Tuesday, February 21, 2012

HB 4101: Serious Issue, Bad Bill

The Columbia River Gorge looking upstream towards Crown Point. by Eric Guinther

Oregon recently avoided legislative disaster when House Bill 4101 was sent to the Rules Committee, where it currently lives. And hopefully, it stays there because HB 4101 is nothing but all sorts of bad news for salmon. While the bill addresses a very serious issue that deserves attention, it does so in a way that is unscientific, inequitable, premature, and frankly, unnecessary.

We outlined our arguments against HB 4101 in an official letter submitted last week. Here are some excerpted highlights:
Our coalition of more than 50 organizations and 4 million members and supporters nationwide believes this bill, as written, will harm our efforts to protect and restore salmon and the family-wage jobs they support in the Columbia-Snake River Basin.
The question of how best to address water resource issues in a changing climate is a serious matter and deserves serious attention. We applaud the Oregon Legislature and the Governor’s office for looking ahead on this matter and seeking solutions to the challenge of meeting Oregon’s water needs. We are concerned that HB 4101, however, does not do justice to this complex issue, and may set up a dynamic that risks pitting interests against each other instead of finding ways to work together to solve our collective water issues. […]

The questions surrounding our state’s invaluable water resources are complex and they must be addressed carefully, thoughtfully, and rationally. Indeed, we need to get ahead of these issues and manage them proactively. However, HB 4101 misses the mark for achieving the shared goal of smart, science-based, forward-looking water resource management that protects Oregon’s greatest assets.
Read the full text of the letter.




Monday, February 20, 2012

Paul Fish: Salmon Super Hero


Mountain Gear and President Paul Fish of Spokane, WA were honored recently at the 2012 Winter Outdoor Retailer Show as the Sustainable Retailer of the Year. SNEWS and Backpacker Magazine presented the award, which honors outdoor retailers that embody the spirit of entrepreneurship and serve as visionaries for the outdoor market and as leaders in the communities they serve.

Said Fish of the award, “We follow sustainable models at Mountain Gear because it’s the right thing to do. But this award also serves notice that these initiatives are good for business. The notion of sustainability is more than the rainwater we reclaim to water our grounds, it’s more than our compost pile and our garden. It extends to the business model, too. If we’re ethical and transparent we earn the trust of our employees, customers, vendors, and communities. That is sustainability.”

Read the full article about the award at this link.

Save Our wild Salmon has been honored to have Paul’s support for many years. Paul knows that a health environment means a healthy economy, and that wild salmon are critical for both. He’s carried this philosophy through his business model and is a true shining example of a sustainable business.

Congratulations to Paul Fish and Mountain Gear!

Mountain Gear was one of nearly 1,200 American businesses that signed our Salmon Mean Business letter calling on President Obama to try a new approach in NW salmon restoration. You can also read Paul’s recent guest blog for us about why salmon restoration is so critical for our economy.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Showing NOAA Some Love for Valentine’s Day



We asked, and you delivered. After a call to action, Save Our wild Salmon supporters sent in nearly 1,200 Valentine’s Day cards for Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Administrator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Several hundred of these were customized into unique limericks or heartfelt messages. Overwhelmed by the level of response we received, we wanted to share some of the love with you today by posting our top 10 favorites (some tough decisions here!). All of the valentine’s were printed and delivered to Dr. Lubchenco this morning along with some Portland, OR crafted chocolates to really show her how much we all care about restoring wild salmon to our rivers and about how important her support is on this critical issue.

Click here for the PNS radio story featuring some additional highlights.

Happy Valentine’s Day to ALL of you, Salmon-Supporters!

---------------------------

From Karen in Oregon:

Dear Dr. Jane Lubchenco,

Salmon are red,
Rivers are blue,
Let's sit at a table
and talk this through!

We can make a good plan
To save our native stock
And speedy implementation
Would totally rock.

Much better than chocolate
Or a beautiful red rose
Is a healthy ecosystem
And adequate flows.

So let's get to work
And together we can
Resolve all the issues
And deliver that plan.

---------------------------

From Peter in Montana:

Dear Dr. Lubchenco,

Each June I stand at the overlook at Dagger Falls near the headwaters of the Middle Fork Salmon River and watch Chinook. Over and over again they leaps up the falls, only to be denied by the force of the water and come crashing back into the pool below. But they won't be denied. They try again and again until finally, they get it just right, and the desire in their body finds a way to arc through air and pounding water to reach the pool above. It's an impressive sight, made all the more impressive by the fact that these fish have already swam some 700 miles before they reach this spot. As you know, the numbers that make it are but the thinnest remnant of what used to fin these waters each year, providing nourishment for Shoshone, eagle, bear, even the lodge pole and spruce forests that line the bank. Unfortunately the state of salmon conservation in Idaho feels a bit like the salmon that keeps leaping and falling back into the pool below. Years of negotiations and effort have failed to find a way to successfully get past the political barriers and reach the pool above the falls. Yet that is where we need to go. For it is in the reaches and side streams above the falls that these salmon find the conditions needed to spawn. Only beyond the falls of political gridlock can we ensure the conditions necessary that these salmon will continue to make this incredible, nourishing journey for millennium to come. To get there, we need a solid working plan. Time is running out. Please ensure that our next leap is the successful one and that the millions of years of knowledge encoded in these fish will not die out on our watch.

