Wild Salmon and Steelhead Newsletter. March-April 2008

IN THIS ISSUE:
I.  Short-Term Victories Secured for Salmon and Steelhead
II. Congress Calls on Feds to Craft a Real Salmon Plan
III. High Country News Reports on Bringing Salmon Home to Nevada
IV. Winners of 2008 Children’s “Celebrate Salmon” Art Contest!
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I. Two Short-Term Victories Secured for Salmon and Steelhead
#1) Judge Requires Federal Agencies to Provide Salmon “Safer Passage” Again in 2008
On February 20th, Judge James Redden of the U.S. District Court in Portland OR handed down a ruling to extend several fish passage measures essential for salmon and steelhead survival in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The agreement was made between federal and state agencies and fishing and conservation groups, and presented to the judge. It ensures that additional water will be “spilled” over dams during the crucial spring and summer salmon migrations. This “spill”, which creates more natural river conditions for salmon by releasing water over the dams, is widely considered the most effective short-term way to ensure young fish survive the dams on their downstream journey to the ocean.

“The fish in the river tell the story,” said Liz Hamilton, Executive Director of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association. “This year’s increased returns again show that the more natural river conditions ordered by the court in the last several years can help bring our salmon back, just as they did in 2001 and 2002.”

“Spill” is an effective immediate action we can take to provide a boost for endangered salmon and steelhead populations during their migration to the ocean. It is no replacement for the much more significant benefits from removing the four lower Snake River dams, and restoring 140 miles of free-flowing river and reconnecting imperiled salmon with thousands of miles of rivers and streams upstream.

#2) Deadline for Final Salmon Plan extended due to large amount of comments!
In late January, Judge Redden granted NOAA Fisheries a 45-day extension for submitting their final salmon plan for the Columbia & Rivers – the new date is set at May 5th. The agency said the "breadth and volume" of the comments far exceeded its expectations. Hats off to all of you salmon and steelhead advocates out there who submitted the more than 40,000 comments in support of lower Snake River dam removal over the last several months!

Thanks to you, Columbia and Snake River salmon have cause for celebration! Your efforts send a clear message to the federal government that people across the nation are fed up with the failures of the past and want real solutions to the crisis facing salmon and steelhead. More work lies ahead this year and a stark reality remains: until political leaders at the national level take an honest look at removing the four lower Snake River dams, these treasured fish will continue their spiral towards extinction.

II. 92 Members of Congress calls on federal agencies to examine lower Snake River dam removal, and other scientific and economic options
This February, Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Tom Petri (R-WI) wrote a letter to NOAA Fisheries - the agency in charge of crafting the federal salmon plan for the Columbia and Snake rivers. Now signed by over 90 Members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat, the letter sends a stern warning to the federal agencies, urging NOAA to develop a plan that will actually restore salmon. It asks the agency to ensure that the plan examine “all scientifically credible and economically viable alternatives” for salmon recovery in the Columbia Basin, including removal of the four lower Snake River dams. “Federal agencies have an obligation to U.S. taxpayers to draft a salmon plan that makes fiscal and scientific sense before billions more in federal dollars are spent on failing efforts,” said Rep. Petri.  Read More  |  Letter and List of Signers

III. High Country News Reports on Bringing Salmon Home to Nevada

In High Country News last month, writer Ken Olsen explores recent developments in Nevada that could lead to the eventual return of wild Pacific salmon to Nevada’s northern rivers through the tributaries of the Snake River and its tributaries.

When people think of Nevada, dry western landscapes generally come to mind. Not exactly “salmon habitat.” But northern Nevada is part of the Columbia and Snake River basin, and was once home to healthy abundant runs of wild salmon and steelhead. Dams built downstream in Idaho last century cut salmon off from this historic habitat, and now people in Nevada are beginning to make noise about bringing them back.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stepped onto this stage recently when, at the urging of a coalition of sportsmen’s groups, he sent a letter to the Administration requesting that it require fish passage devices to be installed on three privately-owned dams on the Snake River in Idaho as a condition of relicensing. In addition to assuring fish passage on these three private dams, returning salmon and steelhead to Nevada also depends on the removal of the lower Snake River dams. Growing support by the people of Nevada to bring salmon home to their rivers can only help increase the pressure on these four costly federal dams downstream on the lower Snake.

For the full text: http://wildsalmon.org/library/lib-detail.cfm?docID=737


IV. Winners of 2008 Children’s “Celebrate Salmon” Art Contest!
More than 300 students from across the nation entered Save Our Wild Salmon’s first-ever Celebrate Wild Salmon youth art contest. From New England to the South, from the Midwest to the West Coast and Alaska, the message is clear — America’s youth love salmon.

Wild salmon are a national treasure. Through art, students celebrated wild salmon and all that they represent to America: healthy lands, rivers and oceans, strong wildlife populations, recreational and commercial fishing heritage, vibrant communities, good jobs and nourishing food.

From the mountain of beautiful art entered by hundreds of students across America, 20 rose above the rest as those that represented both the talents of the artist and the grandeur of wild salmon. In Washington DC this June, at the culmination of the Save Our Wild Salmon 2008 national road show, the top pieces will be on display to show our nation’s leaders that America’s youth value protecting our wild salmon.

Click here to learn more, to see all the art, and find out the names of our winners! Congratulations to everybody for a successful contest – thanks for your participation.

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