Judge kills Bush's plan for dams and salmon

Ithaca 37

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I was hoping we'd get a judge with at least half a brain! That's all it would take for him to realize Dubya's end run was a terrible, stupid plan. Too bad some of the SI posters couldn't figure that out. :D

"A federal judge Thursday struck down the Bush administration's plan for protecting salmon in the Columbia and Snake rivers, reopening the debate over breaching four dams on the lower Snake River in Washington.

U.S. District Judge James Redden ruled the Bush administration erred when it said eight dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers do not jeopardize endangered salmon and steelhead.

He rejected their assertion that the Endangered Species Act requires them to evaluate only the effects of dam operations on salmon — not the dams themselves.

He also called flawed the Bush administration's standards that said Endangered Species Act protection does not need to meet goals that would recover salmon, but must only keep their numbers stable. His ruling agrees with salmon advocates that include environmental groups, Indian tribes, the state of Oregon and fishermen.

Redden will hold a June 10 hearing for arguments on whether he should put in place an interim plan that increases restrictions on hydroelectric dam operations, shipping inland to Lewiston and releases water from federal reservoirs that supply water to millions of acres of farms. That ruling could force the region to dramatically restructure its river management as dramatically as a federal judge's decisions in the 1980s and early 1990s protected the northern spotted owl and transformed forest management.

Redden's decision comes as returns of salmon have dropped off dramatically this spring for still-unknown reasons after four years of dramatically improved runs.

"It is apparent that the listed species are in serious decline and not evidencing signs of recovery," Redden wrote.

President George W. Bush took dam breaching off the table when he took office in 2001. And his 2004 plan, called a biological opinion, formally removed dam breaching as an option for aiding the survival of salmon and steelhead in the Snake

River Basin, which includes all of Idaho. A majority of fisheries biologists say dam breaching is the best if not the only way to recover viable populations of the ocean-going fish that are a cultural icon and the center of a multimillion-dollar economy that spreads from eastern Idaho to Alaska.

"This decision doesn't get us there, but it gets us a step closer," said Bert Bowler, a retired Idaho Department of Fish and Game salmon biologist who now works for Idaho Rivers United, one of the groups that sued the administration.

Redden refused to include in his decision a second lawsuit by many of the same groups against dam operations by the Bureau of Reclamation and Army Corps of Engineers in the Upper Snake River, including Lucky Peak, Arrowrock and Anderson Ranch reservoirs on the Boise River. That means it would take another lawsuit to challenge the recently approved Nez Perce Agreement, which, among other things, limited Idaho water releases for salmon

"It does not order more water from Idaho," said Norm Semanko, executive director of the Idaho Water Users Association. "I think that's a big win for us."

Bush administration officials said they were disappointed with the decision and touted their salmon recovery measures.

"Our efforts to protect salmon are yielding measurable improvements, and we are hard at work on recovery plans," said Bob Lohn, Northwest regional director of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries. "Together, Northwest stakeholders have helped Oceanic to restore over 3,000 miles of salmon habitat and are producing locally driven recovery plans for the entire Northwest."

The plan rejected by Redden is the fourth biological opinion since salmon were listed as threatened and endangered species in the early 1990s. The Clinton administration wrote a plan in 2001 that said the four dams did not have to be breached because a suite of actions — flushing water from Idaho reservoirs down the Snake to habitat improvement, harvest controls and hatchery reforms — would be enough to save the fish.

But the Clinton plan left open the possibility of breaching four dams on the Snake River in Washington if the other measures didn't work. The 2004 Bush plan said the dams were not putting the salmon in jeopardy and dam breaching was not necessary.

That plan reduced the standards federal agencies had to meet and, Redden said, asserted a new exemption to the requirement of the Endangered Species Act that the government must take all actions necessary to protect endangered species.

Under the Bush administration's interpretation, a federal agency "would be able to exempt itself from accountability by characterizing some, even lethal, elements of any proposed action as 'nondiscretionary,'" Redden wrote.

The only exemption to the Endangered Species Act is for the president to convene an Endangered Species Committee, known widely as the "God Squad." The committee, made up of Cabinet members and others appointed by the president, could decide that federal objectives are more important than protecting the endangered species.

President George H. W. Bush convened the God Squad in the early '90s over the spotted owl, seeking more timber harvest on federal lands. The move proved to be unpopular and did not result in increased timber harvest.

