so goes the nation? salmon recovery in the pacific northwest glenn vanselow pacific northwest...
TRANSCRIPT
So Goes the Nation?
Salmon Recovery in thePacific Northwest
Glenn VanselowPacific Northwest Waterways Association
National Waterways ConferencePortland, OR
September 8, 2006
ESA Listings in the PNW
26 Northwest fish runs listed under ESA
Northern California to Canadian border
1989: First ESA petitions
1991: First listings: 3 Snake River runs
1995: First Biological Opinion
Challenged/rejected in court
2000: Biological Opinion
Challenged/rejected in court
2004: Biological Opinion
Challenged/rejected in court
2006: River Operations
Set in court by judge’s order
ESA Listings: The Side EffectsClean Water Act lawsuit
Challenged river operations and the existence of the dams
Snake River dredging lawsuits
Court prohibited dredging twice
Third lawsuit settled (with help from PNWA)
Columbia River channel deepening lawsuit
Challenged Biological Opinion and Corps’ economic analysis
Appellate Court allows project to proceed
Corps permits delayed
More projects subject to review
Higher level of scrutiny
More resource agency coordination
ESA Listings: The Side EffectsIrrigation water withdrawals challenged
Withdrawals curtailed
Hydropower system cutbacks
Hydro is 64% of region’s power supply
Flow augmentation
Spill programs
Hydropower rates increased
25% of PNW power rates are fish costs
Navigation threatened
50 Million tons per year, Columbia River
$16 Billion in international trade
10-12 Million tons per year, barged
$2 Billion in cargo value
ESA Listings: The Side EffectsBonneville Power Administration Rate Impacts
ESA Listings: The Side Effects Cost to PNW ratepayers (not the federal government): $8 billion
Navigation & Power Benefits Threatened 26 Northwest fish runs listed under ESA
Northern California to Canadian border
13 are Columbia Basin runs
4 are lower river runs
They do not pass any dams
5 are upper Columbia runs
They do not pass any Snake River dams
Only 4 of the 26 pass Snake River dams
Yet, Snake River dams are under attack
Environmental groups, some NW tribes say:
“Breach the four Snake River dams”
Members of Congress join in:
85 cosponsor Salmon Planning Act (authorizes breaching the Snake River dams)
103 sign Blumenauer-Petri letter (asks NOAA to analyze breaching)
Dam Breaching is Not the Answer
Record fish runs in last five years
Juvenile survival is 3 times higher than 1970s
When dam breaching was first proposed
Juvenile survival continues to improve
2006 highest on record
Survival is higher today than before the Snake River dams were built
Source: NOAA Fisheries
Returning Adult Salmon and Steelhead Counted at Bonneville Dam 1938-2004
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
Data Source: US Army Corps of Engineers
Dam Breaching is Not the Answer
It is bad for the environment
It shuts down the cleanest, most fuel-efficient transportation mode
It shuts down hydropower: clean, renewable and zero air emissions
It is bad for the economy
Loss of navigation
Loss of hydropower
Loss of irrigated agriculture
It will not help the fish
Only 4 of 26 listed runs
No demonstrated benefit
Possible harmPhotos from 1992 Snake Riverdrawdown test
