NWF.004/Mar.11.96

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Fish News
Reports on Fish Policy Development

[1] ENVIRO/FISHER COALITION ASKS CLINTON TO BARGE FEWER FISH :: In a Feb. 21 letter, a coalition of environmental and commercial fisher groups called on President Clinton to "put fish back in the river" by sharply reducing barging. The letter calls this a "fair test" to show whether barging or in-river migration increases survival of endangered Snake River stocks. The coalition letter criticizes the current federal policy of "more studies, more bureaucracy and continuing to vacuum the fish into barges..." The group spelled out its concerns in another letter to National Marine Fisheries Service regional director Will Stelle, calling on NMFS to implement a salmon strategy based on in-river migration and more authority for state and tribal fish agencies.

Following a similar theme, Rep. Elizabeth Furse (D-OR) is seeking signatures for a draft letter to the president calling on the administration "to allow at least 50 percent of Snake River juvenile salmon to migrate in-river this spring." Legislative aide Elise Jones said Furse believes this year's high flows provide the opportunity to conduct a scientific test of in-river vs. barging. "The alternative--to continue barging--is not very appealing," she said.

The two letters drew a strong reaction from Don Bevan, chairman of the Snake River Salmon Recovery Team. In a letter to Norm Dicks, Bevan said the so-called fair test would not answer migration questions. "Unfortunately, the [Furse] letter suggests putting more untagged fish in the river with no ability to determine their fate...Untagged fish in the river do not contribute to a valid test," said the Bevan letter [Lynn Francisco].

[2] NMFS GBD PANEL FINISHING MONITOR REPORT AFTER MEMBER FLAP OVER SUMMARY :: Members of the NMFS Gas Bubble Disease panel fired off angry e-mail objections to chair Chuck Coutant at Oak Ridge National Laboratory last week because a summary of the panel's unfinished monitoring report was released without member review. Some members were reportedly concerned that language in the summary put current GBD monitoring in too favorable a light. "Some panel members felt it [current monitoring] should be scrapped,' Coutant said, "but the majority prefer it be continued for comparison purposes and for reliable information, if the assumptions are validated."

The panel met by conference call last week to thresh out differences. Coutant said that the panel was nearing consensus that would allow the report, including minority position comments, to be issued within a week to ten days. Coutant said that in-river fish sampling and mortality counts which would help remedy reported GBD monitoring shortfalls should be augmented this year along with current collection site monitoring: "The fairest way would be to continue present monitoring, do the validation testing of that monitoring, and further develop and do in-river monitoring [of] signs and survival."

Mike Schiewe of the NMFS NW Fisheries Science Center said that some monitoring of netted fish in the reaches between dams took place last year without much success and would be augmented during monitoring of the fish migration this year. The GBD summary was released two weeks ago by NMFS under urging from the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission, which wanted input from the panel before it acted on a NMFS request to exceed allowable levels of dissolved nitrogen in the river. Washington's Department of Ecology granted the waiver, but OEQC postponed its decision until April 11 (see NWF.003 [9]) [Cyrus Noë].

[3] NMFS PROPOSES NEW DECISION-MAKING STRUCTURE :: At a Portland meeting on the last day of February, National Marine Fisheries Service regional director Will Stelle announced a new decision-making structure for salmon recovery in the Columbia basin. Stelle said the scheme was designed to coordinate federal, state and tribal programs, without changing existing authorities. A number of committees and teams were proposed, with tasks ranging from implementation of recovery plans to prioritizing programs and budget decisions. States, tribes and other federal agencies were given seats on the various groups, but NMFS remained in charge of all Endangered Species Act activities. The structure went into place quickly, with one team meeting March 6. Some participants were skeptical that a process starting this close to the 1996 migration season could influence federal decision makers. Others praised NMFS for giving structure and organization to endangered species activities [Lynn Francisco].

[4] VOLUME FORECAST SET AT 123 PERCENT OF NORMAL :: The heavy rainfall this winter has boosted the final volume forecast for March to 130 million acre-feet, 123 percent of normal. The figure, as measured at The Dalles, is a jump from 114 percent of normal forecast last month. February rainfall was very heavy throughout the basin, measuring 143 percent of average at The Dalles, 134 percent above Grand Coulee and 127 percent at Ice Harbor. Streamflows also reflected the wet winter, with The Dalles totaling 266 percent of normal, Coulee 247 percent and Lower Granite 267 percent. Reservoirs were at 52.8 percent of full system-wide. The deluge helped Bonneville's revenue picture, as the power marketer sold 4,730 megawatt-months of power in February, bringing in $37.6 million [Lynn Francisco].

[5] CONGRESS PUTS ESA REVISIONS ON BACK BURNER :: Efforts by Northwest senators to rewrite the Endangered Species Act have been placed on the back burner for this session of Congress, victims of more pressing matters such as government shutdowns and budget showdowns. Early in the session, Senator Slade Gorton (R-WA) introduced S768, while Senator Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID) sponsored S1364. Neither measure--along with HR2275, introduced by House Resources Committee chair Don Young (R-AK)--has moved out of committee. Gorton staffer Tony Williams said the issue is whether it makes more sense to attempt passing sweeping reforms or to develop incremental reforms involving principles on which there's consensus and could be passed. Gorton recently lent his name to a public education effort, dubbed Northwesterners for More Fish, designed to promote barging as a salmon recovery method. Kempthorne staffer Mark Snyder said ESA reform is at the top of Kempthorne's agenda, but not necessarily anyone else's, and there are lots of behind-the-scenes meetings and discussions with people about changes. Regardless of the discussions, it's unlikely Congress will act on any ESA reform during this election season [Jude Noland].

[6] HARVESTS REMAIN LOW :: Due in part to winter floods, Lower Columbia River fisheries remain minimal so far this year. The Columbia River Compact approved a 3-day commercial fishery, in late February, but few fishers participated. While the Compact had approved a catch level of 400 spring chinook, only 102 were harvested, five of those identified as endangered Snake River stock. There will be no commercial sockeye or summer chinook fishery in the lower river this year. The early March tribal fishery also has been hit by high flows and flood debris, severely depleting the catch. In addition, the world market apparently has been heavily influenced by farmed salmon, driving the price for steelhead down as low as $.15 a pound. The Compact will meet to set a fall chinook commercial fishery in August. In order to protect Snake River fall chinook there will probably not be a lower river commercial fishery until Sept. or Oct., 1996 [Bill Bakke].

Document Annex
Works Cited

DOCUMENTS FROM NW FISHLETTER 004 :: Listed below are available documents referred to in the text of NW Fishletter issue 004.

• NW Fishletter.003 Story [9]. February 26, 1996

• Search for S.768: Endangered Species Act Reform Act of 1995. May 9, 1995

• Search for S.1364: Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1995. October 26, 1995

• Search for H.R.2275: Endangered Species Conservation and Management Act of 1995. September 7, 1995

THE ARCHIVE :: Previous NW Fishletter issues and supporting documents.