
upper Willamette and Clackamas River spring chinook under the Endangered
Species Act. By Oregon Department of ...

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10. CBB INTERVIEW: LARRY CASSIDY, NWPPC CHAIRMAN

October 1, 2003/in 03. HABITAT, 04. WILDLIFE, 07. POWER

Washington's Larry Cassidy is perhaps uniquely positioned to influence
the course of salmon recovery in the Columbia Basin.
Little more than a year after his appointment by Gov. Gary Locke to
the four-state Northwest Power Planning Council, Cassidy was elected this
month to chair that body. The Council recommends annually how $127 million
is spent on regional fish and wildlife projects.
Last year the Vancouver businessman was also appointed, again by Locke,
to the state's five-member ...

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2. GOVERNANCE TALKS CONTINUE DESPITE LOCKE HOLDOUT

October 1, 2003/in 03. HABITAT, 04. WILDLIFE, 07. POWER

Despite a stand-offish policy stance reiterated this week by Washington
Gov. Gary Locke, the governors of Oregon, Idaho and Montana decided Thursday
to forge ahead with a plan to bring the region more authority in fish and
wildlife recovery decision-making.
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, Montana Gov. Marc Racicot and Idaho Gov.
Dirk Kempthorne have indicated they feel the region needs a firmer grip
on that power, particularly on how Bonneville Power Administration recovery
money is ...

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3. MONTANA TEMPORARILY NIXES BASIN FORUM

October 1, 2003/in 04. WILDLIFE

The Columbia Basin Forum will meet Jan. 19 without representation from
Montana. As it set an ambitious agenda, Stan Grace, who represents Montana
on both the Forum and on the Northwest Power Planning Council, declined
to attend, saying most of the issues are being debated in other forums.
"I've anguished a bit over this decision, however while I believe the
elements of the draft agenda are the pertinent regional issues that we
struggle with I yet see little opportunity for this body to ...

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4. NMFS COMMENCES 4(D) PUBLIC HEARINGS

October 1, 2003/in 03. HABITAT, 04. WILDLIFE, 07. POWER

About 30 people offered opinions Tuesday during the National Marine
Fisheries Services first of 15 scheduled public hearings in the Northwest
to accept comments on its proposed 4(d) rules for 14 species of steelhead
and salmon listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.
At the Portland hearing, NMFS Rob Jones and Rosemary Furfey emphasized
in their introductory remarks that the rules are drafts and that NMFS seeks
constructive feedback. They also emphasized that all ...

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7. TROUT SUPPLEMENTATION PLAN OUT FOR REVIEW

October 1, 2003/in 03. HABITAT, 04. WILDLIFE

The Northwest Power Planning Council has asked the public to judge whether
benefits of a plan to supplement westslope cutthroat trout populations
with hatchery-produced juvenile fish outweigh the potential risks to native
cutthroat.
The westslope cutthroat are being considered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service for listing under the Endangered Species Act. A USFWS status review
team completed its report in September following a 1997 petition asking
that the cutthroat be listed ...

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11. CLEAN WATER PLAN FOR GRANDE RONDE RELEASED

October 1, 2003/in 04. WILDLIFE

Much of the upper Grande Ronde River in Northeast Oregon does not meet
state water quality standards, but the solutions are as simple as planting
trees, shrubs and grass along streams, improving in-stream flow and limiting
point source pollution discharges to non-summer dates, according to a report
released by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality in December.
The report consists of an assessment of the rivers water quality in
a Total Daily Maximum Load water quality report ...

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9. FORECAST PEGS MODEST FALL CHINOOK RETURN

October 1, 2003/in 04. WILDLIFE

If early forecasts prove correct, it appears that Columbia River-Snake
river fall chinook runs may not show the same leap in numbers that is expected
of their spring chinook kin in 2000.
The spring run is expected to the best since 1977 with much of the credit
given to improved ocean conditions. The fall chinook run is expected to
be average or below average compared to recent years.
A preliminary projection produced by state, federal and tribal harvest
specialists says 232,000 ...

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