Agencies submit new Columbia River salmon plan

The Obama administration has come back with its final program for restoring endangered salmon on the Columbia River -- a plan substantially like the last one.

The revised biological opinion submitted by four federal agencies to the federal court in Portland, Ore., has been updated to reflect new scientific studies and to incorporate a flexible "adaptive management" strategy that will allow swift implementation of stronger measures if needed.

Officials hope that will be sufficient to head off yet another rejection by the court. "While much attention has focused on the courtroom, the region should be proud of what the federal government, states, tribes and communities together have accomplished for fish," the agencies said in a statement releasing the opinion.

"Last year alone, 9,609 miles of wetland habitat were protected and 244 miles of streams were reopened to fish. We've made much progress, and completion of this legal process now prepares us to make much more."

Conservationists had hoped the plan would be much bolder, with less emphasis on hatchery fish and stronger attention to the possibility of breaching dams on the Snake River in eastern Washington that cut off salmon from miles of pristine potential habitat.

"This was the Obama team's chance to change directions and protect salmon in the Columbia-Snake River basin and follow the law," said Todd True of Earthjustice, who is lead attorney for a group of fishing and conservation groups who have challenged the restoration plan in court.

While federal officials said the revised plan strengthens monitoring of climate change indicators, such as river temperatures, to determine the need for special intervention, critics said it does not go nearly far enough.

"The most recent science all points in the same direction -- climate change is upon us and it is already impacting our waters," Jim Martin, former chief of fisheries for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said in a statement. "The only answer is that this administration has -- against its promises and exclamations -- allowed politics to trump sound science."

Business, agricultural and power utility users of the river have largely supported the administration's plan so far and called it "nonsensical" to talk of removing dams, upon which the region relies for electrical power and barge transport.

They said that replacing the electricity with fossil fuel plants would add 4.4 million tons of carbon dioxide annually to the atmosphere.

Federal officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Bonneville Power Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the federal Bureau of Reclamation said they reviewed new scientific research that has emerged since the main biological opinion was completed in 2008 but found only "modest" changes in the science.

In addition to monitoring river temperatures and other factors for climate change, the agencies identified five additional new actions that will be taken to guard against "uncertainties" created by toxics, invasive species and hatchery fish.

--Kim Murphy

Photo: Conservationists would like to remove dams like this one on the lower Snake River to provide salmon with access to pristine new habitat. Credit: Jackie Johnston, Associated Press.

Comments

[Nicole]

This decision by the administration is heart-wrenching. And, it seems even more frustrating and horrifying when you consider that these salmon are unique to this planet and we have a chance to save them from extinction. How could we be so selfish? Doesn't the next generation deserve more? Check out this new National Geographic website about the issue - http://www.actionatlas.org/conservation/migrations-corridors/save-our-wild-salmon/summary/paaF7FA0C7D721D59F72 - and see how you can help.

[Greg Stahl]

Your use of the word bold seems appropriate. For an administration that campaigned on ideas of change and new beginnings, treatment of this important national issue is disappointing.

[L. Mark Weeks]

Columbia watershed salmon are amazing animals. Some of them travel as far as 900 miles over 8 dams to spawn. These wonderful fish and their habitat deserve a management plan that is based on nothing but the best available science. Protecting the salmon of the Pacific Northwest will inure to the benefit of the economy and our quality of life.

[Noreen Wedman]

Any fish that can migrate 900 miles up a river and nearly 7,000 feet in elevation deserves protection. Damns literally damn up the food supply for miles inland by interupting the natural processes of rivers. Damns literally starve the interior of food. Salmon play a starring role in this food chain that impacts all life in the region, including humans. There are other more ecological friendly ways of generating electricity besides damns.

[David]

When it comes to protecting our natural resources the Obama Administration is providing almost no change from the Bush years. Salmon are such a valuable resource, yet once again the status quo prevails over science and the ESA.

