The following news summaries were compiled by Gene Buck, Senior Analyst in the Congressional Research Service.
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Elk Creek Dam
On Jan. 8, 1998, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials announced a finding of "no significant impact" for breaching the partially constructed Elk Creek Dam in the Rogue River drainage, OR, to allow salmon to pass upstream to spawn. Thus, no environmental impact statement will need to be prepared on the action, and the Corps may award a contract for blasting a notch in the dam as early as March 1998, with work to be completed by October 1998. The project is anticipated to cost about $7 million. [Assoc Press]
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In late December 1997, WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife officials released a first draft of the state's "Lower Columbia Steelhead Conservation Initiative," focusing on hundreds of options for possible state activities to restore steelhead trout, and setting priorities for action. A second draft is anticipated in early February, incorporating local government and private efforts to complement state actions. [Assoc Press]
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On Dec. 19, 1997, NMFS officials announced the designation of portions of the Umpqua River basin, OR, as critical habitat for Umpqua searun cutthroat trout. [Assoc Press]
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On Dec. 19, 1997, NMFS announced approval for Douglas County, OR, to construct Milltown Hill Dam on Elk Creek in the headwaters of the Umpqua River, if certain conditions are met. These conditions included restoration of at least 12 miles of degraded fish habitat, including use of 100-foot buffer zones, elsewhere in the Elk Creek and Umpqua River watershed to compensate for the loss of marginal headwater habitat above the dam
In addition, the County will modify road culverts to provide access to at least 4 miles of habitat in previously blocked areas, and reduce mercury runoff from the abandoned Elkhead Mine. NMFS approval cleared the way for the Bureau of Reclamation to provide $44 million for dam construction. [Assoc Press]
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On Dec. 19, 1997, the Seattle Times announced that its June 8, 1997 editorial "Save the Columbia Salmon" had been awarded the 1997 Opinion/Editorial Gold Award by the Association of Opinion Page Editors and Penn State's College of Communications. [Seattle Times press release]
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On Dec. 18, 1997, OR officials released the state's steelhead trout strategy (officially the "steelhead supplement to the Oregon Plan for coho salmon"), relying on local watershed councils and encouraging landowners to voluntarily restore fish habitat, in an effort to forestall federal listing of additional steelhead trout populations as threatened or endangered species. NMFS is scheduled to decide the status of these steelhead populations by Feb. 9, 1998. A state legislative oversight committee approved $1.3 million to fund the steelhead strategy. [Assoc Press]
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On Dec. 9, 1997, the WA Dept. of Ecology held the first of 6 scheduled hearings in eastern WA on developing interim regulations to evaluate applications of new water rights on the Columbia River
In 1992, WA imposed a moratorium on the issuance of new water rights for Columbia and Snake River water in response to the initial listing of several salmon populations as threatened or endangered. The WA Legislature lifted the moratorium for Columbia River water earlier this year, contingent on the implementation of amended regulations for water allocation and in-stream flow. [Assoc Press]
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Dept. of Commerce officials were scheduled to visit Bristol Bay and the Kuskokwim Delta regions on Dec. 8-10, 1997, to determine how a $7 million federal disaster appropriation should be spent. [Assoc Press, Reuters]
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In early December 1997, a coalition of 3 OR conservation groups petitioned the OR Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) to have 9 state rivers and 1 lake designated as outstanding resources waters for enhanced protection under the Clean Water Act. As part of the process, the OR Dept. of Environmental Quality will review the petitions and make a recommendation to the EQC; the EQC will then proposed waterbodies for statewide hearings and public comment. [Assoc Press] Back to top or Back to home page On Dec. 5, 1997, the WA Fish and Wildlife Commission unanimously adopted the state's Wild Salmonid Policy, establishing guidelines for protecting and restoring wild salmon stocks. None of the 20 western WA tribes involved in negotiations on the Policy has elected thus far to sign the Policy, but half are anticipated to be willing to sign within the next month after various details are settled In addition, the Commission adopted documents to be used in negotiating specific cooperative watershed agreements with tribes and local governments to improve management of salmon stocks. [Assoc Press] Back to top or Back to home page On Dec. 5, 1997, a coalition of conservation and sport fishing groups submitted a petition to NMFS requesting the declaration of sea-run cutthroat trout along the Pacific coast as endangered. Although NMFS responded that it is already reviewing this and other trout species with an initial decision anticipated by December 1998, the coalition chose to file a formal petition. [Assoc Press] Back to top or Back to home page In early December 1997, The Oregonian released the results of a telephone poll of 514 Oregonians, indicating that 85% think it's important to preserve salmon runs; 38% would pay $5 or more per month to help salmon; while 29% of those in eastern, agricultural OR support removing Snake River dams, 41% of those in Portland and the Willamette Valley would support such an effort; 60% believe improving salmon runs should be a higher priority than other commercial uses of the rivers; and 60% feel salmon restoration funding has been ineffective. [Assoc Press] Back to top or Back to home page On Dec. 2, 1997, a coalition of seven ID conservation and sport fishing groups announced the launching of a new campaign to legislatively ban barging of juvenile salmon downstream around Columbia and Snake River dams. [Assoc Press] Back to top or Back to home page On Dec. 1, 1997, an official of BC's United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union assured AK officials