[Fishlink] ~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 3/15/02<~~
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PLEASE HELP SUPPORT THE SUBLEGALS NEWSLETTER.
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~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 3/15/02<~~
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A WEEKLY QUOTA OF FISHERY SHORTS CAUGHT AND
LANDED BY THE INSTITUTE FOR FISHERIES RESOURCES
AND THE PACIFIC COAST FEDERATION OF FISHERMEN'S
ASSOCIATIONS
VOL. 05, NO. 11 15 MARCH 2002
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This week's issue of Sublegals is available in PDF format on the web at
www.sublegals.net. We have also pasted the text below for those who
still wish to read it through your email. In the coming weeks we will be
posting all past issues as well as a search engine. In addition to this new
look, we are continuing our Sublegals Fundraiser to support the Institute
for Fisheries Resources and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's
Associations in publishing this weekly newsletter free of charge. We
have recently passed our 100th issue, with very little funding, and are
looking to our readers to sustain the continuation of this effort. Go to
www.sublegals.net to donate to this effort. Thank you for your support
of community fisheries education.
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"This proposed agreement marks a major turning point in how we
protect threatened and endangered species under the ESA."..............
Bruce Smith, President of National Association of Homebuilders on the
NMFS agreement to revoke critical habitat designations.
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IN THIS ISSUE.......
GOVERNMENT AGREES TO DROP CRITICAL HABITAT
PROTECTIONS FOR 19 ESA-LISTED RUNS. 5:11/01.
IRRIGATORS TRYING TO DERAIL KLAMATH
RECOVERY PROVISION OF FARM BILL. 5:11/02.
COURT BACKS KLAMATH TRIBAL WATER RIGHTS. 5:11/03.
SUIT AGAINST OREGON STATE FORESTER FOR
FAILURE TO PROTECT COHO. 5:11/09.
SMALL OREGON PORTS LOSE FEDERAL
DREDGING FUNDS. 5:11/14.
AND MORE.....
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5:11/01. GOVERNMENT OFFERS TO DROP CRITICAL
HABITAT PROTECTIONS FOR 19 ESA-LISTED RUNS, PCFFA
FILES OBJECTION: On 11 March, under pressure from developers, the
Bush Administration's Department of Justice formally offered to settle a
lawsuit brought by the National Association of Homebuilders and a
number of other real estate and industrial water development interests
against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in the U.S.
District Court of the District of Columbia seeking to overturn
designations by NMFS of critical habitat. The settlement proposal would
completely void the existing critical habitat designations and force
NMFS to start over, leaving those critical habitat areas unprotected for at
least two years in the meantime.
The dispute is over the critical habitat designations published in the
16 February 2000 Federal Register (65 FR 7764-7787) for 19 separate
salmon and steelhead runs in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California.
Developers objected to the scope of those designations and attacked
what they said is a lack of analysis of the economic impacts of these
designations, including small business impacts (an analysis requirement
put in place by the Reagan Administration). These are the first major
critical habitat designations that NMFS adopted as part of Endangered
Species Act (ESA) salmon recovery efforts on the west coast. Section
7(a)(2) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)) requires that federal agencies
refrain from activities likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a
species or that would result in the "destruction or adverse modification"
of designated critical habitat. Real estate developers hope to knock
down critical habitat designations so they can continue building in
fragile riparian areas necessary for salmon habitat, or alternatively to
build an administrative record that effective salmon habitat protections
would be economically prohibitive.
PCFFA and other salmon protection organizations immediately
renewed their request to intervene in the case (National Association of
Homebuilders, et. al. vs. Evans, U.S. District Court, District of
Columbia (Civ. No. 1:00cv02799 (CKK)) and filed objections to the
settlement on 14 March. PCFFA believes that since no court has ever
determined that the current designations are invalid, and to avoid
irreparable damage in the meantime to areas that are likely to be
re-designated as critical habitat, that at a minimum the Court should
maintain the current designations until changed. "This settlement
agreement confirms our worst fears," said PCFFA's Executive Director
Zeke Grader. "Capitulation to special interest groups who only want to
enrich themselves by developing the last remaining salmon habitat will
only increase the already enormous economic losses to coastal
salmon-dependent communities. The Administration apparently cannot
attack salmon protections directly because the public supports salmon
recovery, so they are attacking them through sweetheart deals in the
courts." Essential Fish Habitat protections (Magnuson Act) and regular
ESA "take" prohibitions would remain in the interim, but neither are as
protective of habitat as the critical habitat designations that the
government has agreed to terminate, and the EFH provisions also do not
apply to steelhead since it is not a commercially fished species.
Furthermore, the National Association of Homebuilders has also filed a
suit (see Sublegals 5:09/09) to overturn the Essential Fish Habitat
provisions of the Magnuson Act, thus seeking to eliminate the last
protections for salmon habitat under that Act. For more information see
the 14 March San Francisco Chronicle web site article at:
http://c1.zedo.com/OzoDB/6/o/7016/zz_reliaquote1soundoff.html. For
the PCFFA press release see: www.pcffa.org at the top of the page.
5:11/02. IRRIGATORS TRYING TO DERAIL KLAMATH
RECOVERY PROVISION OF FARM BILL: The Klamath Water Users
Association and other Upper Klamath Basin irrigation interests are
reportedly trying to unravel the carefully crafted compromise providing
$175 million for Klamath ecosystem restoration program in the Senate
Farm Bill (S. 1731, Sec. 2 of Title E) (see Sublegals 5:07/05). Irrigators
want guarantees of water that would override the Endangered Species
Act, Tribal water rights and the Clean Water Act, as well as control over
how the funds will be spent. KWUA members have also adamantly
opposed water demand reduction programs as a remedy to over-farming
in the arid basin, and want to see language in the final bill prohibiting
use of funds for that purpose. Oregon Representative Greg Walden, in
whose district most of the Klamath Project lies, is trying to cut a deal in
the Conference Committee, which is working to reconcile the Senate
version with the House version which contains no Klamath money. The
current compromise, however, has very broad support. See for instance
the 13 March Oregonian:
http://www.oregonlive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_stand
ard.xsl?/base/news/101602415221727130.xml.
