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Wyden
introduces bill to reauthorize FRIMA fish screen program
Last week,
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) was joined by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Gordon
Smith (R-OR) and Larry Craig (R-ID) in introducing the Fisheries Restoration
and Irrigation Mitigation Act (FRIMA) of 2006 (S.3522). This bill would reauthorize
the FRIMA program, which authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to
establish a program to plan, design, and construct fish screens, fish passage
devices, and related features. It also authorizes inventories to provide the
information needed for planning and making decisions about the survival and
propagation of all Northwestern fish species. The program is currently
carried out by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on behalf of the Interior
Secretary, and utilizes local matches to enable a true public-private
partnership for projects that benefit fish.
Since the program began in 2001, it has resulted in more than $9 million in
federal funds leveraged with nearly $20 million in private, local funding for
103 installed projects. This money has been used to protect, enhance and
restore more than 550 river miles of important fish habitat and species
throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho and western Montana.
For more information about FRIMA, visit FRIMA.
Spring chinook run up, dire
predictions prove false
Despite the
dire predictions and a long, long wait, spring Chinook salmon returned to
Bonneville Dam in bigger numbers than last year. The counting season closed
with nearly 124,000 chinook passing the dam, more than the 88,000 expected
and more than last year's return of 95,000.
"This year's spring run took its time but it crossed the finish line
with a very respectable showing," said Bob Lohn, head of the Northwest
region of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fisheries
service. "The long-term average continues to rise."
Lohn credited improvements in fish passage facilities at the dams, hatchery
and harvest management and better fish habitat for the eventual healthy
return. Fish biologists are uncertain about what caused the delay in the
returns.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is installing more spillway weirs, or fish
slides, on some dams on the Snake River, a major Columbia tributary, to
further increase survival of young salmon headed to sea.
Adults reach 98-100%
survival past Columbia and Snake River dams
The Northwest
Power and Conservation Council issued a release on June 15, 2006 with results
from a NOAA Fisheries study showing that the survival of adult salmon and
steelhead at and between hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers
is averaging 98 percent and better in recent years.
Ritchie Graves, acting branch chief of NOAA Fisheries� regional Hydropower
Division, presented results for Chinook and steelhead survival between
Bonneville and McNary dams, and also for McNary to Wells Dam on the Columbia and McNary to Lower Granite Dam on the Snake. Wild and hatchery-reared spring
Chinook released as juveniles above Lower Granite Dam experienced about 99
percent survival between Bonneville and McNary dams when they returned as
adults, and 99-100 percent survival between McNary and Lower Granite dams, Graves said. The survival of Snake River summer and fall Chinook between McNary and Lower
Granite dams, and for upper Columbia steelhead between McNary and Wells dams,
averaged 97-98 percent.
More information is available at www.nwcouncil.org.
Independent panel
recommends killing sockeye program
An Independent
Scientific Review Panel told the Northwest Power and Conservation Council
that �there is no scientific basis for continuing� the hatchery propagation
of Snake River sockeye salmon. The ISRP says there is no sustained response
by the populations and that funding for the program should not be funded.
Despite the recommendation, the Council voted to continue funding for the
program. Sockeye are one of four fish runs on the Snake River listed under
the ESA. Sockeye returns are often in the single digit range, with a range
from three to 26 adults returning to Red Fish Lake in each of the last five
years.
The ISRP said, �We emphasize that our conclusion stops short of declaring the
ESU extinct. This determination is, in fact, the province of the action
agencies. We do suggest, however, that without immediate, sweeping, and
effective measures to determine and address the factors of decline within the
next few sockeye generations, we likely will witness the final demographic
demise of even the captive population for the Snake River sockeye. The full
report is available at www.nwcouncil.org.
Federal agencies release
2005 ESA progress report
The Bonneville
Power Administration, Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers on June 14 released their 2005 progress report on Columbia Basin salmon recovery. The report highlights a number of achievements including:
� Increased survival for spring/summer Chinook and steelhead, which exceeded
the performance standard,
� Increasing adult salmon and steelhead survival,
� Installing new removable spillway weirs, or fish slides, at Lower Granite
and Ice Harbor Dams, which delivered 97-99% survival while spilling two to
three times less water,
� Installing a corner collector at Bonneville Dam, yielding a survival rate
of nearly 100%
� Reduced predation from Caspian Terns and pike minnow. Pike Minnow reduction
alone is credited with increasing juvenile salmon survival by 2 to 4 million
fish each year.
The 16-page report is available at www.salmonrecovery.gov.
Dixon Shaver of Shaver Transportation retires
PNWA Board
member Dixon Shaver is bidding farewell to his friends in the industry. He
will be retiring from Shaver Transportation Company at the end of this month.
His interests in the family business were sold earlier this year. The company
will continue to operate with Steve Shaver taking over as their primary PNWA
contact.
Dixon spent 26 years with the business, sailing aboard river and sea-going
tugs and, more recently, working shore-side in management. Dixon offers all
his maritime colleagues his best wishes and smooth sailing into the future.
PNWA has enjoyed working with Dixon and appreciates his contributions to the
navigation community. We wish him a long and happy retirement
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