Grandpa: Don' t you evev get riered of bieng wrong?

100 Members of Congress Co-Sponsor Salmon Planning Act


Thursday, November 06, 2003

Washington, DC - Support for protecting the Northwest's economy and salmon runs reached a milestone today, with 100 House members signing on to the bipartisan Salmon Planning Act. Introduced by Representatives Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Thomas Petri (R-WI), this bill has three main elements - a science analysis by National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of current and anticipated salmon recovery actions, General Accounting Office (GAO) studies on how to best transition local economies to a free-flowing lower Snake River and authority to the Army Corps of Engineers to remove the four lower Snake River dams, if dam removal is deemed necessary by the federal agencies charged with protecting salmon and complying with tribal treaties.

"What this is really about is ensuring the region has a strong economy and healthy wild salmon runs," said Michael Garrity, associate director, federal dams program, American Rivers. "This bill is a step toward a comprehensive solution, a vision for the future that works for people, salmon and the economy."

The federal salmon plan, which was recently deemed illegal under the Endangered Species Act by a federal court judge, required aggressive efforts at habitat protection and restoration and increased water flows, but was implemented at less than 30 percent this past year. Even if it had been implemented at 100 percent, scientists say that the surest way to avert extinction and restore salmon to abundant harvestable levels is to remove the four lower Snake River dams.