5:11/03: COURT BACKS KLAMATH TRIBAL WATER RIGHTS:
A ruling by U.S. District Judge Owen M. Panner in Portland in a major
Indian water rights case (a supplemental proceeding to the Adair case)
will affect the Upper Klamath Basin's ongoing water rights adjudication
process and affirms that the Klamath Tribe's water rights "stretch back to
time immemorial" and "supersede all other claims for water, including
those held by irrigators." Although it is unclear how the decision will
ultimately affect water allocations to agribusiness interests in the Upper
Klamath Basin federal irrigation project, the Klamath Tribe's claim may
help protect ESA listed lake fish since it is based on the amount of water
biologically needed to support the fish and requires a harvestable
surplus. Downriver Yurok and Karuk Tribes also have federally
recognized water rights sufficient to support their traditional downriver
salmon fisheries as well, under other case law. However, the Bureau of
Reclamation has continued to ignore all these water rights in its current
proposed 10-year Klamath Project water plan (see Sublegals 5:09/06).
For more information on the ruling contact Carl Ullman, Klamath Tribe
Water Adjudication Project, Office of the Klamath Tribes,
(541)783-2219.
5:11/04. HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE ENTERS KLAMATH FRAY,
ASKS INTERIOR SECRETARY NORTON TO KEEP WATER
PROMISES ON THE TRINITY RIVER: In another part of the Klamath
Basin, the Hoopa Valley Tribe of Northern California has called on U.S.
Department of Interior Secretary Gale Norton to keep the government's
promises on restoring more instream flows to the Trinity River, the
Klamath River's largest tributary. The Hoopa Valley Tribe inhabits the
Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation located on the lower Trinity River,
nearly 60 miles inland from the city of Eureka CA, and also have
federally recognized tribal fishing rights.
Until 2000, as much as 70 percent of the total water volume of the
Trinity River as piped out of the Klamath Basin at the Trinity River
Diversion to feed voracious corporate agribusiness farms primarily
within the Westlands Water District in the northern part of the California
Central Valley. After nearly 20 years of scientific study and controversy,
the "Trinity River Restoration Record of Decision" was issued in
December 2000, by then Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt, restoring
the Trinity River's instream flow to roughly 48 percent of historic
volumes. However, the Westlands Water District filed suit last year and
obtained a temporary injunction to suspend the decision during the 2001
drought, and the Bush Administration has neither enforced the
agreement nor effectively fought that court decision (see Sublegals
2:18/09; 2:20/02; 2:24/05 and 2:25/02). The Hoopa Valley Tribe sent a
letter to Interior Secretary Norton on 17 January 2002, asking the
Department, as its federal Trustee, to return to court and have the
injunction modified to allow the additional instream flows, particularly
in this relatively wet water year. California Congressmen Mike
Thompson and George Miller have also asked the Bush Administration
to take action on the Tribe's behalf.
Instead of appealing the injunction, however, the Interior Department
has began work on a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
(SEIS), raising fears that the Administration intends to undercut the hard
fought Trinity River compromise. The SEIS is also not expected to be
completed at least until 2004. In the interim, the normal flows of the
Trinity River are still being severely depleted by out of basin transfers to
the Central Valley Project. The restoration of the Trinity River flows into
the Klamath River is vital to the recovery of both downriver tribal and
non-tribal salmon fisheries. For more on the Hoopa Tribe position
contact Mike Orcutt, (530) 625-4267 extension 13.
5:11/05. GROUPS SUE CALIFORNIA WATER BOARD FOR AG
PESTICIDE CONTROLS: On 21 February, WaterKeepers of Northern
California and the California Public Interest Research Group
(CALPIRG) filed suit in Sacramento County Superior Court against the
Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board seeking first-ever
pollution controls on agricultural discharges into California Central
Valley waterways. Currently farmers are exempt from California's
Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act under an administrative
waiver issued by the Board 20 years ago. This waiver exempts most
California agribusinesses from discharge limits, from the requirements
for use of best management practices and even from monitoring of one
of the state's most pervasive sources of pesticides in water. A total of
585 miles of California rivers and creeks and 488,224 acres of Delta and
other waterways in the California Central Valley Region alone have been
classed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as "water quality
impaired" because of pesticides. In a recent study of over 92,000 water
quality samples, 96 percent of all locations in the California Central
Valley showed detections of one or more pesticides. Pesticides are well
established as causing potentially serious disruptions in salmonid
development and survival even at dosages well below current maximum
aquatic standards, and they occur widely (see:
http://www.ifrfish.org/salpest.htm and also
http://www.pesticide.org/CleanWaterSalmon.html). For more
information on the suit contact Bill Jennings, DeltaKeeper,
(209)464-5090 or Michael Lozeau, Earthjustice Legal Defense,
(650)725-4217. In response to the suit, the 2 March San Francisco
Chronicle reports that the Water Board has agreed to review the
exemption (see: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/
chronicle/archive/2002/03/02/MN7814.DTL).
5:11/06. WASHINGTON STATE RELEASES INSTREAM FLOW
DOCUMENT, 3/29 DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS: The Washington
State Department of Ecology has release its instream flow guidance
document. Titled "A Guide to Instream Flow Setting in Washington
State," it is intended to assist watershed planning groups through the
process of recommending adequate instream flows for future
rulemaking. The draft guide is available for comment until 29 March
and is at:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/instream-flows/isf_guidance.html.
