States, Tribes Seek NOAA Permit To Expand Lethal Removal Of Sea Lions From Columbia River, Tributaries; Could Allow Euthanizing Up To 400 Animals Feeding On ESA Salmon, Sturgeon
June 20th, 2019
With the growing worry about sea lion predation – both California and steller – on Endangered Species Act-listed salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River basin, three states and four Native American Tribes applied last week to NOAA Fisheries to lethally remove as many as 286 California and 130 steller sea lions from the river and some tributaries.
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Quantifying Economic Costs Of Northern Pike Invasion; ‘Would Require Large-Scale Ecological-Economic Exercise’
June 13th, 2019
Economists tasked with quantifying the costs of suppressing invasive northern pike in Lake Roosevelt as well as the costs to the region if the pike escaped Grand Coulee Dam and migrated downstream, risking recovery of the Columbia River basin’s threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead, indicated at a Northwest Power and Conservation Council meeting this week that available data is too sparse to adequately answer the questions.
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The Pike Danger: Will Economic Impact Report Light A Fire On Suppression Efforts?
June 7th, 2019
A highly anticipated economics report on the impacts of northern pike in the Columbia River Basin will get a rollout next week before the Northwest Power and Conservation Council in Portland.
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Oregon Removes, Euthanizes 33 California Sea Lions At Willamette Falls; Wild Winter Steelhead Run Up Considerably
May 23rd, 2019
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife was permitted by NOAA Fisheries in November 2018 to remove and euthanize up to 93 California sea lions at Willamette Falls to protect wild runs of spring chinook and winter steelhead transiting the Falls. Both species are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.
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Salmon Predation Questions: Scientists Say Inevitable Voracious, Invasive Pike Will Move Downstream Of Grand Coulee
May 14th, 2019
Washington tribes and state government first detected the presence of northern pike in Lake Roosevelt, the huge reservoir created by Grand Coulee Dam, in 2007 and have ramped up suppression efforts in the lake since 2014.
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Corps March Pinniped Report: Sea Lion Numbers At Bonneville Dam Below 10-Year Average
May 13th, 2019
The number of sea lions observed at Bonneville Dam in March was below the 10-year average and spring chinook salmon and steelhead, the fish sea lions like to feast on during the spring at the dam, were also far below average