2007 Draft Federal Columbia-Snake River Salmon Plan: The Salmon Community’s Analysis
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PRESS RELEASE: Orca Scientists Call for Lower Snake Dam Removal to Help Northwest’s Endangered Orcas
Letter links fate of Southern Resident killer whales to recovery of declining salmon populations in Columbia-Snake River basin
November 20, 2007 - SEATTLE, WA - Leading Northwest scientists and orca advocates are urging NOAA Fisheries to consider removal of the four lower Snake River dams in order to protect endangered Puget Sound orca populations that need Columbia-Snake River salmon as a critical food source.
“Restoring Columbia River Chinook salmon is the single most important thing we can do to ensure the future survival of the Southern Resident Community of killer whales,” said Dr. Rich Osborne, research associate with The Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, WA. “We cannot hope to restore the killer whale population without also restoring the salmon upon which these whales have depended for thousands of years. Their futures are intricately linked.”
The comments from the six prominent orca scientists, delivered in the attached letter to Northwest members of Congress and NOAA regional administrator Robert Lohn, came in response to the Oct. 31 release of a new draft Biological Opinion from NOAA Fisheries for Columbia-Snake River salmon management. Salmon advocates say the new plan, the result of a court-ordered rewrite of an earlier, illegal 2004 federal salmon plan, fails to do enough to recover imperiled salmon in the seven-state Columbia-Snake river basin, and ignores altogether the four dams on the lower Snake River that do the most harm to these fish.
“History will not be very forgiving of the resource managers who failed in their responsibilities to these icons of the Pacific Northwest, Chinook and orca,” said Ken Balcomb, senior scientist with the Center for Whale Research.
“The draft plan relies heavily on actions that science and time have proven will not restore these fish to the levels necessary for self-sustaining populations of salmon, or abundant enough to provide a healthy food resource for these killers whales,” said Dr. David Bain, a killer whale biologist at Friday Harbor Labs. “Not only are salmon from the Columbia River an important historic food source, recovered abundant salmon in this river are an indispensable requirement for the future recovery of Southern Residents.”
“The new Federal salmon plan for the Columbia and Snake rivers is no better than previous plans in providing access to the basin’s best remaining salmon habitat in the upper reaches of the Snake River,” said Howard Garrett, co-founder of the Orca Network. “The resulting declining salmon runs have a very real impact on the 88 endangered southern resident orcas that depend on these fish, as they have for centuries. As the salmon disappear, the orcas go hungry.”
“The best science tells us,” Garrett added, “that to revitalize Snake River salmon, we’ll need to bypass the dams that block fish passage, and that dam removal, combined with a variety of economic investments, will bring benefits to upriver communities in eastern Washington as well as to Puget Sound.”
The Columbia and Snake River Basin was once the world’s most productive salmon watershed, with tens of millions of fish returning annually. Today, returns hover near 1% of those historic levels. More than 200 large dams on the basin’s rivers are the major cause of this crisis, with 13 populations now listed under the Endangered Species Act, and four directly impacted by the lower Snake River dams. Yet, the Columbia-Snake Basin still holds more acres of pristine salmon habitat than any watershed in the lower 48 states.
It is this opportunity, notes Kathy Fletcher, executive director of People For Puget Sound, that we must take advantage of, if we hope to protect and restore these two iconic Northwest species whose fates are inexorably intertwined.
“Our leaders must look for solutions not only in Puget Sound, but also in the rivers that bring the salmon to the sea throughout the Northwest,” Fletcher said. “The great salmon rivers like the Columbia and Snake can once again produce the healthy runs of Chinook, on which our majestic orcas feed, but only if we recover salmon habitat. We must act quickly to restore clean water, abundant, sustainable salmon populations, and a safe home for orcas. The scientists tell us there is no time to waste.”
Full text of the scientists’ letter, as well as a complete list of signers, is available at www.wildsalmon.org.
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Media Contacts:
Kathy Fletcher, People For Puget Sound, (206) 382-7007
Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research, (360) 378-5835
Howard Garrett, The Orca Network, (360) 320-7176
Dr. David Bain, Friday Harbor Labs, (425) 402-4378
Therese Wells, Save Our Wild Salmon, (206) 286-4455
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SPOKANE, Wash., Oct. 31, 2007 – Inland Northwest business and community leaders today joined with conservation, clean-energy and taxpayer advocates to call for region-wide consideration of removing the four lower Snake River dams to solve the deepening crisis over Columbia basin salmon.
Their comments came in response to the release of a new draft Biological Opinion from NOAA Fisheries that salmon advocates say fails to do enough to recover imperiled salmon runs in the Columbia-Snake River basin. NOAA Fisheries rewrote the federal salmon plan under court order from federal Judge James Redden, who declared the 2004 version illegal – a ruling later upheld by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“For years, the debate over the future of Columbia & Snake River salmon, and whether to remove the four lower Snake River dams, has been cast as a clash between energy and environmental interests, of fishermen against farmers. But this is a false choice,” said Don Barbieri, chairman of Spokane-based Red Lion Hotels. “Many business owners and community leaders recognize that quality of life and abundant recreation opportunities offer the Inland Northwest a growing competitive edge. Trading four dams for a restored river, abundant salmon and a modernized transportation system could leave the Northwest economy and its communities with a brighter future.”
In addition to the harm all four dams bring to the basin’s endangered salmon, Lower Granite Dam in particular poses an increasing flood risk to the inland communities of Clarkston, Wash., and Lewiston, Idaho, due to the massive amounts of sediment accumulating behind it.
“This plan fails the salmon and it fails our communities, said Dustin Aherin of Lewiston-based Citizens for Progress. “To move forward, we need a credible and legal salmon recovery plan. What we don’t need is another turn on the Biop merry-go-round. Instead, we should look at what dam removal could mean for Lewiston and Clarkston. If we do it right, it can mean reduced flood risk, a restored waterfront, a lucrative recreation industry, a vibrant business climate — and economic certainty.”
“Our region faces a do-or-die decision – either remove these dams and truly restore wild salmon and salmon-dependent communities, or allow both to wither away,” said Sara Patton, executive director of NW Energy Coalition, a regional clean-energy and consumer-protection alliance. “Electric ratepayers keep paying and paying for measures that can’t possibly restore threatened and endangered Columbia Basin fish or help those living, working and doing business in salmon-dependent communities. New jobs and economic development will more than compensate for removing these four dams and replacing their limited energy production with energy efficiency and affordable new renewable power.”
“It is time for the Northwest’s elected leaders to stop standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Bush administration to protect the status quo, and start helping Columbia and Snake river communities forge a new vision for the future,” said Michael Garrity of American Rivers. “With smart investments in transportation, renewable energy, and irrigation infrastructure, we can affordably replace the limited benefits of the four lower Snake dams. A one-time investment in removing these dams and replacing their benefits makes a lot more sense for taxpayers and local communities than continuing to throw money at a plan that’s a demonstrated failure.”
Following a public comment period, a final version of the plan is expected in late January, 2008.
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