Instructions for submitting comments are also on that web site.
5:11/07. CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL
WATER PROGRAM DRAFT EIS OUT FOR REVIEW: Draft
environmental documents and a proposed Negative Declaration are out
for the proposed purchase of up to 185,000 acre-feet of stored water
from the Kern County Water Agency for use in the CALFED
Environmental Water Account (EWA) Program. EWA would use this
water to promote flexible water project management for additional
protection and recovery of the fisheries of the San Francisco
Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta estuary while maintaining the
reliability of State and Federal water deliveries, as specified in the
CALFED Bay-Delta Programmatic Record of Decision dated August 28,
2000. No significant environmental effects are anticipated as a result of
the proposed water purchase.
The draft EA/IS and proposed Negative Declaration is available for a
30-day public review and comment period. Send written comments to
Ms. Delores Brown, Department of Water Resources, KCWA Water
Purchase, 3251 S Street, Sacramento, CA 95816, or fax to
916-227-7554. Comments should be received no later than Monday,
April 1, 2002. For additional information or to obtain copies of the draft
EA/IS and proposed Negative Declaration, please call Delores Brown,
Environmental Program Manager, DWR, at 916-227-2407, or David
Robinson, EWA Project Manager, Reclamation, at 916-978-5050, TDD
916-978-5608.
5:11/08. US-CHILE SET FOR NEW FREE TRADE
NEGOTIATIONS: The 28 and 30 February issues of US Trade Daily
(WTD) report that the United States and Chile will hold their next round
of negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement the week of April 18,
with another round to follow May 6. The April talks are expected to
cover market access for agricultural and industrial products, labor,
environmental issues, dispute settlement and investment. Both sides are
hoping to bring the talks to conclusion in May. Among the issues that
need to be discussed, according to commercial fishermen, is the
widespread practice of "dumping" below cost farmed Chilean salmon on
the U.S. market at prices and times which appear deliberately designed
to put U.S. ocean salmon fishermen out of business (see Sublegals
4:05/2; 3:12/08; 3:01/09; 2:06/17). It is unclear whether the
Administration will be putting this issue on the table.
5:11/09. PCFFA AND OTHERS SUE OREGON STATE
FORESTER FOR FAILURE TO PROTECT ESA-LISTED COHO
FROM LOGGING: PCFFA joined the Pacific Rivers Council and other
watershed protection groups on 28 February in filing a 'take' suit against
the Oregon State Forester, under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),
asking that he be required to better protect Oregon's ESA-listed coastal
coho salmon from poor industrial logging practices. The groups cited a
long history of failure of the Oregon Forest Practices Act and current
forestry rules, and foot-dragging by the Oregon Department of Forestry,
in providing coho protections from industrial logging that biologists
have deemed necessary.
Oregon's industrial logging rules are much less stringent than those of
California or Washington, and have been heavily criticized by
independent scientific reviews as too lax to prevent further salmon
extinctions. Individual logging plans are approved by the State Forester,
who is therefore potentially liable under the ESA for harm caused to
ESA listed fish. The plaintiffs have filed the action in U.S. Federal
District Court of Oregon, asking the court to halt those specific state
logging plans that may harm coho salmon. The case is being handled by
Earthjustice Legal Defense in Seattle. For more information contact
them at: 705 Second Avenue, Suite 203, Seattle, WA 98104, (206)
343-7340.
5:11/10. THIS U.S. WINTER THE WARMEST ON RECORD:
Once again the U.S. weather this winter has set a new record as the
warmest winter since climate records have been kept, according to data
released by the Climate Monitoring Branch of the government's National
Climatic Data Center. The agency also reported that worldwide average
temperatures were also at record levels. The warmest 10 individual
years over the last 100 are in fact clustered in the 1990's, showing a clear
global warming trend. The previous record November-January high in
the U.S. was set just in 1999-2000. Since 1979, the nationally averaged
November-January land temperatures have risen at a rate of 1.2 degrees
Fahrenheit per decade, the data center said. Average ocean temperatures
for January 2002 worldwide were also the third highest on record. For
more information see:
http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2002/jan/global.html.
5:11/11. WATER SYSTEM PRIVATIZATION BILL MEETS
RESISTANCE: An obscure public works bill (S. 1961) was introduced
in the U.S. Senate in February that would require communities to
consider privatizing their public water supplies as a condition of
obtaining any further federal assistance to upgrade current water systems
or implement water conservation programs. In its testimony at a recent
hearing on the bill, the Bush Administration's Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) also reportedly implied that it did not support additional
funding to help the nation's crumbling water infrastructure but instead
supported privatization as a better solution. However, privatization of
essential public utilities, as we have seen in the recent energy
deregulation debacle, removes all public oversight and control and can
lead to widespread price gouging. There are also increasing signs that
multinational corporations are trying to gain monopoly control over the
world's diminishing fresh water resources, and this bill may be a way to
help achieve that end. If the United States lists water as a service that
falls under the General Agreement on Trade in Services, for instance, the
bill would also provide growing multinational water companies, such as
the French-based Vivendi or the Suez Company, yet another venue to
challenge public ownership through international trade agreements and
attempt to further monopolize water resources. For more information
see the Public Citizen information site at:
http://www.citizen.org/cmep/Water/articles.cfm?ID=7268.
5:11/12. CANADIAN SCIENTISTS RECOMMEND
WHALE-WATCHING RULES: A government commissioned report by
top Canadian marine scientists recommends that "Canada should act
quickly to pass regulations controlling the growing number of boaters
who cluster around whales" says the Victoria Times Colonist 3 March
edition. The report found that the "rapid development" and "present
size" of the eco-tourism industry has resulted in "inadequate monitoring
or evaluation of its impact on target animals." Persistent and repetitive
whale watching activities can prevent "completion of life processes" and
become a "conservation threat" according to the report. For the
complete article on the subject see:
http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist/archives/story.asp?id=006
F4405-66E0-40ED-8E58-D83EDEB18ED6.