"I haven't heard anyone say extinction is a viable option, and that's what it means if you go to the God Squad," said Jan Hasselman, an attorney with the National Wildlife Federation in Seattle.

Ultimately, salmon advocates say the entire region will have to address the issue.

"We call on Congress and the states to take meaningful actions that are necessary to address the impacts of the dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers," said Rebecca Miles, chairman of the Nez Perce Tribe."

http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050527/NEWS0105/505270331
 
Looks like the Breaching of dams is still on the table and making a fairly large move forward (in spite of the President's desire to stay in the back pocket of big campaign contributors).
 
sorry i'm unfamiler with this story. but usally if a river is damned there generally is a lot of house in the flood path way. so if they blow the damns are release the water how many houses are going to be effected? and if there is houses in those areas are we going to have pay for those families to be moved (our tax dollars) like i said i don't know any better so please fill me in!
 
NW... When they breach a dam, they lower the water behind it before they tear it down. They don't just set a bomb off in the middle and hope it all works out... ;)
 
Here's more: "Redden may steer future of salmon, dams
District judge's ruling similar to spotted owl case

U.S. District Judge James Redden set in motion a familiar path, paved by the Endangered Species Act, when he struck down the Bush administration's salmon plan Thursday.

Redden is in the position of steering the future for salmon and the federal hydropower system, just as court decisions to protect spotted owls 15 years ago triggered a shift in the region's timber industry.

Redden, of Portland, will hold a June 10 hearing to decide whether federal dam managers must meet higher standards for protecting endangered salmon and steelhead. If he decides to invoke interim rules while federal agencies rewrite the plan, it could be costly for electric power customers who depend on the cheap power generated by federal dams. And it could reduce or block shipping upriver to Lewiston and require additional water from Idaho reservoirs.

Thousands of businesses, tribes and communities throughout the region that are dependent on salmon for their economies, way of life and spiritual sustenance are already hurting.

Bill Arthur, one of the leaders who helped stop old-growth logging and now one of the winning plaintiffs in Redden's court, said the key to action is forcing Pacific Northwest residents to choose between saving the salmon and allowing them to go extinct.

"I've been waiting 15 years for this fork in the road," said Arthur, regional representative of the Sierra Club.

He said he believes Redden's action would force the region to make that choice.

Redden is in the same position as another federal judge, William Dwyer of Seattle, who in 1989 issued a temporary restraining order that stopped all timber sales in old growth forests in Oregon and Washington to protect the northern spotted owl.

Dwyer's decision, which political leaders described at the time as a "train wreck" for the Pacific Northwest economy, was the first step in a series of acts that vaulted the owl and ancient forests into the national spotlight. It eventually reduced the harvest of timber in the Northwest from 9 billion board feet per year to less than 1 billion.

The timber industry predicted more than 100,000 jobs would be lost after Dwyer's 1989 decision. Though the number of jobs lost fell far short of the predictions, that decision and a subsequent decision in 1991 triggered a shift that diversified the timber-based economies of rural Oregon and Washington.

In response to Dwyer's 1989 decision, Northwest lawmakers convinced Congress to allow timber sales without the environmental review required under federal law. That freed up timber for a year but allowed Arthur and his colleagues to turn old growth forests into a national issue. Soon the spotted owl was on the cover of Time magazine.

With the salmon ruling, Arthur said, the stakes for the region are far higher.

The Bonneville Power Administration sells power from the federal dams to utilities and some industries in the region at the cost of generation, which is below market costs. This provides Pacific Northwest utility customers with subsidies unavailable to the rest of the nation.

Arthur said the Northwest's special power deal won't hold up to national scrutiny, especially if it's causing salmon to go extinct.

"I'm perfectly happy to take the debate over salmon to a national level," he said. "But if we do, we could lose both salmon and the BPA."

Arthur and other plaintiffs have recommended standards to increase the velocity of the rivers this summer to aid salmon migration to the ocean. BPA Administrator Steve Wright said if Redden accepts their recommendations, it would have immediate consequences for Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana and parts of Wyoming and Nevada. About 20 percent of Idaho's electricity is generated by BPA.

"If the plaintiff's motion were granted by the court, we expect the cost of this year's operation for our system would go up (by) over $100 million," Wright said.

Redden's ruling this week does not mean he will issue a temporary restraining order, said Scott Corwin, vice president of PNGC Power, a cooperative that represents rural electric cooperatives across the region, including six in Idaho. He doesn't believe such an order is necessary.

