1. EDITOR'S NOTE Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

EDITOR'S NOTE: You are already signed up to receive the Columbia Basin Bulletin every week. To keep receiving it, you don't need to do anything. If you DO NOT wish to receive future e-mail versions of the bulletin, send an e-mail with no subject line to cbb-list-request@majordomo.net. In the body of the message, write "unsubscribe." You will automatically be removed from the list. If the bulletin has been forwarded to you, please subscribe by sending an e-mail to ... Read More...

2. JOHN DAY SCREENS GET NEGATIVE REVIEW Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

The future of a $40 million fish diversion proposal for the Columbia River's John Day Dam was clouded Wednesday when the Northwest Power Planning Council recommended that the Corps of Engineers suspend project contract advertising. The action came following the presentation of an Independent Scientific Advisory Board report that questioned the justification for the project, which involves installation of extended-length screens to divert fish from the dam's turbine intakes and increase Read More...

3. GOVERNORS PURSUE RIVER GOVERNANCE LEGISLATION Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

The four Northwest governors have agreed to consider "legislative proposals for river governance" that might be included in a "Northwest chapter" for national energy restructuring legislation. The governors intend this work to take place in conjunction with collaborative efforts among states, tribes and federal agencies under the Three Sovereigns process. "Regardless of the outcome of the Three Sovereigns process, the Governors believe that eventually a ... Read More...

4. TRIBES WANT EXISTING PROCESS IMPROVED Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

Tribal chairs for Columbia Basin tribes, reacting to the four Northwest governors "Statement of Intention," say they are ready to discuss legislative proposals, but stressed the immediate need for a "comprehensive, coordinated, river governance approach." "The tribes welcome the opportunity to conduct government-to-government consultations with the sovereigns in the region on legislative proposals on river governance, and stress the importance of utilizing ... Read More...

5. PANELISTS DISCUSS POWER COUNCIL'S ROLE Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

The Northwest Power Planning Council put out a call for help in redefining its role. It got an earful Wednesday with panelists alternately questioning the need for the Council's existence and challenging it to take a more forceful role on energy-related and fish and wildlife recovery issues. In a discussion paper, "The Role of the Northwest Power Planning Council," released last month, the Council reflects on its past and contemplates its future. The Council was created ... Read More...

6. JUDGE THROWS COHO LISTING BACK TO NMFS Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

In a strongly-worded opinion, Federal Judge Janice M. Stewart ruled on June 1 that the National Marine Fisheries Service must reconsider its decision not to list the Oregon coastal coho salmon as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Rather than list the coastal coho, NMFS in April, 1997 signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Oregon to implement the Oregon Coastal Salmon Restoration Initiative. This decision to rely on future and voluntary state conservation measures to ... Read More...

7. KITZHABER TO APPEAL COHO RULING Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber said on June 4 that he will appeal Federal Judge Janice Stewart's ruling that the National Marine Fisheries Service must reconsider its decision to list the Oregon coastal coho salmon. Kitzhaber said Stewart's interpretation "implies that the requirement under the ESA for federal agencies to consider state conservation plans means almost nothing; that state-led conservation efforts have no place under ESA; that conservation efforts by individuals ... Read More...

8. TRIBES RESPOND TO STEELHEAD HARVEST PROPOSAL Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

The Columbia River treaty tribes have responded to a proposal by the National Marine Fisheries Service to dramatically reduce the harvest of B-run steelhead during the tribal fall season fisheries in order to increase steelhead escapement levels. "In our view, there are many things that can and should be done to improve future years escapement of steelhead, such as improving passage and habitat conditions for juvenile and adult fish and using real supplementation actions to ... Read More...

9. NMFS SEEKS FUND FOR NEW TRIBAL NETS Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

A proposal claiming to enhance steelhead survival by increasing the size of the net mesh used in tribal salmon harvests caused Northwest Power Planning Council members to pause, and then deny an immediate endorsement for a $500,000 emergency budget allocation. The request, presented to the Council's Fish and Wildlife Committee Tuesday, asked that specially designated Endangered Species Act research funds being held at the discretion of the Bonneville Power Administration be ... Read More...