5:11/13. MORE B.C. PROBLEMS WITH SALMON FISH FARM
VIRUSES REPORTED: The Fish Information & Service (FIS) reported
8 March that many salmon farms in British Columbia have contracted a
virus (infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus or IHN) passed to their
non-resistant Atlantic salmon from the native Pacific sockeye salmon
populations, resulting in substantial losses. Crews ground 1.6 million
Atlantic salmon into fishmeal last month when B.C.'s Heritage Fish
Farms decided to kill of its stock of affected Atlantics. Many other
operations are likely reservoirs for future infection, and seven other fish
farm operations are already fighting the virus. The Canadian Department
of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO), however, is leaving it to the industry itself
to deal with the problems, one of many faced by the salmon farm
systems in B.C. Though wild fish are immune to the virus, mutated
strains of IHN could weaken that immunity, and the farms pass on other
diseases to wild fish (see Sublegals 5:03/05). B.C.'s David Suzuki
Foundation, which has been highly critical of fish farms, recently got a
court injunction preventing the transportation of IHN-infected farm
salmon to the Fraser River, as originally planned by Heritage Farms, that
prevents exposure of already depressed wild stocks to the disease.
However, the B.C. government just lifted its moratorium on expansion
of fish farms in the province (see Sublegals 5:05/09). For more see:
http://www.fis.com.
5:11/14: SMALL OREGON PORTS LOSE FEDERAL DREDGING
FUNDS IN FAVOR OF PORTLAND: The Bush Administration's
newly proposed federal budget has stripped the coastal Oregon ports of
Bookings, Gold Beach, Bandon and Depoe Bay of federal funds for
harbor dredging, transferring those funds instead to the Port of Portland.
The Bush Administration has proposed cutting dredging funds in 2003
for many small ports, saying priority must go to larger ports with more
economic activity, according to a 15 March article in The Oregonian.
Coastal port managers say that without that dredging the sand building
up at the mouths of coastal rivers will create shallow waters and
unpredictable waves that could easily capsize small boats. Without
periodic dredging some harbor sand bar conditions could soon become
so treacherous that neither recreational nor commercial fishing boats
could safely moor there. In a 16 March editorial, titled "Defend
Oregon's Smallest Ports," The Oregonian noted "The money saved by
stranding these four shallow-draft ports would be small -- $1.4 million a
year -- while the costs to the communities would be huge.... The Port of
Portland may get some small benefit from that policy, but it's not worth
the cost to these coastal towns." For the full 15 March Oregonian
newspaper article see:
http://www.oregonlive.com/morenews/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.ss
f/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/101619701324402243.xml. For the
complete 16 March Oregonian Editorial you should go to:
http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf
/html_standard.xsl?/base/editorial/10162833291518958.xml, or go to:
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/today to search the archives for
those dates.
5:11/15. EU RATIFIES KYOTO GLOBAL WARMING TREATY:
The 4 March San Francisco Chronicle reports that the European Union
(EU) governing body has now formally ratified the Kyoto Treaty on
Global Warming, thus further isolating the United States, which
produces 25 percent of all emissions but has refused to ratify the treaty
and the Bush Administration has formally rejected it in favor of
voluntary reduction programs with little meaning. The treaty requires the
reduction of greenhouse gas emission over time. The EU intends to
decide on specific gas reduction targets in an upcoming meeting in May
2002. See:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/03/04/i
nternational1306EST0633.DTL.
5:11/16. REFUGE ADVOCATES BID ON KLAMATH REFUGE
COMMERCIAL LEASELANDS: In an innovative effort to rescue the
Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge from commercial farming, on
13 March the Klamath Forest Alliance, Northcoast Environmental
Center and the Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC) formally
submitted a sealed bid on a five-year agricultural lease within the
national wildlife refuge, intending to convert the land back from row
crops to wetlands as habitat for migrating waterfowl. "Our purpose is to
manage some of these national wildlife refuge lands for fish and wildlife
rather than industrial farming," noted a spokesman for the ONRC. The
groups have long opposed the Bureau of Reclamation's practice since the
1960's of leasing out more than 22,000 acres of the wildlife refuge for
commercial farming, the only refuge in the nation where commercial
farming is allowed. Under pressure from irrigators, the U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service has deemed such actions "compatible" with refuge
purposes even though farmers use many pesticides and chemicals known
to be harmful to both birds and fish, and raise row crops (such as
potatoes and onions) whose benefit to wildlife is nearly nonexistent.
The groups' bid of $5,000 for 127.9 acres in Area K of the Oregon
portion of the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, however, was
beaten back by another bid of $9,100 hastily submitted to ward off the
conservationists' bid. Many groups have called for ending the federal
Upper Klamath Basin wildlife refuge commercial lease program entirely,
and for converting those refuge lands (which are public lands) back to
wetlands to store more water in the basin, to help improve water quality
and to curtail serious agricultural pollution. Noting that the ultimate
solution would be for Congress to terminate the controversial leasing
program entirely, the groups have established a fund to outbid farmers
for other refuge leases in the future. For more see:
http://www.onrc.org/programs/klamath/pressrelease1.html.
