Tentative agreement was reached last week and could be confirmed today
on a revised plan to control fluctuations in river flow as a way to
prevent stranding salmon fry at Hanford Reach on the mid-Columbia River.
This is the third year of such an agreement, but dam operators this year
are seeking greater flexibility in fluctuations than in previous plans.

Faced with low reservoirs and high energy costs, the Bonneville Power
Administration is cashing in an unused credit the agency earned with the
federal government for past fish and wildlife expenditures.

State and federal fisheries managers chose this week to draft Lake
Roosevelt through next Thursday in order to provide enough water to keep
chum salmon redds below Bonneville Dam from being dewatered.

The decision to continue drafting the reservoir at a maximum 1-1/2 foot
per day through most of next week could leave it at a dangerously low
level. It may preclude using as much Grand Coulee water as might be
needed in the spring and summer for spill or to augment flows.

Five federal agencies joined the Bonneville Power Administration this
week in recommending how the region should operate the Columbia River
hydro system during the year.

The principles outlined by the agencies expand a proposal made two weeks
ago by BPA and adds into the equation a sensitivity to endangered
species.

The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission said Thursday that
managing the Columbia River this year is not a "Sophie's Choice" between
power and fish protection.

"We refuse to accept this as a salmon vs. power debate," said Charles
Hudson, spokesman for CRITFC, which serves as the technical coordinating
agency for the treaty fishing tribes of the Columbia River; the Yakama,
Umatilla, Nez Perce and Warm Springs.

Western senators and utility officials this week warned that the
spreading California electricity crisis and dry winter in the Northwest
threaten to cause even worse problems this summer.

The risk of more power outages and price hikes is greater during that
time because California's electricity demand will be even higher but
reservoirs at Columbia Basin dams are extremely low and may not refill ...