Last-Minute Sparring Over Salmon Plan

With a final face off in court between environmental groups and federal agencies over the Columbia Basin's newest salmon plan just a couple of days off, e-mailed rhetoric from coalitions like Save Our Wild Salmon has flooded congressional offices.

Greg Delwiche, BPA's VP for Environment, Fish and Wildlife, e-mailed March 3 those same offices with a quick response. He told politicos that the SOWS message expressed opinions not supported by facts.

"First," wrote Delwiche, "it's important to note that the likely restrictions on the 2009 ocean salmon fishing season off the Oregon coast are entirely due to the very poor returns of chinook salmon to the Sacramento River in California. They have nothing to do with the state of salmon runs to the mouth of the Columbia River. The Columbia River runs, of course, have been generally increasing over the last decade and are currently forecast to increase further over the next two to three years at least. In fact, the PFMC forecast for Columbia River bound spring chinook in 2009 projects the third highest run in the past 40 years."

He pointed out that writers of the latest hydro BiOp expect runs to increase over the next decade, "at least. Snake River fall chinook are doing so well that they have approached or exceeded their delisting goals for a number of years."

Delwiche said the feds are happy to take some credit for improved salmon numbers, but gave ocean conditions a good share of the credit--a state of affairs that recent scientific effort has increasingly supported.

Delwiche said the message from SOWS staffer Gilly Lyons to politicians characterized the PFMC's 2009 Columbia River fall chinook forecast this way: "Right now these numbers are still just projections, but if accurate, these kinds of returns are still dangerously low and unfortunately get us nowhere near NMFS' recovery goals for wild fish. In fact, based on these projections, the 5-year average for Columbia-Snake chinook is hovering right around the same levels that triggered their Endangered Species Act listing in the early 1990s."

In his response, Delwiche said, "This is clearly not the case. The average number of wild adult Snake River fall chinook returning each year between 1990 and 1994 was 419 (the fish were listed in 1991). The most recent five-year average (through 2008) is 5,691 wild adult returns each year--well above the minimum recovery abundance threshold of 3,000 wild adult returns. So we are not only near NMFS' recovery goals for this species of salmon (one of the first to be listed); we are considerably above the minimum recovery abundance target."

Delwiche also took issue with Lyons' other comments, especially her characterization that, "Independent scientists agree that the reason we're seeing slightly improved runs in the Columbia is because of court-ordered in-river protections, such as additional spill, that help young salmon make it downriver to the ocean."

In her remarks, Lyons said the court-ordered protections "have been rolled back in the 2008 BiOp and are not guaranteed to continue under the current federal salmon plan. Without continued spill and flow, the Columbia Basin's slightly improved runs could easily become a thing of the past.

"Because of Judge Redden's orders, we've provided salmon with something approaching a river and they have responded. This means there's reason to hope that by following the best science and making the Columbia-Snake even more hospitable to fish, these improved runs can be more than just a flicker."

But Delwiche said scientists do not agree on this point. "In fact, the very respected and independent scientists at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center recently released a study on the causes of the huge increase in the numbers of sockeye salmon returning to the Snake River and the Upper Columbia Rivers in 2008. The 2008 sockeye returns to the Snake River were the highest since 1968."

He said the scientists concluded that most of the improvement was due to factors outside the hydro system--namely, improved ocean conditions.

"We do agree that inriver survival is important and the improvements we are seeing in salmon numbers are certainly due in part to the measures we are implementing at the dams, as well as the improvements we are making in habitat and hatchery management. Since the mid-1990s, the federal government has invested over $1 billion in development, testing and installation of fish passage facilities at the eight federal dams on the Columbia and Snake River."

"One thing the science is indicating, said Delwiche, "is that while spill is good from a salmon survival standpoint, more spill is not necessarily better. Juvenile salmon are now closely monitored as they move through the hydrosystem. The amounts and timing of spill operations are adjusted on an annual basis--and even within the migration season--to optimize survival. And as we learn more, the results of this hugely expensive recovery effort are being seen in improved status of these listed species."

Meanwhile, Congressman Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Tom Petri (R-Wis.) are circulating a letter for signatures around the Capitol that calls for President Obama's "serious engagement" in the salmon recovery issue, "by inviting sound science and common-sense economics to guide successful salmon policies."

The politicians said that should include the consideration of "partial removal" of the four lower Snake dams, adding that a salmon recovery effort that follows the best science and economics "has the potential to create tens of thousands of jobs and generate billions of dollars for communities throughout the West and across the nation." -B. R.

Subscriptions and Feedback
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to the Fishletter notification e-mail list.
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it e-mail comments to the editor.

THE ARCHIVE :: Previous NW Fishletter issues and supporting documents.