[Heather]

The Obama Administration and Salazar are not turning out to be friends of the environment. Off shore drilling endorsement (just before the BP disaster) and the basic continuation of this failed salmon plan - business as usual needs to stop or the dire consequences overall eco-collapse and salmon extinction. Here in California, we have experienced first-hand the ill effects of dams and political water pressures that have decimated our salmon populations. Killing off such an important part of the watershed and overall ecosystem has far reaching effects, some of which we will not see for generations!

[Red Desert]

Yes we can. It was all such beautiful hypocrisy.

[PasadenaBoy]

I don't understand this. Restoring Columbia Basin salmon should be a win-win for the economy and the environment. Healthy salmon populations have long supported communities up and down the west coast. But no longer. After eight long years under the Bush regime, I expected much more than this from Obama. This is the same stuff - politics trumping science at the expense of wild salmon, rivers, fishermen, and taxpayers.

President Obama needs to stand up to the industrial river abusers (and the industrial Gulf abusers, for that matter) and do what is right for the people not only of the West Coast, but the nation. Columbia and Snake River salmon are a national treasure, and unless CHANGE truly comes to the Northwest, we will be the last generation to marvel at these amazing creatures. Hope's no plan, and I'm betting that the courts will see right through this.

[Emily Nuchols]

So, so frustrating. And this announcement coming on Endangered Species Day is sickeningly fitting given our country’s priorities right now. With this decision, the Obama administration has said to the American people that they have no problem damming (pun fully intended there) wild salmon to extinction, and if this plan stays, it will effectively lower the bar for protection of all endangered species across the country. I hope Judge Redden holds the administration responsible. Until then, vent your frustration by taking action here: http://ga0.org/campaign/oneofakind

[Paul J Allen]

It is time to follow the science and remove the dams. Restoring the rivers by removing the dams will restore much needed salmon habitat and save taxpayers millions of dollars.
Federal money to remove the dams will also stimulate the local economy.

[richard dahlgren]

Obama has become GW Bush in disguise. When he ran for election he said he would base his decisions on good science. That is not the case, it's the same team of biostitutes who advised "W" who are advising him.

Sadly the taxpayers will continue to pay close to one billion dollars per year in failed salmon restoration on the Snake & Columbia.

[Whitefish]

Living here in Eastern Washington this plan is a huge let down. It is clear the federal government is going to kick the salmon crisis down the road for the next generation to deal with... after it's too late for many of the runs of wild fish and the communities that depend on them.

If this plan took an honest look at salmon recovery, a look grounded in solid science rather than status quo politics, eastern Washington would actually find its self moving towards a better tomorrow... real green energy, improved rail transportation and a restored river that attracted and anchored money and jobs in our region. The Obama salmon plan continues to use the "head buried in sand" approach that denies eastern Washington the benefits and economic hope that real salmon/ river recovery would deliver to our part of the state (to say nothing of Idaho, Oregon, Cali and AK).
We can do better... we need a real dialogue with real solutions.

[Roger Williams]

This is not good at all. Are we making policy decisions with a magic eight ball?
"The most recent science all points in the same direction -- climate change is upon us and it is already impacting our waters," Jim Martin, former chief of fisheries for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said in a statement. "The only answer is that this administration has -- against its promises and exclamations -- allowed politics to trump sound science."

Seems pretty straight forward: Listen to the experts and plan action based on what they have to say.

[Dan Drais]

The feds have unfortunately done exactly what the judge ordered them not to do: They have nodded to lots of recent science and promised additional monitoring, but declined to take any actions that would actually increase the chances that Columbia/Snake salmon will recover. The cynicism of the Obama team is deeply disappointing. Unfortunately for the whole region, the new plan -- which is no better than the one about which the judge expressed great skepticism -- will be litigated, and rejected, and we will STILL not have a roadmap towards healthy salmon, healthy communities, needed transportation improvements, and clean replacement energy. The lack of integrity at NOAA's highest levels boggles the mind.

[Amy Lindberg]

this is such a huge disappointment. The President of Change and Hope and Transparency and Science and Fact-Based decision-making has delegated this important decision about how to protect endangered salmon to bunch of people who have thrown it all out the window.

