Conservation and science groups came out this week in support of Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife hatchery practices that prevent
hatchery-raised fish from mixing with wild stocks when they return from
the ocean to spawn.
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.
Active harassment of what may be the largest colony of Caspian terns in
the world will begin next week in an attempt to move the birds closer to
feeding grounds where they will feast less on juvenile salmon and more
on other marine species.
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.
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.
Juvenile salmon and steelhead passed through Bonneville Dam's No. 1
powerhouse fared better when encountering a newly designed turbine than
they did when passing through traditional turbines, according to results
from a recently completed $2.5 million biological study.
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.
Late-arriving sanctions driven by the federal Endangered Species Act
forced Lower Columbia gill-netters off the river last week and
threatened to dock sport fishers aiming at Willamette River spring
chinook.
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.
State, federal, tribal and representatives of the public are expected to
emerge from weeklong meetings in Sacramento with a set of regulatory
options intended guide sport and commercial fisheries off the West Coast
during the summer and fall of 2000.
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.
A panel of federal officials heard contrasting advice on how to run
Columbia Basin rivers, dams and fisheries at a hearing in Kalispell
Wednesday.
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.
Nearly all speakers at the Federal Caucus' "All-H" hearing in Boise
Wednesday were in favor of taking measures that would lead to salmon
recovery, but they were split as to how to proceed.
Breaching Four Lower Snake River dams is not the only way, but it's the
best way to start rebuilding threatened and endangered Columbia Basin
salmon and steelhead stocks, Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber said last Friday
afternoon (Feb. 18).
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber's demand for immediate salmon recovery action
startled some with its call for Lower Snake River Dam breaching, but
didn't immediately swing political momentum in his direction.
A study of impacts to Oregon transportation and farmers shows that there
is a significant domino effect from breaching four lower Snake River
dams in Washington that could cost the Columbia River barge industry in
Oregon between $4 million and $11 million annually.
An Earthwise Knowledge Initiative Publication
