JoseCuervo
New member
This is a stroke of Genius
By pitting the Upstream users vs. the Lower Snake Dam stakeholders, the pressure will intensify to remove the dams. President Bush may have to hurry back to Ice Harbor for more Photo Opportunities, as it looks like the Lower Snake dams will be sacraficed by the Idaho Power and irrigators of the Upper Snake.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Bush Administration Must Reevaluate Upper Snake River Dam Operations
Dams hold back water that endangered salmon need
Contact:
Contacts: Justin Hayes, ICL, (208) 345-6933 x.24
Bill Sedivy, Idaho Rivers United, (208) 343-7481
Rob Masonis, American Rivers, (206) 213-0330 x.12
Jan Hasselman, National Wildlife Federation, (206) 285-8707
Laird Lucas, Advocates for the West, (208) 342-7024
Boise, Idaho – In the wake of President Bush's statements on salmon recovery in the Northwest, a coalition of business, fishing, and conservation groups today warned the Bureau of Reclamation and NOAA Fisheries that the operation of 10 dams and reservoirs on the upper Snake River in Idaho needs to be reevaluated to avoid harm to salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act.
Attorneys for Idaho Rivers United, Idaho Conservation League, American Rivers and the National Wildlife Federation notified the agencies and Interior Secretary Gale Norton in a letter sent Friday that a lawsuit will be filed unless steps are taken to ensure that the upper Snake projects comply with the ESA. The groups are being represented by Advocates for the West, a non-profit environmental law firm based in Boise, and EarthJustice.
"On Friday, President Bush stated that everyone involved in salmon recovery must contribute to that effort. Right now, federal agencies in Idaho are not doing their part. Our letter puts the agencies on notice that they must fulfill their role in the regional salmon recovery effort by providing necessary water flows from the upper Snake River," said Laird Lucas, an attorney with Advocates for the West.
At issue is whether NOAA Fisheries' 2001 Upper Snake River Biological Opinion (2001 Bi-Op), a document intended to insure that operation of the upper Snake River projects and dams does not harm federally protected salmon and steelhead, is adequate to protect the fish. In that biological opinion NOAA concluded that Bureau of Reclamation operation of the projects would not jeopardize the protected species.
"This case is about complying with the law," said Justin Hayes of the Idaho Conservation League. "The plan for operating the upper Snake projects is illegal because it relies largely on another plan that has been ruled illegal. That situation needs to be corrected to make sure salmon get the water they need to survive."
The coalition maintains that a recent ruling by the federal district court in Oregon invalidating the federal salmon plan for the federal hydroelectric dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers requires the Bureau and NOAA Fisheries to take a fresh look at the Bureau's dam operations in the upper Snake River basin. They also contend that NOAA Fisheries failed to conduct adequate analysis in analyzing upper Snake River project impacts when it issued the 2001 BiOp currently in place.
The conservation groups hope that the Bureau and NOAA Fisheries will commit to reevaluating the upper Snake River storage projects without the need for litigation, but the agencies failed to make that commitment when several of the groups requested it in July.
"With the lower Snake River dams still in place, adequate water delivery from upstream is critical to juvenile salmon, especially fall chinook, migrating to the sea," said Bill Sedivy with Idaho Rivers United. "Since 2000, the government has consistently failed to meet flow targets at the lower Snake River dams and water delivery targets for upper Snake River water." Indeed, the Bureau has provided less water in 2001-2003 than it had in the 1990s to aid salmon and steelhead.
During his visit to Washington last week, President Bush restated his opposition to removing the four lower Snake River dams.
"The Bush administration should not be allowed to have it both ways," said Rob Masonis of American Rivers. "If the lower Snake River dams are not going to be removed, the administration must deliver the water necessary to adequately mitigate the harm caused by the dams. The salmon recovery menu doesn't let you order up low flows with your dams, but that is precisely what the administration seems to crave. An objective and credible analysis of this situation is long overdue." The region's Independent Scientific Advisory Board, an expert scientific panel that advises on salmon recovery efforts, recently affirmed in a February 2003 report that salmon survival decreases substantially when flow targets are not met.
"The Bureau needs to make sure that enough water is flowing into the Snake River out of Idaho so that fish can make it past the dams," said Jan Hasselman of the National Wildlife Federation. "Instead, they're providing a fraction of what the government's own scientists say is necessary to protect fish and the communities that depend on them."
Join the Idaho Conservation League and help protect Wild Idaho today!
