A reduction in the congressional appropriation for Mitchell Act activities
has prompted quick action from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife,
which on Tuesday announced the immediate closure of one hatchery and reduced
fish production at other facilities.
Recently concluded budget negotiations resulted in a Mitchell Act appropriation
of $15.43 million or $2.645 million less than was available in fiscal year
1999, according to R.Z. Smith of the National Marine Fisheries ...

Federal officials offered scientific observations, but little direction,
this week as they headed for a winter-long gauntlet of public hearings
over what is the best course for Columbia River Basin fish and wildlife
recovery planning.
Mid-December is expected to bring a draft Corps of Engineers feasibility
study on Lower Snake River dam breaching and other salmon passage alternatives.
Planned for release at the same time is a draft "federal caucus" Four-H
paper aimed at weighing ...

Northwest members of Congress who oppose removing dams to save at-risk
salmon said the Four-H Working Paper this week confirmed their belief the
federal agencies won't pursue that option.
But citing the vagueness of the document, some were less certain about
that conclusion than others.
"The devil's in the details, but it looks like the dams may be off the
table," Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., said. "I may not have to chain myself
to the top of the dams after all."
In public speeches on the

The National Marine Fisheries Service describes its Cumulative Risk
Initiative as a work in progress.
And the Independent Scientific Advisory Board agrees after its review
of CRI analysis methods and results added this summer to the Anadromous
Fish Appendix to the Corps of Engineers Lower Snake River Juvenile Salmon
Migration feasibility study.
The CRI is, by its own description, "a network of NMFS scientists working
to synthesize information and provide clear, consistent and ...

A plan to ease the worlds largest Caspian tern colony downriver as
a first step toward ridding the Columbia River estuary of the salmon-hungry
birds was accepted, grudgingly, Wednesday by the Northwest Power Planning
Council.
The Council indicated six weeks ago, in a letter from Chairman Todd
Maddock, that it wanted the terns impact on migrating salmon smolts reduced
to no more than 5 percent and suggested measures to prevent any nesting
in the estuary. But that goal is not achievable, or

The Northwest Power Planning Council on Wednesday recommended $33.2
million in funding for fish and wildlife projects that gained scientific
backing following a second round of technical review.
The Council, meeting in Twin Falls, Idaho, now has committed more than
$101 million of the amount it has to spend through its FY2000 direct fish
and wildlife program. The total available is about $136 million, Bob Lohn,
NPPC Fish and Wildlife Division director, told the Council. That ...