A comprehensive Columbia Basin fish and wildlife recovery plan that
includes the breaching of the four lower Snake River dams is Oregon Gov.
John Kitzhaber's preferred option, according to notes from a speech he
was expected to deliver today in Eugene to the American Fisheries
Society.
Opponents of dam breaching, accusing federal officials of threatening
their livelihoods and Indians of overharvesting, came out in force
Thursday at an emotionally charged federal hearing in Pasco.
Federal officials were bombarded Tuesday with comments from tribal,
sport and commercial fishers who said their communities and cultures had
been plundered by hydrosystem development aimed at benefiting upstream
interests and by salmon recovery plans that ignore the obvious --
Federal officials who say decisions will be based on pure science and
economics were met with a flood of emotional pleas Tuesday during a
meeting in Spokane to discuss, among other things, dam breaching's
potential for aiding salmon and steelhead recovery.
Those who support removing the four lower Snake River Dams to recover
threatened and endangered fish made a surprisingly strong showing at
public meetings in Clarkston, Wash., on salmon and steelhead recovery
Thursday.
The National Marine Fisheries Service would increase spending on
Northwest salmon recovery by $9 million in FY2001, under the final
budget of President Clinton's term.
The Northwest Power Planning Council this week unveiled preliminary
analysis of seven river management schemes that shows all the options
producing positive change for chinook salmon populations in the Columbia
River Basin.
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.
Federal officials heard pleas about the need to restore salmon
populations, and preserve the economic functions of the Columbia
Basin's hydroelectric system during the first public meeting planned around the region to gather public comment on fish recovery planning efforts.
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.
Farmers, ranchers and loggers took turns in Pendleton Jan. 25 bashing the 4(d) Rules proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
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.
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.
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 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 region's four Hs -- hydro, harvest, habitat and
hatcheries
The federal caucus will be taking its developing salmon recovery
products on the road next month, spotlighting three Corps of Engineers studies of Lower Snake River hydrosystem configuration options. More follows.
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.
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.
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.
About 30 people offered opinions Tuesday during the National Marine
Fisheries Service's 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.
The National Marine Fisheries Service has released a draft of a
supplemental biological opinion on operation of the Columbia River
federal power system to federal and state agencies, along with tribes,
for quick review. It hopes to complete the BiOp by the spring 2000
juvenile migration.
Basing the region's salmon recovery efforts on "the best available
science," -- a phrase included in nearly every salmon-related state,
federal or tribal document these days -- is easier said than done,
according to a federal researcher.
A supplemental biological opinion completed last month blesses a plan to
continue federal operations which times the release of 427,000 acre feet
of reservoir water in Idaho to coincide, primarily, with the migration
of Snake River fall chinook salmon listed Endangered Species Act.
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