10. MONTANA SEES LEVERAGE IN BULL TROUT LISTING Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

The recent listing of bull trout as a threatened species could give bulls the same considerations as downstream salmon, and the state of Montana could have more leverage in its efforts to influence dam operations, says one of the state's lead biologists. Brian Marotz, fisheries program officer for the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, contends that salmon have been the favored species for federal agencies that influence Montana's dam operations. But that may change with the ... Read More...

11. BULL TROUT IMPACTS EXPECTED TO BE SUBTLE Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

Now that it has come, observers who have expected a bull trout listing for some time say its impacts in Montana will be subtle and uncertain. Immediate or dramatic effects from the listing are not expected. " As far as Fish, Wildlife and Parks are concerned, we're not going to be doing anything differently in the near future," said Tom Weaver, a fisheries biologist for the agency. "We have the expertise and we plan to maintain a leadership role in monitoring populations, Read More...

12. WHITE STURGEON GROUP EMBRACES IRCs Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

The White Sturgeon Recovery Team has endorsed the dam release formulas backed by the state of Montana, despite efforts of federal agencies to discourage them. The unanimous endorsement adds weight to Montana's position in a tug-of-war that has developed between salmon interests and those interested in the welfare of inland native species like sturgeon. The multi-agency sturgeon team met in Spokane June 4 to review a draft recovery plan for sturgeon. The plan repeatedly calls for the Read More...

13. SCIENCE FRAMEWORK PROCESS COULD COST OVER $3 MILLION Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

A rough plan of attack for shaping a scientific principles/framework for Columbia River basin fish and wildlife restoration was laid out for the Northwest Power Planning Council Tuesday and Wednesday during work sessions at Spokane. The fast-track planning process produced some surprising budget estimates -- $700,000 in fiscal year 1998 to assemble framework scientific and policy development teams and begin the work and another $2.7 million in fiscal 1999 to complete the process. ... Read More...

14. FUNDING APPROVED FOR IMNAHA SUPPLEMENTATION Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

Dire fish circumstance prompted the Northwest Power Planning Council Wednesday to deviate from its standard operating procedures and recommend funding for a controversial Imnaha River steelhead fish supplementation effort. The council followed a recommendation made Tuesday by its Fish and Wildlife Committee to allow a $115,000 in Bonneville Power Administration funding for fiscal year 1998 to be shifted from one Northeast Oregon fish rearing project to another. If BPA goes along ... Read More...

15. DISSOLVED GAS PLAN STALLED ON CLEAN WATER ACT Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

Must the federal hydro system meet Clean Water Act standards for total dissolved gas? A multi-agency scientific team charged with designing a dissolved gas research plan stalled on this question. A plan needs a goal, Dissolved Gas Team chair Mark Schneider of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) said, and setting this goal is a high-level policy question, not one the scientists can answer. Schneider presented the team's final report to the NMFS Regional Forum ... Read More...

16. SNAKE RIVER RETURNS LOWER THAN EXPECTED Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

Adult Snake River spring/summer chinook from the 1995 and 1996 outmigrations are returning at lower-than-expected rates, according to both the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. In both years, tens of thousands of smolts were marked with PIT-tags in order to compare smolt-to-adult survival (SAR) of transported fish with those migrating in the river. The "2-ocean fish" from 1995 returned last year while the "3-ocean fish" are Read More...

17. IDAHO SAYS NO TO THREE SOVEREIGNS MOA Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

Mike Field, Idaho's representative to the Three Sovereigns Process, says his state is not ready to sign a Memorandum of Agreement regarding river governance, but will continue to participate in the Three Sovereigns process. "We will continue to work collaboratively on these issues," said Field. "But we won't sign a contract. Through the public comment process our constituents told us they don't want us to sign the MOA." He said the MOA's "rules are not ... Read More...

18. FEEDBACK ON JUNE 1-5 EDITION Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

. Ruff jruff@nwppc.org, senior hydrologist with Northwest Power Planning Council: There are just a couple of clarifications I would like to make. First, in article 3 on page 5, "Bi-national Discussions Begin on Dissolved Gas," I would like to add a clarification to my quote in the sixth paragraph of the article. A more accurate version of what I said is, "The Bureau of Reclamation is currently evaluating the feasibility of several costly structural alternatives to ... Read More...