Salmon heating up
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Four Snake River Dams and a few species of fish have been heating up the
Northwest the past few weeks in National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) public hearings,
and tonight and March 8 will be opportunities for local residents to speak out on the
issue.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold public hearings today in Boise
at the Center on the Grove, 850 West Front Street. A presentation of the issue with
opportunities for questions will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Public comments will be
taken from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and at 7:30 p.m. Those who wish to give comments must sign up
at noon for the afternoon session and at 6 p.m. for the evening session.
Another hearing will be held in Twin Falls on March 8 at the Shilo Inn at
5 p.m. Local efforts have culminated in a free bus ride on March 8 for those interested in
traveling to the Twin Falls public hearing.
The bus will leave the park & ride lot in Ketchum at 1:30 p.m., East
Fork at 1:45 p.m., the Chevron station in Hailey at 2 p.m. and across Main Street from
Guffy’s in Bellevue at 2:15 p.m.
The current public hearings are hot on the heels of Oregon Gov. John
Kitzhaber’s endorsement of dam breaching. Kitzhaber announced his position on Friday
to the American Fisheries Society during a speech in Eugene.
Kitzhaber is the first major elected official to endorse dam breaching.
He acknowledged that his position is a lonely one politically.
"The salmon can’t wait," Kitzhaber said. "The people
can’t wait."
Governor Kizhaber said the issue is not about sacrificing the economic
benefits of the dams for environmental health, but working together as a region to have
both.
Thus far, this part of the region hasn’t taken the step Kitzhaber
has. None of Idaho’s major elected officials has endorsed dam breaching as the best
way to save dwindling salmon numbers.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has said that from a scientific
perspective, breaching the dams is the best way to save the salmon. However, the
department acknowledged that the issue requires a political decision beyond its authority.
Built roughly 30 years ago, the four dams on the Snake River produce 5
percent of the hydroelectric power sold by the Bonneville Power Administration and make it
possible for barges to make it as far inland as Lewiston—300 miles from the Pacific.
Environmentalists, Indian tribes and fishermen who support breaching argue
that it would restore 140 miles of spawning habitat for fall Chinook and stop most of the
destruction of juvenile fish as they migrate to the ocean.
Farmers, barge operators and aluminum workers are among those who oppose
breaching, arguing that it would devastate the local economy by dropping reservoirs below
the level of irrigation intakes, eliminate cheap transportation for grain, wood chips and
other commodities, and reduce the supply of cheap electricity.
Local resident Ann Christensen will host noon meetings at the
Environmental Resource Center in Ketchum tomorrow and on March 2. The meetings will
consist of background and discussion on the salmon issue.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
