1. SMOLT TRANSPORT STUDY SHOWS LOW ADULT RETURNS Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

Whether as smolts they are transported or migrate in-river, adult spring/summer wild chinook are returning to the Snake River Basin in numbers far lower than needed for recovery, according to preliminary results of smolt transportation research by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Scientists believe Columbia Basin wild salmon stocks need an adult return rate of 2-6 percent to reverse population decline. Preliminary research results show transported wild and hatchery ... Read More...

2. CORPS BUDGET FOCUS OF SALMON RECOVERY DEBATE Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

Northwest conservation and fishing organizations are asking the Northwest congressional delegation to add language to a House spending bill that would dramatically reverse the course of salmon recovery in the Columbia River Basin. But regional officials for the Army Corps of Engineers say the organizations are misreading the intent of the House Appropriations Committee, which virtually eliminated capital funding for hydropower modifications guided by the National Marine Fisheries ... Read More...

3. STUDY: HIGHER FLOWS INCREASE FALL CHINOOK SURVIVAL Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

New, preliminary data from the National Marine Fisheries Service indicates a strong relationship between higher river flows, colder water temperature, and subyearling Snake River fall chinook survival through the hydropower system. NMFS fisheries biologist Chris Ross presented some of the data at a recent meeting of the Implementation Team, a group of senior level state and federal policymakers. NMFS reports are posted on the Bonneville Power Administration's website (see link ... Read More...

4. UTILITY EXPLAINS CONDIT DAM REMOVAL OPTIONS Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

WHITE SALMON, Wash., -- The breaching of the Condit Dam seems to be the only logical business choice that could be made to satisfy fish passage requirements, according to PacifiCorp officials. A crowd of about 135 mostly White Salmon River drainage residents heard that message Tuesday at a special meeting called to explain dam removal options. A large majority of those who offered comments cheered the prospect of removing the impediment to salmon and steelhead passage. Others, ... Read More...

5. NW GOVERNORS RELEASE RIVER GOVERNANCE OPTIONS Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

The four Northwest governors are asking for public comment on five river governance models in an effort to "identify a potential legislative proposal" that could be included a Northwest chapter of a national energy restructuring bill. "Even as we begin this discussion, the governors are working actively with the federal government and the tribes in the Three Sovereigns process," say the governors in a letter accompanying the governance proposals. "We ... Read More...

6. FRAMEWORK FUNDING, SUPPORT STILL UP IN AIR Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

A letter has been penned and is poised for mailing, but that request for multi-species framework development funding is stalled for at least another week as Columbia River Basin fishery managers and those involved in the Three Sovereigns process ponder its worth. The letter calls for the Bonneville Power Administration to allocate $894,500 to be spent between now and the end of the calendar year on the project's first phase. The Northwest Power Planning Council, whose staff is ... Read More...

7. PANEL: COUNCIL MUST MOVE BEYOND 'SOFT TASKS' Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

Panelists took different paths to reach the same point Wednesday · that the Northwest Power Council must move beyond the "soft tasks" it now undertakes if it is to play a lead role in regional fish and wildlife and power decisions. The Council, created by the Northwest Power Act of 1980, began an effort earlier this summer to redefine its role. The release of a discussion paper, "The Role of the Northwest Power Planning Council," was intended to prompt ... Read More...

8. SALMON MANAGERS DISAGREE ON DWORSHAK RELEASES Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

Consensus among federal, state, and tribal salmon managers broke down this week over the release of water from Idaho's Dworshak Dam to cool down the Snake River and increase flows in the Lower Columbia. Fish biologists from the National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the states of Oregon and Washington opted to put as much water as possible into the Snake from now until the end of August. Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the Columbia Basin ... Read More...

9. NMFS SEEKS DELAY OF OREGON COHO LISTING Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

Federal officials, arguing that an immediate Endangered Species Act listing of Oregon coastal coho salmon would do more harm than good, are asking the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to negate a lower court ruling that the coho must be listed on Aug. 3. In a 13-page declaration presented to the court July 18, Will Stelle, Regional Administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, asks for a "stay" of the lower court deadline. NMFS wants to hold off a listing while ... Read More...

10. FUNDS RECOMMENDED FOR LEAVENWORTH HATCHERY Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

A recommendation that $153,000 be allocated to fund a Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery Complex budget shortfall has been forwarded by the Northwest Power Planning Council to the Bonneville Power Administration. The Council decided Wednesday to second a recommendation from the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority favoring the expenditure. The NPPC letter to BPA administrator Judith Johansen asks BPA to OK expenditures from its reimbursables program. The Bureau of ... Read More...

11. IEAB BUDGET, MEMBERSHIP ISSUES ADDRESSED Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

Recently resigned Northwest Power Planning Council member Ken Casavant has emerged as the top candidate to fill a vacant slot on the Independent Economic Advisory Board. Casavant, an agricultural economist now on sabbatical from Washington State University, stepped down this summer and was replaced June 30 by Tom Karier of Spokane. Casavant had "indicated an interest" in joining the economic advisory panel so his name was added to the list of prospective candidates to replace Read More...

12. HOUSE BUMPS OFF ICBEMP Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

An ongoing ecosystem management plan for the entire Columbia River basin is one step closer to a shutdown after the House of Representatives voted Thursday to pull the plug on the project's funding. The six-state Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Plan has been touted by the Clinton administration as the only way to avoid future conflict and court battles over endangered species protection in the Northwest. But critics have argued the project has been a waste of money- $40 Read More...

13. RIVER OPERATIONS MOVE INTO SUMMER Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2003 (PST)

(Editor's Note: The Columbia Basin Bulletin will periodically keep readers posted on river operations during the spring/summer salmon and steelhead migration season. Most of the information comes from weekly reports by the Fish Passage Center.) River hydropower operations shifted from spring to summer mode at the end of June. Salmon managers and river operators struggled to coordinate summer flow augmentation for migrating salmon with storage needs in the Upper Columbia and Snake River Read More...