I just got this forwarded to me from Buzz Ramsey:


Subject: Judge Calls Salmon Plan a "Train Wreck"?

Dear Buzz,

"At a hearing in Portland, U.S. District Judge James Redden
again expressed skepticism about the administration's dismissal
of dam removal as an option for restoring salmon." - in today's
AP article on Columbia basin salmon recovery.

I want to update you on two recent positive developments around
the recovery of wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and
Snake Rivers. Both are covered in the AP article below that
appeared in a number of papers in the Northwest and across the
Nation today.

I. Judge Warns of a "Train Wreck":
Judge James Redden who is presiding over the court-ordered
revision of the failed 2000 federal Salmon Plan for the Columbia
Basin, has expressed his serious concerns over the draft plan
that the Bush Administration released earlier this month.

The Plan abandons salmon recovery as a goal, instead asserting
that the government only minimally needs to keep species from
going extinct. It also redefines dams as part of "the natural
landscape" and it says that dams "do not jeopardize salmon". The
plan actually acknowledges that at least 12 of the 13 stocks are
in danger of extinction, and despite the fact that the dams kill
as much as 85% of some runs, it will focus on the other 15% of
human-caused mortality, including further regulating fishing
communities that are already suffering as a result of the
severe, dam-driven population declines.

Salmon and fishing advocates are encouraged that the judge
appears to be holding the Bush Administration accountable, and
raising these critical concerns about the science and law of
salmon recovery.

II. 412 Businesses Call on Congress for Leadership:
Yesterday, a Business Letter for Salmon Recovery was sent off to
members of Congress - citing the depressed salmon populations,
the dismal federal salmon plan, and the economic value that
healthy salmon and rivers would mean to the Northwest and
Nation.

Business leaders that signed the letter come from the
recreational fishing, the commercial fishing, and outdoor
recreation and retail sectors.

Companies that signed the letter include: Patagonia, Sage
Flyfishing, Luhr Jensen & Sons, Montrail, Pacific Coast
Federation of Fishermen's Associations, NW Sportfishing Industry
Association, Helly Hansen, Royal Robbins, Simms Fishing
Products, and many more.

The Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition would like to thank them all
for their leadership to push for an effective salmon recovery
program!

To read the letter, view the signers, or sign your business on,
there are links on our homepage: http://www.wildsalmon.org

III. HOW YOU CAN HELP RIGHT NOW - WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
Seattle PI - mailto:editpage@seattlepi.com
Seattle Times - mailto:opinion@seattletimes.com
Olympian -
http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20040929/opinion/
Spokesman Review - mailto:editor@spokesman.com

(Please send letters to ALL the papers above that are in your
area; but only send to EITHER the PI or the Times, not both.
They won't publish letters that may appear in the others' paper)

a. 200 words max, include your name, mailing address, phone
number.
b. Do NOT "cc" me; pls send me a copy in a separate email.
c. Send a copy to your US Rep. and Senators Cantwell and Murray!

POINTS TO INCLUDE IN A LETTER:
1. THE PLAN FAILS: Judge Redden is right! A plan that abandons
recovery of healthy salmon runs, that redefines dams as "part of
the natural landscape," that ignores the huge impacts of dams on
salmon recovery, isn't a plan that that meets the needs of the
court, the NW public, our NW culture or our economy.

2. BAD FOR SALMON BUSINESSES: The Bush Administration's
"revised" salmon plan abandons long-standing publicly supported
efforts to recover wild salmon and steelhead to healthy,
fishable levels. Thousands of jobs have been lost as a result of
salmon declines in Washington State and on the Pacific Coast.
This plan abandons our salmon businesses in WA, OR, ID, and
beyond.

3. 400+ BUSINESSES: More than 400 business leaders signed a
letter to Congress demanding its leadership to save a sinking
ship, or - to use the judge's words - avoid "a train wreck."
Salmon are a valuable natural resource on the Pacific Coast for
tourism, manufacturing gear, and commercial and recreational
fishing. It is wrong for the Bush Administration to ignore the
needs, interests, and valuable contribution that these
businesses make to our economy.

4. TIME FOR DAM REMOVAL? As it abandons real recovery, the Bush
Administration has effectively acknowledged that recovery very
likely depends on removing the 4 lower Snake River dams. Now is
the time for Congress and the President to begin to explore
removing these 4 dams, to understand the costs and benefits to
the region's economy, and to finally have an informed and
forward-looking disussion, rather the simply continuing to stick
their collective heads in the sand.

Here is the article. Thank you!
jb
Joseph Bogaard
Save Our Wild Salmon
206-286-4455, x13

FEDERAL JUDGE CASTS DOUBTS ON SALMON PLAN
By Matthew Daly, AP Reporter

WASHINGTON - A federal judge warned yesterday that the Bush
administration may be headed for a "train wreck" as officials
finalize a plan for restoring dwindling salmon runs in the
Northwest.

At a hearing in Portland, U.S. District Judge James Redden again
expressed skepticism about the administration's dismissal of dam
removal as an option for restoring salmon.

Redden, who oversees a federal case considering protection of
the fish, said it was important to determine whether a revised
plan being developed by National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Fisheries (NOAA) would ensure the continued
existence of the threatened fish.

At issue is a draft plan announced by federal authorities this
month for balancing the needs of salmon against the demand for
electricity, irrigation water and barge transportation provided
by dams in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency responsible for salmon
recovery, concluded that four lower Snake River dams pose no
threat to the salmon's continued existence. That was a reversal
from the government's previous position that the dams were a
serious-enough threat to consider targeting some for removal.
Redden also questioned the new conclusion last week.

The new plan, known as a biological opinion, has drawn sharp
criticism from environmentalists, Indian tribes and others who
say removing the dams is the best course to salmon recovery.

Utilities, irrigators, grain shippers and others who depend on
the dams for power, navigation and water support the draft
opinion, which would replace a 2000 opinion thrown out by Redden
as inadequate because it did not assure that mandated measures
to protect salmon would actually be carried out by federal
agencies.

Conservationists, tribes and commercial- and sportfishing groups
said they were frustrated by the government's new stance.

In a letter released yesterday, more than 400 fishing and
outdoor-recreation-based businesses opposed the new federal
salmon plan, saying it significantly lowers the bar for
wild-salmon recovery.

The draft plan "ignores the hundreds of businesses that depend
upon strong salmon runs and the healthy habitat that accompanies
them for their livelihoods," said Trey Carskadon, a board member
for the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, one of the
groups that signed the letter. "Instead of doing the things
necessary to build the economy, it appears the federal
government has decided that it's not their responsibility."

Companies that signed the letter include some of the largest
names in outdoor gear and sportfishing, including
California-based Patagonia; Luhr Jensen & Sons in Oregon; and
Montrail of Washington.

Bush administration officials have dismissed dam removal from
consideration, saying in a Sept. 9 draft opinion that the
Endangered Species Act requires the fisheries service to
consider only how the dams will be operated, not their
existence.

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

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.

http://ga0.org/join-forward.html?domain=save_our_wild_salmon&r=5da4Md91YjHj

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for
Save Our Wild Salmon at:

http://ga0.org/save_our_wild_salmon/join.html?r=5da4Md91YjHjE

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