5:11/17. WASHINGTON STATE WATER LAW ENFORCEMENT
CALLED 'ABYSMAL': The 8 March Seattle Post-Intelligencer
highlights a report by the Washington Environmental Council and the
Center for Environmental Law & Policy which calls that state's water
law enforcement process "dereliction of duty" and "abysmal." Failure to
identify or halt known illegal diversions and failure to implement a water
metering statute long on the books (see Sublegals 1:07/07) were cited as
examples. For the newspaper story see:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/61408_water08.shtml. The press
release and report itself, titled "Dereliction of Duty: Washington's
Failure to Protect Our Shared Waters," is available online at:
http://www.celp.org/prdereliction.htm.
NEWS, COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS: Submit your news items,
comments or any corrections to Allison Vogt, Editor at:
ifrfish@pacbell.net or call the IFR/PCFFA office with the news and a
source at either: (415) 561-FISH (Southwest Office) or (541) 689-2000
(Northwest Office).
##########################################################
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<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>PLEASE HELP SUPPORT THE SUBLEGALS NEWSLETTER.
<BR>To donate go to: www.sublegals.net. Sublegals is published free
<BR>of charge and is dependent on your contributions.
<BR>##########################################################
<BR> ~~>FISHLINK SUBLEGALS 3/15/02<~~
<BR>##########################################################
<BR> A WEEKLY QUOTA OF FISHERY SHORTS CAUGHT AND
<BR> LANDED BY THE INSTITUTE FOR FISHERIES RESOURCES
<BR> AND THE PACIFIC COAST FEDERATION OF FISHERMEN'S
<BR> ASSOCIATIONS
<BR>
<BR> VOL. 05, NO. 11 15 MARCH 2002
<BR>##########################################################
<BR>This week's issue of Sublegals is available in PDF format on the web at
<BR>www.sublegals.net. We have also pasted the text below for those who
<BR>still wish to read it through your email. In the coming weeks we will be
<BR>posting all past issues as well as a search engine. In addition to this new
<BR>look, we are continuing our Sublegals Fundraiser to support the Institute
<BR>for Fisheries Resources and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's
<BR>Associations in publishing this weekly newsletter free of charge. We
<BR>have recently passed our 100th issue, with very little funding, and are
<BR>looking to our readers to sustain the continuation of this effort. Go to
<BR>www.sublegals.net to donate to this effort. Thank you for your support
<BR>of community fisheries education.
<BR>##########################################################
<BR>"This proposed agreement marks a major turning point in how we
<BR>protect threatened and endangered species under the ESA."..............
<BR>Bruce Smith, President of National Association of Homebuilders on the
<BR>NMFS agreement to revoke critical habitat designations.
<BR>##########################################################
<BR>IN THIS ISSUE.......
<BR>
<BR>GOVERNMENT AGREES TO DROP CRITICAL HABITAT
<BR>PROTECTIONS FOR 19 ESA-LISTED RUNS. 5:11/01.
<BR>
<BR>IRRIGATORS TRYING TO DERAIL KLAMATH
<BR>RECOVERY PROVISION OF FARM BILL. 5:11/02.
<BR>
<BR>COURT BACKS KLAMATH TRIBAL WATER RIGHTS. 5:11/03.
<BR>
<BR>SUIT AGAINST OREGON STATE FORESTER FOR
<BR>FAILURE TO PROTECT COHO. 5:11/09.
<BR>
<BR>SMALL OREGON PORTS LOSE FEDERAL
<BR>DREDGING FUNDS. 5:11/14.
<BR>
<BR>AND MORE.....
<BR>##########################################################
<BR> 5:11/01. GOVERNMENT OFFERS TO DROP CRITICAL
<BR>HABITAT PROTECTIONS FOR 19 ESA-LISTED RUNS, PCFFA
<BR>FILES OBJECTION: On 11 March, under pressure from developers, the
<BR>Bush Administration's Department of Justice formally offered to settle a
<BR>lawsuit brought by the National Association of Homebuilders and a
<BR>number of other real estate and industrial water development interests
<BR>against the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in the U.S.
<BR>District Court of the District of Columbia seeking to overturn
<BR>designations by NMFS of critical habitat. The settlement proposal would
<BR>completely void the existing critical habitat designations and force
<BR>NMFS to start over, leaving those critical habitat areas unprotected for at
<BR>least two years in the meantime.
<BR>
<BR> The dispute is over the critical habitat designations published in the
<BR>16 February 2000 Federal Register (65 FR 7764-7787) for 19 separate
<BR>salmon and steelhead runs in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California.
<BR>Developers objected to the scope of those designations and attacked
<BR>what they said is a lack of analysis of the economic impacts of these
<BR>designations, including small business impacts (an analysis requirement
<BR>put in place by the Reagan Administration). These are the first major
<BR>critical habitat designations that NMFS adopted as part of Endangered
<BR>Species Act (ESA) salmon recovery efforts on the west coast. Section
<BR>7(a)(2) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)) requires that federal agencies
<BR>refrain from activities likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a
<BR>species or that would result in the "destruction or adverse modification"
<BR>of designated critical habitat. Real estate developers hope to knock
<BR>down critical habitat designations so they can continue building in
<BR>fragile riparian areas necessary for salmon habitat, or alternatively to
<BR>build an administrative record that effective salmon habitat protections
<BR>would be economically prohibitive.
<BR>
<BR> PCFFA and other salmon protection organizations immediately
<BR>renewed their request to intervene in the case (National Association of
<BR>Homebuilders, et. al. vs. Evans, U.S. District Court, District of
<BR>Columbia (Civ. No. 1:00cv02799 (CKK)) and filed objections to the
<BR>settlement on 14 March. PCFFA believes that since no court has ever
<BR>determined that the current designations are invalid, and to avoid
<BR>irreparable damage in the meantime to areas that are likely to be
<BR>re-designated as critical habitat, that at a minimum the Court should
<BR>maintain the current designations until changed. "This settlement
<BR>agreement confirms our worst fears," said PCFFA's Executive Director
<BR>Zeke Grader. "Capitulation to special interest groups who only want to
<BR>enrich themselves by developing the last remaining salmon habitat will
<BR>only increase the already enormous economic losses to coastal
<BR>salmon-dependent communities. The Administration apparently cannot
<BR>attack salmon protections directly because the public supports salmon
<BR>recovery, so they are attacking them through sweetheart deals in the
<BR>courts." Essential Fish Habitat protections (Magnuson Act) and regular
<BR>ESA "take" prohibitions would remain in the interim, but neither are as
<BR>protective of habitat as the critical habitat designations that the
<BR>government has agreed to terminate, and the EFH provisions also do not
<BR>apply to steelhead since it is not a commercially fished species.