---------------------------

From Glenyce in Washington:

Dear Dr. Lubchenco,

Salmon are red,
Rivers are blue,
Let's sit at a table
and talk this through!

My People cry
'cause the fish die
before they reach Home
to breed and survive!

Free flowing water,
clear, cool, and pure,
helps all God's creatures
live well in the future.

Our duty's clear,
to clean the mess,
preserve and protect,
Wild Salmon, the best!

---------------------------

From William in Nevada:

Dear Dr. Jane Lubchenco,

Please help initiate a new dialogue among key stakeholders, including fisherman, farmers, and clean energy companies, to meet at a "solutions table' and use science and economics to consider all credible salmon restoration options, including removing the dams in the lower Snake River in eastern Washington.

---------------------

From Susan in Washington:

Dear Dr. Jane Lubchenco,

Salmon are red,
Rivers are blue,
Let's sit at a table
and talk this through!

Orcas are black & white,
Chinook salmon are yummy,
We need to make sure there's enough
to fill EVERY orca's tummy!

---------------------------

From Eric in Alaska:

Dear Dr. Jane Lubchenco,

I have been in love with salmon trolling since my parents took me fishing on their small troller when I was five months old. It has been a wonderful romance for over 60 years. I have dedicated myself to conserving salmon since I read, "Return to the River," the life story of a Chinook salmon, when I was 10 years old. I have been the recipient of national awards from the US Forest Service and National Fisherman Magazine for my work helping conserve salmon. But, nothing I have done can compare to what you can do by taking aggressive leadership on the Columbia-Snake Basin. Please lead.

---------------------------

From Justin in Idaho:

Dear Dr. Jane Lubchenco,

How much more money needs spend, data collected, or time wasted before we come to conclusion the river system we have created does not work for anyone. Salmon and Steelhead die by the millions before ever reaching the ocean. Sediment is plugging reservoirs and threatening the very communities and industries they were designed to protect. Agencies are playing tug of war with communities up and down Snake promising solutions and providing none. Please help be part of the solution and end the gridlock that is only prolonging the inevitable before extinction of our wild stocks ends it first.

---------------------------

From Matt in Colorado:

Dear Dr. Jane Lubchenco,

There is no way to calculate the enormous value of salmon to our ecosystems and our economy. No resource extraction or dam/reservoir project will outweigh the benefits of conserving, enhancing, or restoring salmon habitat, regardless what the proponents of these projects say. My experiences with rivers and the ecosystems they feed have granted me immeasurable joy since childhood and eventually led me to my career. It makes me very sad to think that one day my children may not be able to experience rivers and fish the way I have. It is my obligation as a concerned citizen, future father, and professional to voice these concerns in hopes that you and our U.S. government make the right decisions regarding the future of salmon.

---------------------------

From Lisa in Kentucky:

Dear Dr. Lubchenco,

Salmon are red,
Rivers are blue,
Let's sit at a table
and talk this through!

We can work it out
to the benefit of all
if you'll take a few minutes
to heed our call!

---------------------------

From Scott in New Jersey:

Dear Dr. Jane Lubchenco,

No time like the present to secure a future for our salmon – restoring salmon & rivers is a boon to the economy for the jobs created in the local community. Please help get the dialogue going.

Thank you & Happy Valentine's Day!

---------------------------

The lovely, awesome Susan Holmes delivering your Valentine's Day messages to Dr. Lubchenco in DC today (photo by Lucy Cosgrove, age 5).

Monday, February 6, 2012

Toxic Oil Spill on the Lower Snake; What Next?


Last week, we heard some disturbing news about the lower Snake River, a critical migration route to some of the world’s best habitat for wild salmon and steelhead populations protected by the Endangered Species Act. Over 1,500 gallons of transformer oil (which is being tested for polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs) has been spilling slowly out of Ice Harbor Dam, likely since last June. The leak went undiscovered until this past December.

The Environmental Protection Agency is now investigating what appears to be an obvious violation of the Clean Water Act.

(Bert Bowler of Snake River Salmon Solutions gave a recent interview about the oil spill - read or hear it HERE)

The news is disheartening for the conservationists, fishermen, businesses, and scientists that have long identified the removal of the lower Snake River dams as a critical component to achieving true salmon restoration in the Columbia and Snake River Basins. Economic and scientific analyses over the last ten years have highlighted the costs of aging infrastructure. And apparently, leaking transformer oil is not a new issue at all, but is a chronic problem about which the Army Corps of Engineers is well aware.

As they attempt fix the leaks (a difficult task considering the location and complexity of the powerhouse systems), this recent equipment failure raises real questions about the longevity of these structures and the real costs of maintenance going forward (Ice Harbor dam is rapidly approaching its 50th birthday).

Failed federal salmon policy in the Snake River Basin has cost American taxpayers and Northwest energy ratepayers literally billions of dollars. Recent reports point to a steady decline in barge transportation on the river in the last decade. The construction of a heavily subsidized barging corridor on the river was the primary reason for building the four dams in the first place. And now we also learn that the high-cost, low-value four lower Snake River dams are creating toxic oil spills.

When will it end?

It’s time for economics and science to win out over politics. Take Action Here. Please support our call for a new approach to Columbia Basin salmon restoration that could address, among other things, the growing problems we face as a result of steadily aging infrastructure.