that BC fishermen have no intention of jeopardizing AK ferry service to Prince Rupert, BC, and will not blockade any AK ferry On Dec. 1, 1997, AK and Canadian authorities met to discuss options for compensating AK for losses during the July 1997 AK ferry blockade by BC fishermen On Dec. 2, 1997, AK Governor Knowles confirmed that AK state ferry service to Prince Rupert, BC, would resume on Dec. 4 as scheduled On Dec. 8, 1997, the Federal Court of Canada ruled that the names of 274 fishermen and companies identified in the AK ferry blockade compensation lawsuit would remain, despite challenges by BC fishermen On Dec. 19, 1997, special envoys of Canada and the United States are scheduled to meet in Seattle, WA, to continue discussions. BC officials have indicated that they will participate in these discussions. The special envoys are expected to report on their progress by the end of January 1998 On Dec. 19, 1997, special envoys Ruckelshaus and Strangway met with fishermen and industry representatives for almost 12 hours of discussion. [Assoc Press, Reuters, Dow Jones News, Canadian Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans press release] Back to top or Back to home page Norwegian Salmon On Dec. 18, 1997, the European Commission imposed a 4-month provisional antidumping duty of 0.32 ECUs per kilogram plus a provisional 3.8% ad valorem countervailing duty on salmon imported from 29 Norwegian salmon exporters that had previously been exempted from penalties. These companies had failed to maintain minimum prices for farmed Atlantic salmon agreed to in June 1997. [Dow Jones News, Reuters, Agence Europe via Reuters] Back to top or Back to home page In mid-December 1997, Global Aqua USA was ordered by the WA Dept. of Ecology to report on the July 18, 1997, accidental release of 300,000 Atlantic salmon when a towed net pen ripped, how it will prevent any more releases, and how the impact of this accidental release might be minimized. On Dec. 15, 1997, the WA Pollution Control Hearing Board was scheduled to begin hearings on proposals by environmental groups that net pen operations be more restrictively regulated. [Assoc Press] Back to top or Back to home page Quaker Neck Dam Removal On Dec. 17, 1997, Carolina Power and Light (CP&L) officials and invited federal officials held a ceremony to celebrate the voluntary demolition of CP&L's Quaker Neck Dam on the Neuse River. Dam removal will allow anadromous fish (e.g., striped bass, American shad) to use an additional 75 miles of historical spawning habitat in the Neuse River and 925 miles of tributary spawning areas. This projects is a joint effort initiated by the Coastal America partnership of federal, stat, and local agencies, and non-governmental organizations. [CP&L press release, NOAA press release] Back to top or Back to home page On Dec. 15, 1997, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt endorsed the state of ME's 400-page conservation management plan for Atlantic salmon restoration in 7 watersheds and withdrew a petition to place the species on the federal list of endangered species. This endorsement was shared by NMFS. However, RESTORE: The North Woods, the group that had filed the petition, criticized the state's plan, and is considering legal challenge. ME's Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife reportedly will require $3 million to $4 million to implement the state plan, while the total federal, state, and private costs over 6 years is projected to exceed $15 million. Both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NMFS will annually review the state plan's effectiveness. [Dept. of the Interior press release, NOAA press release, Assoc Press] Back to top or Back to home page On Dec. 8, 1997, federal District Court Judge Robert Jones ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to once again consider Endangered Species Act listing for bull trout throughout its range. Judge Jones found FWS arbitrary and capricious on 5 different issues, and declared FWS had acted improperly by using 1996 policy on the 1994 administrative record. [NW Fishletter No. 49] Back to top or Back to home page On Jan. 6, 1998, a news conference was held at the U.S. Capitol to heighten attention to 1998 as the "Year of the Ocean." At the news conference, a petition signed by more than 1,600 scientists from 65 countries endorsed increased attention to ocean issues, such as overfishing, pollution, and coastal development. [Assoc Press] Back to top or Back to home page On Dec. 19, 1997, NMFS published interim final regulations to assist Regional Fishery Management Councils in identifying and protecting essential fish habitat (EFH). Additional public comment will be accepted for 60 days. Four areas of focus include: 1) all fishery management plans must identify habitat used by all life history stages of each managed species; 2) potential adverse effects of all fishing-equipment-types on EFH must be assessed; 3) non-fishing sources of adverse impacts that could affect the quantity or quality of EFH must be identified; and 4) EFH conservation and enhancement measures should be identified. Regional Councils have until Oct. 11, 1998, to recommend modifications of federal or state actions that may adversely affect fish habitat. [Assoc Press, NOAA press release, Fed. Register] Back to top or Back to home page On Dec. 9, 1997, the National Research Council issued a report, entitled "Improving Fish Stock Assessments," on the difficulties of conducting useful fish population assessments. This report was commissioned by NMFS in 1995. The report cautioned that data underlying current stock assessments are inadequate for precautionary management as required by the Magnuson Act, and recommended that an independent panel of experts conduct a complete review of how data are collected from commercial fisheries. [Assoc Press, NOAA press release] Back to top or Back to home page In early December 1997, the WA Dept. of Health reported continuing increases in levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) in shellfish in southern Puget Sound -- an unusual occurrence this late in the year and in harvest areas seldom affected by PSP closures. [WA Dept. of Health press release]
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OR Waterway Protection
WA Wild Salmon Policy
Sea-Run Cutthroat Trout ESA Petition
OR Salmon Poll
Anti-Barging Campaign
Pacific Salmon Treaty
Aquaculture
WA Salmon Farming
Freshwater Fisheries
Atlantic Salmon Recovery
Bull Trout
Year of the Ocean
Essential Fish Habitat
Fish Population Assessment Report
Puget Sound PSP
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