<BR>Furthermore, the National Association of Homebuilders has also filed a
<BR>suit (see Sublegals 5:09/09) to overturn the Essential Fish Habitat
<BR>provisions of the Magnuson Act, thus seeking to eliminate the last
<BR>protections for salmon habitat under that Act. For more information see
<BR>the 14 March San Francisco Chronicle web site article at:
<BR>http://c1.zedo.com/OzoDB/6/o/7016/zz_reliaquote1soundoff.html. For
<BR>the PCFFA press release see: www.pcffa.org at the top of the page.
<BR>
<BR> 5:11/02. IRRIGATORS TRYING TO DERAIL KLAMATH
<BR>RECOVERY PROVISION OF FARM BILL: The Klamath Water Users
<BR>Association and other Upper Klamath Basin irrigation interests are
<BR>reportedly trying to unravel the carefully crafted compromise providing
<BR>$175 million for Klamath ecosystem restoration program in the Senate
<BR>Farm Bill (S. 1731, Sec. 2 of Title E) (see Sublegals 5:07/05). Irrigators
<BR>want guarantees of water that would override the Endangered Species
<BR>Act, Tribal water rights and the Clean Water Act, as well as control over
<BR>how the funds will be spent. KWUA members have also adamantly
<BR>opposed water demand reduction programs as a remedy to over-farming
<BR>in the arid basin, and want to see language in the final bill prohibiting
<BR>use of funds for that purpose. Oregon Representative Greg Walden, in
<BR>whose district most of the Klamath Project lies, is trying to cut a deal in
<BR>the Conference Committee, which is working to reconcile the Senate
<BR>version with the House version which contains no Klamath money. The
<BR>current compromise, however, has very broad support. See for instance
<BR>the 13 March Oregonian:
<BR>http://www.oregonlive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_stand
<BR>ard.xsl?/base/news/101602415221727130.xml.
<BR>
<BR> 5:11/03: COURT BACKS KLAMATH TRIBAL WATER RIGHTS:
<BR>A ruling by U.S. District Judge Owen M. Panner in Portland in a major
<BR>Indian water rights case (a supplemental proceeding to the Adair case)
<BR>will affect the Upper Klamath Basin's ongoing water rights adjudication
<BR>process and affirms that the Klamath Tribe's water rights "stretch back to
<BR>time immemorial" and "supersede all other claims for water, including
<BR>those held by irrigators." Although it is unclear how the decision will
<BR>ultimately affect water allocations to agribusiness interests in the Upper
<BR>Klamath Basin federal irrigation project, the Klamath Tribe's claim may
<BR>help protect ESA listed lake fish since it is based on the amount of water
<BR>biologically needed to support the fish and requires a harvestable
<BR>surplus. Downriver Yurok and Karuk Tribes also have federally
<BR>recognized water rights sufficient to support their traditional downriver
<BR>salmon fisheries as well, under other case law. However, the Bureau of
<BR>Reclamation has continued to ignore all these water rights in its current
<BR>proposed 10-year Klamath Project water plan (see Sublegals 5:09/06).
<BR>For more information on the ruling contact Carl Ullman, Klamath Tribe
<BR>Water Adjudication Project, Office of the Klamath Tribes,
<BR>(541)783-2219.
<BR>
<BR> 5:11/04. HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE ENTERS KLAMATH FRAY,
<BR>ASKS INTERIOR SECRETARY NORTON TO KEEP WATER
<BR>PROMISES ON THE TRINITY RIVER: In another part of the Klamath
<BR>Basin, the Hoopa Valley Tribe of Northern California has called on U.S.
<BR>Department of Interior Secretary Gale Norton to keep the government's
<BR>promises on restoring more instream flows to the Trinity River, the
<BR>Klamath River's largest tributary. The Hoopa Valley Tribe inhabits the
<BR>Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation located on the lower Trinity River,
<BR>nearly 60 miles inland from the city of Eureka CA, and also have
<BR>federally recognized tribal fishing rights.
<BR>
<BR> Until 2000, as much as 70 percent of the total water volume of the
<BR>Trinity River as piped out of the Klamath Basin at the Trinity River
<BR>Diversion to feed voracious corporate agribusiness farms primarily
<BR>within the Westlands Water District in the northern part of the California
<BR>Central Valley. After nearly 20 years of scientific study and controversy,
<BR>the "Trinity River Restoration Record of Decision" was issued in
<BR>December 2000, by then Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt, restoring
<BR>the Trinity River's instream flow to roughly 48 percent of historic
<BR>volumes. However, the Westlands Water District filed suit last year and
<BR>obtained a temporary injunction to suspend the decision during the 2001
<BR>drought, and the Bush Administration has neither enforced the
<BR>agreement nor effectively fought that court decision (see Sublegals
<BR>2:18/09; 2:20/02; 2:24/05 and 2:25/02). The Hoopa Valley Tribe sent a
<BR>letter to Interior Secretary Norton on 17 January 2002, asking the
<BR>Department, as its federal Trustee, to return to court and have the
<BR>injunction modified to allow the additional instream flows, particularly
<BR>in this relatively wet water year. California Congressmen Mike
<BR>Thompson and George Miller have also asked the Bush Administration
<BR>to take action on the Tribe's behalf.
