March Resource Report

LOWER COLUMBIA RIVER COHO SALMON ISSUES

March was a busy month on LCR coho issues. The National Marine Fisheries Service's Biological Review Team (BRT) met in Seattle to finalize the most recent status review in preparation for the proposed listing decision due in July. The co-petitioners on the most recent listing petition (Oregon Trout, Native Fish Society, and the Oregon Council of Trout Unlimited) provided comments to the BRT for their consideration. In our comments, we concluded that the state of Oregon has failed to take the necessary steps to conserve these fish, making a federal listing mandatory.

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission also issued a series of incidental take permits to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife that authorize a number of activities that will "take" state listed "endangered" LCR coho. Included were permits for the hatchery system and for ocean and mainstem fisheries. These fisheries are now authorized to take 15% of the native run, even though the department is anticipating that only 2500 wild coho salmon will return to the entire Columbia basin this year.

On a related issue, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) continues to work on finalizing the recovery plan due in July. ODFW is currently in violation of the state Endangered Species Act by not providing a draft management plan for the commission's consideration last January. By approving harvest levels of 15% before the recovery plan is adopted, ODFW and the commission have clearly indicated that they are unable to take the lead in the recovery of these fish. The only alternative to save these fish from extinction is for the federal government to list the fish under the federal Endangered Species Act and take over the recovery planning process from the state.

OREGON LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

The 71st Oregon Legislative Assembly continues in Salem and the discussions have included a number of fish-related issues.

Wild vs. Hatchery Fish Debate: Over a dozen bills have been introduced that attempt to resolve some of the ongoing disagreement over the use of hatchery fish. This discussion was brought about by the widely circulated video of ODFW hatchery personnel clubbing excess hatchery fish at the Fall Creek Hatchery. Property rights and agricultural groups have seized on this issue as a way to further their agendas by claiming that there are no differences between wild and hatchery fish. ODFW has responded with a draft "Native Fish Conservation Policy" that attempts to provide a policy framework for how hatchery fish are managed while protecting naturally spawning populations of wild fish. It now appears that none of these bills will move through the legislative process and that ODFW will be allowed to implement their new native fish strategy.

Confined Animal Feeding Operations Legislation: Legislation is making its way through the House that would raise the level of state regulation for certain confined animal feeding operations in order to comply with the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). With this change in state law, Oregon could eventually be delegated the authority from the Environmental Protection Agency to implement this component of the CWA in Oregon. State implementation of this program would eliminate the need for the federal EPA to inspect Oregon farms and ranches.

SB 1010 Improvements: A working group of interested parties recently concluded its deliberations and has reached consensus on legislation that would improve the implementation of the SB 1010 planning process. This is the program under the Oregon Department of Agriculture that leads to the adoption of water quality area management plans aimed at preventing and controlling pollution from agricultural lands in Oregon. Whether the proposed changes will be enough to satisfy some of the more militant agricultural interests remains to be seen.

Fish Passage: It appears that the Fish Passage Task Force has finally reached agreement on changes to Oregon's fish passage statutes. This process has taken nearly four years to accomplish. Now that consensus has been reached, the legislation should begin moving through the process. The end result is that the state of Oregon will develop a public subsidized cost share program for assisting the owners of dams and other artificial barriers to resolve fish passage problems. If passage is not feasible at a particular barrier, the owner/operator will be required to provide alternative mitigation that provides a net benefit to wild fish.

STEENS DEDICATION

The date of July 10th has been chosen for the dedication ceremony to commemorate the passage of the Steens wilderness legislation. The ceremony will take place at Page Springs Campground near the town of Frenchglen at the base of Steens Mountain. All of the parties that participated in the passage of this landmark piece of legislation will be in attendance to celebrate this major accomplishment.

FISH VS. POWER IN THE COLUMBIA BASIN

Recent decisions by the Bonneville Power Administration indicate that, because of the impending drought, fish will take a back seat to power production this summer. These decisions ignore the agency's moral and legal obligations under tribal treaties, the federal Endangered Species Act, and the Northwest Power Act. If the BPA follows through on their proposals, fish advocates and tribes must be prepared to respond with every available remedy.