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
By pitting the Upstream users vs. the Lower Snake Dam stakeholders, the pressure will intensify to remove the dams. President Bush may have to hurry back to Ice Harbor for more Photo Opportunities, as it looks like the Lower Snake dams will be sacraficed by the Idaho Power and irrigators of the Upper Snake.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Bush Administration Must Reevaluate Upper Snake River Dam Operations
Dams hold back water that endangered salmon need
Contact:
Contacts: Justin Hayes, ICL, (208) 345-6933 x.24
Bill Sedivy, Idaho Rivers United, (208) 343-7481
Rob Masonis, American Rivers, (206) 213-0330 x.12
Jan Hasselman, National Wildlife Federation, (206) 285-8707
Laird Lucas, Advocates for the West, (208) 342-7024
Boise, Idaho – In the wake of President Bush's statements on salmon recovery in the Northwest, a coalition of business, fishing, and conservation groups today warned the Bureau of Reclamation and NOAA Fisheries that the operation of 10 dams and reservoirs on the upper Snake River in Idaho needs to be reevaluated to avoid harm to salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act.
Attorneys for Idaho Rivers United, Idaho Conservation League, American Rivers and the National Wildlife Federation notified the agencies and Interior Secretary Gale Norton in a letter sent Friday that a lawsuit will be filed unless steps are taken to ensure that the upper Snake projects comply with the ESA. The groups are being represented by Advocates for the West, a non-profit environmental law firm based in Boise, and EarthJustice.
"On Friday, President Bush stated that everyone involved in salmon recovery must contribute to that effort. Right now, federal agencies in Idaho are not doing their part. Our letter puts the agencies on notice that they must fulfill their role in the regional salmon recovery effort by providing necessary water flows from the upper Snake River," said Laird Lucas, an attorney with Advocates for the West.
At issue is whether NOAA Fisheries' 2001 Upper Snake River Biological Opinion (2001 Bi-Op), a document intended to insure that operation of the upper Snake River projects and dams does not harm federally protected salmon and steelhead, is adequate to protect the fish. In that biological opinion NOAA concluded that Bureau of Reclamation operation of the projects would not jeopardize the protected species.
"This case is about complying with the law," said Justin Hayes of the Idaho Conservation League. "The plan for operating the upper Snake projects is illegal because it relies largely on another plan that has been ruled illegal. That situation needs to be corrected to make sure salmon get the water they need to survive."
The coalition maintains that a recent ruling by the federal district court in Oregon invalidating the federal salmon plan for the federal hydroelectric dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers requires the Bureau and NOAA Fisheries to take a fresh look at the Bureau's dam operations in the upper Snake River basin. They also contend that NOAA Fisheries failed to conduct adequate analysis in analyzing upper Snake River project impacts when it issued the 2001 BiOp currently in place.
The conservation groups hope that the Bureau and NOAA Fisheries will commit to reevaluating the upper Snake River storage projects without the need for litigation, but the agencies failed to make that commitment when several of the groups requested it in July.
"With the lower Snake River dams still in place, adequate water delivery from upstream is critical to juvenile salmon, especially fall chinook, migrating to the sea," said Bill Sedivy with Idaho Rivers United. "Since 2000, the government has consistently failed to meet flow targets at the lower Snake River dams and water delivery targets for upper Snake River water." Indeed, the Bureau has provided less water in 2001-2003 than it had in the 1990s to aid salmon and steelhead.
During his visit to Washington last week, President Bush restated his opposition to removing the four lower Snake River dams.
"The Bush administration should not be allowed to have it both ways," said Rob Masonis of American Rivers. "If the lower Snake River dams are not going to be removed, the administration must deliver the water necessary to adequately mitigate the harm caused by the dams. The salmon recovery menu doesn't let you order up low flows with your dams, but that is precisely what the administration seems to crave. An objective and credible analysis of this situation is long overdue." The region's Independent Scientific Advisory Board, an expert scientific panel that advises on salmon recovery efforts, recently affirmed in a February 2003 report that salmon survival decreases substantially when flow targets are not met.
"The Bureau needs to make sure that enough water is flowing into the Snake River out of Idaho so that fish can make it past the dams," said Jan Hasselman of the National Wildlife Federation. "Instead, they're providing a fraction of what the government's own scientists say is necessary to protect fish and the communities that depend on them."
Join the Idaho Conservation League and help protect Wild Idaho today!
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