<BR>
<BR> Instead of appealing the injunction, however, the Interior Department
<BR>has began work on a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
<BR>(SEIS), raising fears that the Administration intends to undercut the hard
<BR>fought Trinity River compromise. The SEIS is also not expected to be
<BR>completed at least until 2004. In the interim, the normal flows of the
<BR>Trinity River are still being severely depleted by out of basin transfers to
<BR>the Central Valley Project. The restoration of the Trinity River flows into
<BR>the Klamath River is vital to the recovery of both downriver tribal and
<BR>non-tribal salmon fisheries. For more on the Hoopa Tribe position
<BR>contact Mike Orcutt, (530) 625-4267 extension 13.
<BR>
<BR> 5:11/05. GROUPS SUE CALIFORNIA WATER BOARD FOR AG
<BR>PESTICIDE CONTROLS: On 21 February, WaterKeepers of Northern
<BR>California and the California Public Interest Research Group
<BR>(CALPIRG) filed suit in Sacramento County Superior Court against the
<BR>Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board seeking first-ever
<BR>pollution controls on agricultural discharges into California Central
<BR>Valley waterways. Currently farmers are exempt from California's
<BR>Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act under an administrative
<BR>waiver issued by the Board 20 years ago. This waiver exempts most
<BR>California agribusinesses from discharge limits, from the requirements
<BR>for use of best management practices and even from monitoring of one
<BR>of the state's most pervasive sources of pesticides in water. A total of
<BR>585 miles of California rivers and creeks and 488,224 acres of Delta and
<BR>other waterways in the California Central Valley Region alone have been
<BR>classed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as "water quality
<BR>impaired" because of pesticides. In a recent study of over 92,000 water
<BR>quality samples, 96 percent of all locations in the California Central
<BR>Valley showed detections of one or more pesticides. Pesticides are well
<BR>established as causing potentially serious disruptions in salmonid
<BR>development and survival even at dosages well below current maximum
<BR>aquatic standards, and they occur widely (see:
<BR>http://www.ifrfish.org/salpest.htm and also
<BR>http://www.pesticide.org/CleanWaterSalmon.html). For more
<BR>information on the suit contact Bill Jennings, DeltaKeeper,
<BR>(209)464-5090 or Michael Lozeau, Earthjustice Legal Defense,
<BR>(650)725-4217. In response to the suit, the 2 March San Francisco
<BR>Chronicle reports that the Water Board has agreed to review the
<BR>exemption (see: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/
<BR>chronicle/archive/2002/03/02/MN7814.DTL).
<BR>
<BR> 5:11/06. WASHINGTON STATE RELEASES INSTREAM FLOW
<BR>DOCUMENT, 3/29 DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS: The Washington
<BR>State Department of Ecology has release its instream flow guidance
<BR>document. Titled "A Guide to Instream Flow Setting in Washington
<BR>State," it is intended to assist watershed planning groups through the
<BR>process of recommending adequate instream flows for future
<BR>rulemaking. The draft guide is available for comment until 29 March
<BR>and is at:
<BR>http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/instream-flows/isf_guidance.html.
<BR>Instructions for submitting comments are also on that web site.
<BR>
<BR> 5:11/07. CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT ENVIRONMENTAL
<BR>WATER PROGRAM DRAFT EIS OUT FOR REVIEW: Draft
<BR>environmental documents and a proposed Negative Declaration are out
<BR>for the proposed purchase of up to 185,000 acre-feet of stored water
<BR>from the Kern County Water Agency for use in the CALFED
<BR>Environmental Water Account (EWA) Program. EWA would use this
<BR>water to promote flexible water project management for additional
<BR>protection and recovery of the fisheries of the San Francisco
<BR>Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta estuary while maintaining the
<BR>reliability of State and Federal water deliveries, as specified in the
<BR>CALFED Bay-Delta Programmatic Record of Decision dated August 28,
<BR>2000. No significant environmental effects are anticipated as a result of
<BR>the proposed water purchase.
<BR>
<BR> The draft EA/IS and proposed Negative Declaration is available for a
<BR>30-day public review and comment period. Send written comments to
<BR>Ms. Delores Brown, Department of Water Resources, KCWA Water
<BR>Purchase, 3251 S Street, Sacramento, CA 95816, or fax to
<BR>916-227-7554. Comments should be received no later than Monday,
<BR>April 1, 2002. For additional information or to obtain copies of the draft
<BR>EA/IS and proposed Negative Declaration, please call Delores Brown,
<BR>Environmental Program Manager, DWR, at 916-227-2407, or David
<BR>Robinson, EWA Project Manager, Reclamation, at 916-978-5050, TDD
<BR>916-978-5608.
<BR>
<BR> 5:11/08. US-CHILE SET FOR NEW FREE TRADE
<BR>NEGOTIATIONS: The 28 and 30 February issues of US Trade Daily
<BR>(WTD) report that the United States and Chile will hold their next round
<BR>of negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement the week of April 18,
<BR>with another round to follow May 6. The April talks are expected to
<BR>cover market access for agricultural and industrial products, labor,
<BR>environmental issues, dispute settlement and investment. Both sides are
<BR>hoping to bring the talks to conclusion in May. Among the issues that
<BR>need to be discussed, according to commercial fishermen, is the
<BR>widespread practice of "dumping" below cost farmed Chilean salmon on
<BR>the U.S. market at prices and times which appear deliberately designed
<BR>to put U.S. ocean salmon fishermen out of business (see Sublegals
<BR>4:05/2; 3:12/08; 3:01/09; 2:06/17). It is unclear whether the
<BR>Administration will be putting this issue on the table.
