All Salmon All the Time: The Underground’s Salmon News Roundup

At the Underground, we like salmon. They’re tasty, they grow themselves, they put a lot of commercial and sport fishermen to work, and as one probably drunk Undergrounder pointed out, they’re in the running for man’s best friend.

Here at the Underground News Services World Headquarters Bunker, we’ve compiled a long list of salmon-related stories, and in one big post, we’re blowing ‘em out.

(Salmon poster image stolen courtesy of Good Nature Publishing)

First, Some Good News

Many blame a decline in ocean food sources for last year’s West Coast salmon free fall (on top of all the other factors), and the good news is the krill seem to be back. From Tom Stienstra’s column in the Chronicle:

Krill, the small shrimp-like crustacean and a primary link in the marine food chain, have returned in huge numbers to the Bay Area coast and Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. This is also great news for marine birds, such as murres, and other fish that need krill to survive in large numbers.

Naturally, we’ll remain skeptical until the runs recover, and we damn sure won’t let this be the end of it. A krill shortage in the ocean was only the straw that broke the camel’s back: diversions, habitat loss, dams and pollution have driven salmon to the brink (many populations on the West Coast are already extinct), and a few tiny shrimp won’t change that.

Another Step Towards Klamath Dam Removal

The ongoing battle over PacifiCorp’s Klamath dam projects (yes, the same dams that have essentially crippled the river) has taken yet another turn.

Dam opponents have cited the absolutely horrible water quality below Iron Gate and Copco Dams as proof they need to come out — and as an example why fish ladders alone simply won’t work.

During the summer months, the river actually runs pea-soup green due to toxic algae blooms, and human (and pet) contact is discouraged.

The North Coast Water Quality Control Board deferred their regulatory authority to FERC (federal agency relicensing the dams), but a judge just ruled that it wasn’t clear that they could do that (and yes, we agree).

It’s a small victory for those looking to return healthy runs of salmon and steelhead to the Klamath – historically the third-most productive salmon run on the West Coast.

(An Underground aside: with Nestle’s McCloud bottling plant project moving back to square one, I’m going to focus more on Klamath issues, a subject I want to cover more, but simply didn’t have time).

British Columbia Sockeye Disappearing

British Columbia’s Sockeye Salmon are on the verge of an endangered listing:

There is a good chance that the entire sockeye salmon run in British Columbia will be shut down this summer. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is predicting very low returns on the Fraser and Skeena River systems. But that also affects anglers who fish for sockeye returning to the rivers.

Administration Plan for Columbia Salmon Challenged: Soap Opera Continues

The administration’s recently released plan for salmon restoration in the Columbia basin wasn’t significantly better than previous plans (including several declared illegal by a Federal judge), so a group of conservation groups filed suit. From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

The complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Portland on Tuesday alleges that the plan issued in May arbitrarily and capriciously ignores the best available science, is not appreciably different from one in 2004 declared illegal by U.S. District Judge James Redden, and relies too heavily on restoring habitat and reforming hatchery operations.

Most of this battle revolves around the removal of four Snake River dams, the chief beneficiaries of which are grain farmers who barge (cheaply) their products down the river.

With dozens of salmon runs already extinct, and 13 others listed under ESA, prior administration recovery plans have been basically laughed out of the courthouse by Judge Redden, who last time threatened to turn dam operations over to an independent operating committee.

This plan is little different, and most onlookers expected a similar response, though the recent payoff withdrawal of four of the five native tribes who traditionally fought for dam removal has altered the dynamics.

Given $900 million for habitat restoration, several tribes agreed to stand down from the fight. Expect lots, lots more on this one, and soon.

See you in the Salmon Aisle, Tom Chandler.

Technorati Tags: salmon, salmon recovery, snake river dams, sockeye salmon, klamath river, pacificorp