The federal agencies have carried out more than 200 separate acts to aid salmon since 2000 and continue to do more, Corwin said, including the installation of temporary spillways to make the salmon's trip over the dams easier and safer.

Corwin and other BPA customers are convinced the current actions are the best, most cost-effective measures for saving the fish while protecting the economy. They are waiting to see what Redden does before deciding whether to ask Congress to step in.

"We need to see how things go around the preliminary injunction, determine what the potential for appeal is and gauge it from there," Corwin said.

Salmon advocates, including Liz Hamilton of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, say Redden's decision could lead to further fighting or to broad negotiations that lead to a comprehensive plan that all sides can support.

"Now we will be seeking leadership that is guided by a vision of the future and not fear-mongering," Hamilton said, "leaders that will seize the opportunity to move our region into the future with salmon recovery that takes care of our sportfishing industry and our farmers."

http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050528/NEWS0105/505280341
 
And here's today's editorial: :)

"Our View: Judge made the right call in rejecting feds' fish plan

The feds didn't just lose in court Thursday. Their faulty plan for saving Idaho salmon was hammered.

In rejecting the Bush administration's salmon strategy, known as a biological opinion, U.S. District Judge James Redden was uncompromising, direct and correct. On repeated occasions — in dismissing several glaring shortcomings in the plan — Redden derided the federal government for "arbitrary and capricious" decision-making.

His far-reaching ruling reopens the possibility of breaching the four dams in the lower Snake River in Washington. The Bush administration tried to use this recovery plan to rule out, prematurely, the idea of breaching dams to help salmon migrate back to Idaho.

Over the course of 58 pages, Redden pointedly reminded the federal government — and all of us in the Northwest — what a legitimate plan for saving salmon ought to look like:

• Redden slammed NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency in charge of salmon recovery, on its most outlandish assertion: Man-made dams are simply a part of the river system that salmon must dodge.

This idea wasn't just an assault on common sense. As Redden correctly noted, this idea would allow the federal government to duck accountability for the lethal effects of the region's dams. By rejecting this flawed logic, Redden reinforces the fact that the federal Endangered Species Act is on the books to save salmon, not preserve dams.

• Redden pointed out that the goal under the Endangered Species Act is recovery, not merely preventing a further decline in salmon numbers. Idahoans must insist on this standard.

This standard befits one of the region's icons, a remarkable migrant that symbolizes the Northwest's wildness. This standard helps ensure the long-term health of rivers — and bears, bull trout, eagles and other rare species whose future is tied to the salmon's. And this standard is essential to sustaining a fishery worth tens of millions of dollars each year to Riggins, Stanley, Challis and Salmon.

• Redden also pointed out a sense of urgency apparently lost on the federal government. Redden poked holes in NOAA Fisheries' plan, since it would hurt downstream migration of Snake River chinook and sockeye in the next few years, and try to make up for it from 2010 to 2014 by controlling predators and installing weirs that would move salmon around dams on their way back to Idaho. Redden is right: Idaho salmon can't afford to muddle along for a few years and hope for help later.

But while Redden made the right ruling Thursday, the sad truth is that salmon continue to struggle while their fate is argued in court. The net effect of the Bush administration's flawed plan is nine more wasted months in a 15-year fight.

Since September, when NOAA Fisheries trotted out this blueprint, Idaho's spring chinook returns have been so low that the Idaho Fish and Game Commission scaled back the fishing season to four days a week. We're not drawing cause and effect connection between the NOAA Fisheries plan and this year's unexplained drop in salmon numbers. We are pointing out that the longer we kick this legal can down the road, the worse for our fish, our economy and our region.

But don't blame Redden. He has been a consistent and thoughtful champion for Idaho's salmon, and Thursday's ruling continues that legacy. Redden laid down a challenge not just to NOAA Fisheries, but to all of us who have an emotional stake in salmon recovery and an economic stake in our state's future:

Do better.

Do it right.

What's more, he offered some solid advice on how to do it.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050528/NEWS0501/505280308/1052/NEWS05
 
Redden's decision comes as returns of salmon have dropped off dramatically this spring for still-unknown reasons after four years of dramatically improved runs.


Most of us that read SI know that this years lack of a salmon run was due to the low water levels 4 years ago.

I too am glad the judge has a brain. It would be nice to get the dams breached soon before the salmon runs decline even further.

Now if only commercial netting on the Columbia River would get banned, I'd be happy.
 
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