<+>=<+>KOLA Newslist<+>=<+>
 

[article provided by LH. Thanks!]

http://flash.oregonlive.com/cgi-bin/or_nview.pl?/home1/wire/AP/Stream-Parsed/OREGON_NEWS/o0311_PM_WST--Dams-Salmon

Fishermen and tribes meet to form alliance for breaching dams
By JEFF BARNARD
The Associated Press
02/16/00 3:16 AM Eastern

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) -- Representatives of Indian tribes and gillnetters, who
have traditionally fought over their shares of the salmon returning to the
Columbia River, met Tuesday to build an alliance to demand the federal
government remove four hydroelectric dams.

"The tribes and the commercial fishermen down here found out the hard way
that it is time to stop fighting over the last fish," said Rick George, a
program manager for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation.

The meetings were prompted by the fourth of 13 federal hearings around the
Northwest and Alaska taking testimony on options for preventing the
extinction of 12 Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead runs.

About 120 people from the lower Columbia River, some of them gillnetters who
have lost their livelihoods since declines in salmon populations forced deep
cutbacks in their fishing seasons, attended the hearing at the Clatsop
County Fairgrounds.

The most controversial option being considered is the removal of the earthen
portion of four hydroelectric dams on the lower Snake River, which produce
about 5 percent of the power sold by the Bonneville Power Administration and
have locks that allow barge traffic to serve Lewiston, Idaho, 300 miles from
the Pacific.

Advocates argue that breaching the dams would help salmon by restoring
natural conditions to 140 miles of river, while opponents argue that the
Lewiston economy would be devastated by the elimination of cheap barge
transportation.

Steve Fick, owner of Fishhawk Fisheries, one of the four fish processing
plants remaining in Astoria after declines in fisheries, questioned why the
government appeared to favor protecting jobs in Lewiston, Idaho, that are
dependent on the dams, when they had shown no regard for the job losses in
Astoria from declining salmon harvests.

He also questioned an Army Corps of Engineers study that found only $2
million in economic benefit from breaching the dams.

"I'm just one fish processing plant," he said. "There's more than that
economic impact to myself and the people who work for me."

One of the few voices in favor of keeping the dams was Bob Bernert, chief
executive of Bernert Barge Lines of Oregon City, which carries goods on the
Snake and Columbia rivers.

Bernert warned that removing the dams would contribute to global warming by
requiring the burning of 1.8 billion gallons of fossil fuel to replace the
lost electricity, and worsen world hunger by taking 35,000 acres of farmland
out of irrigation.

Representatives of the Umatilla tribes met with Doug Thompson, an Astoria
city councilman; Bruce Buckmaster, a producer of food for fish hatcheries
who is president of Salmon For All, a coalition of salmon advocates that
includes gillnetters; and the local chamber of commerce, said Deb Croswell,
a spokeswoman for the Umatilla tribes.

Besides working with people on the lower Columbia, the tribes are developing
ties to people in the Snake River region of Eastern Washington, and hope to
build alliances with people all up and down the Columbia, Croswell said.

"This will allow us to go to Congress with a plan to be implemented because
it is the political will of the people," George said. "If it turns out the
wrong decision is made, the tribes will litigate with more force and power
than has been seen in this region since the Treaty of 1855."

George added that the tribes support government aid to irrigators, barge
operators and farmers who would be hurt economically from breaching the
dams.

Treaties signed by the Columbia and Snake River tribes when they ceded lands
to the United States in the 19th century guaranteed them rights to half the
salmon in the Columbia in perpetuity for subsistence, economic and religious
use.

Like the gillnetters at the mouth of the Columbia, Indian fishermen have
seen their seasons cut back deeply to protect threatened and endanger salmon
runs.
 
 

<+>=<+>
Information Pages: http://users.skynet.be/kola/index.htm
Online Petition: http://kola-hq.hypermart.net
Greeting Cards: http://users.skynet.be/kola/cards.htm
<+>=<+>
if you want to be removed from the KOLA
Email Newslist, just send us a message with
"unsub" in the subject or text body
<+>=<+>