Posted on 10/31/2007 11:47:16 PM PDT by neverdem
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 31 Federal fisheries officials in Seattle on Wednesday endorsed, with minor modifications, a plan for the governments continued operation of the hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. They said it did not jeopardize the survival of 13 stocks of salmon and steelhead that the government must protect under the Endangered Species Act.
The endorsement, a draft analysis from the National Marine Fisheries Service, agreed with dozens of proposed protective actions that would provide enhanced measures to get juvenile fish past the dams as they swim seaward, improve habitat in the river and discourage predators like California sea lions and Caspian terns.
Wednesdays draft represents the fisheries agencys third effort to find a binding, legally acceptable solution to the Northwests tug of war between salmon and dams.
The agencies operating the dams are required by law to consult with federal biologists about their impact on endangered and threatened species and what they intend to do about it.
The opinion by the fisheries service, a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, made no mention of the possibility of removing four dams on the lower Snake River that sit on the annual migration route of some of the more imperiled species. Many environmentalists and scientists see these four dams as the deadliest obstacle these fish face...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
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