Posted on 12/01/2004 5:31:25 PM PST by neverdem
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 - The Bush administration on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of removing federal dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers to protect 11 endangered species of salmon and steelhead, even as a last resort.
In an opinion issued by the fisheries division of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the government declared that the eight large dams on the lower stretch of the two rivers are an immutable part of the salmon's environment.
Endangered fish, the opinion said, can be protected by a variety of measures, including carrying fish around dams and building weirs - a new type of weir that works like a water slide - to ease young fishes' journey through dams as they swim downstream to the ocean. The total cost of the 10-year effort was projected at $6 billion. Assuming annual expenditures of $600 million, this represents a slight increase over existing spending for this purpose.
"It is clear that each of the dams already exists, and their existence is beyond the present discretion" of federal agencies to reverse, the opinion said.
The decision is a departure from the Clinton administration's approach to salmon protection. In 2000, it adopted a policy that allowed for dam removal, although only if all other measures had failed.
The Bush administration opinion, first released in draft form in September, provoked immediate outrage on the part of environmentalists and some tribal groups, who see it as another in a series of federal actions weakening protection for the salmon that are an integral part of the regional identity of the Northwest, and whose numbers have been sharply reduced over the decades by overfishing, dam construction, industrial pollution and suburban sprawl.
Earlier this year the fisheries division proposed including fish bred in hatcheries along with their wild cousins when calculating whether a salmon species is still endangered.
Environmentalists say the administration is retreating from the goal of recovering salmon to robust populations, settling for the status quo.
A spokesman for the fisheries division disagreed, saying the actions the agencies were taking or planned to take would be sufficient to protect the salmon. In a conference call Tuesday afternoon, officials of the fisheries service and the other agencies involved pointed out that they had drafted a letter addressed to the citizens of the Northwest with the assurance that "this approach does not represent a reduction in our commitment to salmon recovery."
In May, a senior Commerce Department official wrote to Congress that despite the decision to include hatchery fish when determining the health of fish populations, the department would probably conclude that most species currently considered endangered would remain so.
In a conference call Tuesday afternoon on the guidance to dam operators, Bob Lohn of the Northwest regional office of the fisheries service said, "The actions proposed by the federal agencies do provide major steps in making their operations fish-friendly." The dams already include fish ladders that enable many adult salmon to reach the higher parts of the rivers where they spawn.
The policy is effectively a roadmap to guide the operations of the federal agencies and power authorities that operate dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. It also includes an appendix with detailed prescriptions for "reducing the risk factors" for eight of the 11 species - prescriptions which, in some cases, call for some commingling of hatchery and wild fish.
But, Mr. Lohn added, the policy "does not suggest that the dams result in no damage or that nothing should be done" to mitigate the effects that occur. Referring to the letter, he added, "We desire and we are eager to work with the region, with states and tribes, to complete the comprehensive plan" to set priorities for salmon recovery.
But one representative of the National Wildlife Federation immediately asserted that the letter to the citizens did not have the standing of the formal biological opinion and so amounted to no legal commitment. John Kober, the wildlife program manager in the group's Seattle office, said, "What we'd likely find if this plan were carried out in 10 years is exactly where we are today - fish hovering near extinction thresholds and never getting one step closer to recovery."
The National Wildlife Federation, along with the State of Oregon, successfully sued the Commerce Department, parent of the fisheries service, winning a judgment in 2003 that found that the Clinton policy, which included the possibility of dam removal among other remedies, was too vague and did not go far enough to protect the fish.
That judgment, by Judge James Redden of Federal District Court in Portland, opened the door for the Bush administration to revisit the issue and produce the opinion that was announced on Tuesday.
After the new policy was proposed in September, Judge Redden expressed skepticism at a court hearing, warning that the administration could be headed for a "train wreck."
Mr. Kober said Tuesday that "we certainly are looking seriously at continuing our litigation as a last resort," in light of the new opinion. An Oregon fish and wildlife official said officials there were still studying the opinion.
John Klicker for The New York Times
Two children watching a salmon pass by at a dam in Portland, Ore.
Jeff T. Green for The New York Times
This fish ladder was installed at Ice Harbor Dam to assist fish movement on the Snake River near Burbank, Wash., one of two at the dam.
ping
I love W.s good common sense. What a breath of fresh air.
Bump to your good post, #3.
You've got to love W. It really looks like he's decided to be a conservative - finally. He's understands these clowns and simply will not let them have any say. He's done it at CIA, State, and just about everywhere else. This new administration will be the tighest ship ever run. Outstanding.
Bush was in eastern WA during the 2000 election talking to people over there who DO NOT want the dams removed - -looks like he's still listening to them!
Solution: Eat the Salmon keep the Dam !
Rest assured that this article is even more full of damned lies than most of the New York Slimes' work product. It is profoundly discouraging that the more you know about this subject, the more awful lies appear.
Not really. At this moment Bush's lawyers about about to enter into a deal to waive the normal rules so as to expedite legal challenges to the new biological opinion. Bush's appointees are virtually indistinguishable from Clinton's, and have actually raised the salmon costs imposed on the dams. Only the rhetoric is different.
Removing dams is the dumbest dam idea, ever to be ill-conceived!!!
I lived on the rivers of Washington most of my life. Between the loggers, the dams, the really stupid Fish & Wildlife biologists, gill netters, catch and bonk fishermen, cattle operators' sewage, and every other stupid human trick, those few remaining critter have got just about no chance.
I left the state in disgust for many reasons. Among them was the absolutely criminal abuse of the resource by the Fish & Wildlife Department. Kurt Kramer (Anadramous biologist, North Puget Sound) is about the most evil enemy of fish ever born. His theory as explained to me is approximately: "Kill them until they become endangered, then shut the fishery down."
What a sorry bunch of dill-heads.
You can't even have a rational discussion about good dams and bad dams. HELLO! The dams with no fish ladders permanently killed all upstream spawning territory. Dvorak dam in Idaho is, if recollection serves, just such a dam. When the highest upstream dam on the Columbia was installed without a fish ladder MILLIONS OF FISH TRYING TO ASCEND THE RIVER DIED. THAT YEAR AND FOREVER. Productive spawning grounds up into Idaho were forever shut off. Jeez. What phenomenal stupidity.
OTOH, millions of salmon and steelhead ascend those dams with fish ladders, usually just fine! For crying out friggin loud, folks.
But you can't even have a discussion about good dams and bad dams because the politics have become so friggin polarized because green weenies want every dam torn down. Any dam torn down is a chink in the armor of all dams, good or bad. So, anyone who wants a reasonable outcome can't have it, because it is a friggin religion to the enviro wackos.
You all can flippin have this junk. A pox on all your houses. I love the wild steelhead, and it will be EXTINCT in my lifetime because Washingtonians are just such a pig headed lot.
F.O.A.D.
You passion is duly noted and appreciated and shared!!!
BTT!!!!!!!
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