30 November 2004
Media Contact:
Rob Lothrop
Policy Development and Litigation Support
(503) 731-1291
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Federal
salmon plan fails fish recovery
Columbia
Basin tribes denounce dam-friendly proposal
Portland, Oregon
- Columbia River
treaty fishing tribes have denounced a federal plan that forsakes
salmon-recovery goals while granting generous deference to the federal
Columbia River power system. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA Fisheries) announced its revised plan, the 2004 Biological Opinion,
in a series of public and private briefings today.
"This plan, a step backward, fails the charge of serving longstanding
recovery goals and tackling problems wrought by the federal dam system,"
said Olney Patt Jr., executive director of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal
Fish Commission, which represents the Nez Perce, Warm Springs, Yakama
and Umatilla tribes. "As co-managers of the salmon resource,
we believe this plan falls far short of its legal, biological and
trust responsibility. It takes the weight off the dams and hoists
it firmly onto the backs of salmon-dependent communities."
NOAA Fisheries' plan bears three fundamental flaws: a "no-jeopardy"
conclusion, an abandonment of recovery as a goal, and a declaration
of the hydropower system as an unchangeable part of the Columbia Basin's
natural landscape. All three developments represent dramatic departures
from the body of science and interpretation reflecting 13 years of
Endangered Species Act application to the Federal Columbia River Power
System – changes tribal officials view as political rather than
scientific.
The plan relies heavily on the historically failed salmon-barging
scheme and on developmental technology – removable spillway
weirs – to achieve higher juvenile survival. Tribal scientists
view spillway weirs as promising but untested for fall Chinook and
sockeye.
"In its continuing jurisdiction over this issue and the collaborative
process throughout the past year, the court ordered development of
a plan that is scientifically and legally stronger than the 2000 version
with specific and aggressive measures," said Patt. "Instead
this plan relies on the word ‘no' – no jeopardy,
no recovery, no breaching and no back-up plan."
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About CRITFC
The Portland-based Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission is
the technical support and coordinating agency for fishery management
policies of the Columbia River Basin's four treaty tribes: the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes
of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes
and Bands of the Yakama Nation and the Nez Perce Tribe.
CRITFC, formed in 1977, employs biologists, other scientists, public
information specialists, policy analysts and administrators who work
in fisheries research and analyses, advocacy, planning and coordination,
harvest control and law enforcement. |
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