4] Mid-C Utilities Question USFWS Study On Hanford Fish Stranding
Mid-Columbia public utility officials say a recent study released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency and others on Hanford fall chinook fry stranding failed "to properly evaluate" the issues in the context of the seven-dam system on the Columbia River.
In a May 17 letter to regional USFWS head David Allen, the utilities questioned the need for another report, since the Mid-C utilities had already developed a new program to protect the fish after seven years of study. Besides, they said, the Hanford run is the healthiest in the Northwest, with returns in recent years exhibiting some of the highest numbers in the past 40 years, like 2003's 88,000 fall chinook.
In early spring, thousands of fall chinook fry are stranded in pools left by river fluctuations from load-following hydro operations. The USFWS study, funded in large part by some of the state of Alaska's share of federal salmon recovery funds, says that Grant PUD can do more to reduce flow fluctuations by changing operations at the utility's Priest Rapids and Wanapum facilities.
But Linda Jones, Grant PUD's director of communications and external affairs, says if the agencies responsible for the latest study had participated in the earlier work with the utilities, they would have realized the limitations at Grant's projects for reducing fluctuations, and that it takes the coordination of BPA and the mid-C's to make the program work.
Jones said the utilities were comfortable with the mortality estimates from their seven years' of study, reported two years ago and statistically similar to estimates produced in the latest report.
The USFWS study says fluctuations killed more than one million fall chinook fry in 2003, which they estimated at 12 percent of that year's production. Estimates at the time pegged the losses as several hundred thousand. A closer look at the report shows the earlier estimate is within the range of the newest estimate.
The utilities' letter also points out that Grant PUD has offered to release an additional million fry from its hatchery every year to make up for unavoidable losses. And they say that the Washington Department of Fish and Game and others have acknowledged that "no net impact is being achieved for fall chinook in the Hanford Reach."
An earlier letter to USFWS' Allen from Congressman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) questioned the federal fish and wildlife agency's "attitude, approach and very conduct of this study."
In his April 13 letter, Hastings said he was especially troubled that "the FWS study was made possible by funding provided by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is an entity with clear bias and a direct interest (ocean harvest) in the outcome of the study. Their involvement raises serious questions to say the least." He said the study had the potential to disrupt the Priest Rapids relicensing process.
The new study was a cooperative effort between USFWS, the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, ADFG, USGS, WDFW, the Yakama Nation and several consulting services. - B. R.
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