This is the Bush Administration all over again. Politics trumping science. What does this mean? Back to court. Salmon extinctions. Salmon economy job losses. A terribly missed opportunity to lead, to solve problems, to bring people together to work on common solutions.

This plan ignores climate change (the plan commits to monitoring impacts instead of actually addressing them); this plan ignores the plight of endangered orcas and the fact that they need a lot more salmon or they will disappear for good; this plan ignores the good jobs that healthy salmon populations support and the income that it can generate; this plan ignores the fact that Snake River salmon in particular are exceedingly unique - longest and highest salmon migrants in the world.

And the Obama Plan does little more than wish them good luck.

[Steve Stracqualursi]

"Business, agricultural and power utility users of the river have largely supported the administration's plan so far and called it "nonsensical" to talk of removing dams, upon which the region relies for electrical power and barge transport."

I think that paragraph identifies the priorities. Unfortunately salmon don't have a voice here. It looks like the 21st century will go down as the century where we killed off the salmon......and too many other species to mention.

[Jim Jones]

Once again we have proven that regardless of party, our is a government of the status quo. President Obama is not willing to take any more of a bold move to restore this watershed than former President Bush.
I understand the complexities of this situation, but we all know the definition of insanity - and it seems to apply here.

[Pat Ford]

This good story says, accurately, that some Northwest power users claim that replacing the lower Snake River dams' electricity with fossil fuel plants would add 4.4 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Those power users forget to mention that the lower Snake dams' electricity will NOT be replaced with fossil fuel plants.

The NW Energy Coalition did a detailed study in 2009 showing that energy efficiency can replace most of it and new clean renewables the rest, with a small amount of natural gas available as a bridging fuel for a few years if needed at times of high electricity demand. Today, energy efficiency is the "fuel of choice" for generating new electricity in the Northwest, because it is cheaper and creates more jobs than any other source, generates no carbon, and is available from every home, business, farm, and building in every community. The NW Energy Coalition study showed that, in addition to the work energy efficiency is already doing to generate energy and keep rates low, it can be accelerated to replace most of the lower Snake dams' electricity. That acceleration would in turn create even more jobs, in addition to the salmon jobs removing these dams will restore.

Those who keep talking about fossil fuels replacing lower Snake dam energy are living in the past. It is nearly certain no new coal plants will ever be built in the Northwest; the trend is instead to retire those that now exist. The conservationists and fishermen who seek removal of these four dams are actively helping ensure this coal-free future occurs, and removing these few dams is of a piece with it.

In the era of global warming, the key to good policy for people and the planet are combined, multi-level actions that both help stop global warming AND help adapt to or prepare for its effects. A policy that combines removing the lower Snake dams to restore wild salmon and salmon jobs, and replacing those dams' electricity with non-carbon sources that are also fueling the rest of our future, is the right policy for people, jobs, waters, businesses, communities, and our children.

It is unfortunate that an Administration which came to office pledging to support such integrated policies has in this case been captured by the status quo thinking that so pervades the federal bureaucracies which primarily face backwards. This thinking is more outdated with each day's new contributions of carbon from the web of all our actions from within that status quo.

It is fortunate that the people of the salmon states have had some good practice recently in getting things done despite the federal government. A few dams that no longer make sense are being removed, in ascending steps of positive impact. Energy efficiency is now our engine for electricity generation, with clean renewables helping out. The faster we continue these trends, the better off we and our kids will be.

[gsp]

Very disappointing decision by the administration, upholding another Bush policy with bad consequences for river, the environment, and the Northwest's economy. You would think Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, from Washington state, would do better by the Pacific Northwest.

[Jennifer Siler]

The Obama team has squandered another opportunity and this one hits close to home. I grew up on the Oregon coast and I've seen first hand how the decline of salmon and steelhead can affect local communities. Uncertainties? Talk to fishing families about those. California knows about that too. The Columbia-Snake Basin provides are last best chance to recover these fish to abundance. Senators across the coast should take an all-options approach to restoring this watershed. And yes, that mean a real look at removing the out-dated dams on the lower Snake River.