<BR>
<BR> 5:11/09. PCFFA AND OTHERS SUE OREGON STATE
<BR>FORESTER FOR FAILURE TO PROTECT ESA-LISTED COHO
<BR>FROM LOGGING: PCFFA joined the Pacific Rivers Council and other
<BR>watershed protection groups on 28 February in filing a 'take' suit against
<BR>the Oregon State Forester, under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),
<BR>asking that he be required to better protect Oregon's ESA-listed coastal
<BR>coho salmon from poor industrial logging practices. The groups cited a
<BR>long history of failure of the Oregon Forest Practices Act and current
<BR>forestry rules, and foot-dragging by the Oregon Department of Forestry,
<BR>in providing coho protections from industrial logging that biologists
<BR>have deemed necessary.
<BR>
<BR> Oregon's industrial logging rules are much less stringent than those of
<BR>California or Washington, and have been heavily criticized by
<BR>independent scientific reviews as too lax to prevent further salmon
<BR>extinctions. Individual logging plans are approved by the State Forester,
<BR>who is therefore potentially liable under the ESA for harm caused to
<BR>ESA listed fish. The plaintiffs have filed the action in U.S. Federal
<BR>District Court of Oregon, asking the court to halt those specific state
<BR>logging plans that may harm coho salmon. The case is being handled by
<BR>Earthjustice Legal Defense in Seattle. For more information contact
<BR>them at: 705 Second Avenue, Suite 203, Seattle, WA 98104, (206)
<BR>343-7340.
<BR>
<BR> 5:11/10. THIS U.S. WINTER THE WARMEST ON RECORD:
<BR>Once again the U.S. weather this winter has set a new record as the
<BR>warmest winter since climate records have been kept, according to data
<BR>released by the Climate Monitoring Branch of the government's National
<BR>Climatic Data Center. The agency also reported that worldwide average
<BR>temperatures were also at record levels. The warmest 10 individual
<BR>years over the last 100 are in fact clustered in the 1990's, showing a clear
<BR>global warming trend. The previous record November-January high in
<BR>the U.S. was set just in 1999-2000. Since 1979, the nationally averaged
<BR>November-January land temperatures have risen at a rate of 1.2 degrees
<BR>Fahrenheit per decade, the data center said. Average ocean temperatures
<BR>for January 2002 worldwide were also the third highest on record. For
<BR>more information see:
<BR>http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2002/jan/global.html.
<BR>
<BR> 5:11/11. WATER SYSTEM PRIVATIZATION BILL MEETS
<BR>RESISTANCE: An obscure public works bill (S. 1961) was introduced
<BR>in the U.S. Senate in February that would require communities to
<BR>consider privatizing their public water supplies as a condition of
<BR>obtaining any further federal assistance to upgrade current water systems
<BR>or implement water conservation programs. In its testimony at a recent
<BR>hearing on the bill, the Bush Administration's Environmental Protection
<BR>Agency (EPA) also reportedly implied that it did not support additional
<BR>funding to help the nation's crumbling water infrastructure but instead
<BR>supported privatization as a better solution. However, privatization of
<BR>essential public utilities, as we have seen in the recent energy
<BR>deregulation debacle, removes all public oversight and control and can
<BR>lead to widespread price gouging. There are also increasing signs that
<BR>multinational corporations are trying to gain monopoly control over the
<BR>world's diminishing fresh water resources, and this bill may be a way to
<BR>help achieve that end. If the United States lists water as a service that
<BR>falls under the General Agreement on Trade in Services, for instance, the
<BR>bill would also provide growing multinational water companies, such as
<BR>the French-based Vivendi or the Suez Company, yet another venue to
<BR>challenge public ownership through international trade agreements and
<BR>attempt to further monopolize water resources. For more information
<BR>see the Public Citizen information site at:
<BR>http://www.citizen.org/cmep/Water/articles.cfm?ID=7268.
<BR>
<BR> 5:11/12. CANADIAN SCIENTISTS RECOMMEND
<BR>WHALE-WATCHING RULES: A government commissioned report by
<BR>top Canadian marine scientists recommends that "Canada should act
<BR>quickly to pass regulations controlling the growing number of boaters
<BR>who cluster around whales" says the Victoria Times Colonist 3 March
<BR>edition. The report found that the "rapid development" and "present
<BR>size" of the eco-tourism industry has resulted in "inadequate monitoring
<BR>or evaluation of its impact on target animals." Persistent and repetitive
<BR>whale watching activities can prevent "completion of life processes" and
<BR>become a "conservation threat" according to the report. For the
<BR>complete article on the subject see:
<BR>http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist/archives/story.asp?id=006
<BR>F4405-66E0-40ED-8E58-D83EDEB18ED6.
<BR>
<BR> 5:11/13. MORE B.C. PROBLEMS WITH SALMON FISH FARM
<BR>VIRUSES REPORTED: The Fish Information & Service (FIS) reported
<BR>8 March that many salmon farms in British Columbia have contracted a
<BR>virus (infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus or IHN) passed to their
<BR>non-resistant Atlantic salmon from the native Pacific sockeye salmon
<BR>populations, resulting in substantial losses. Crews ground 1.6 million
<BR>Atlantic salmon into fishmeal last month when B.C.'s Heritage Fish
<BR>Farms decided to kill of its stock of affected Atlantics. Many other
<BR>operations are likely reservoirs for future infection, and seven other fish
<BR>farm operations are already fighting the virus. The Canadian Department
<BR>of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO), however, is leaving it to the industry itself
<BR>to deal with the problems, one of many faced by the salmon farm
<BR>systems in B.C. Though wild fish are immune to the virus, mutated
<BR>strains of IHN could weaken that immunity, and the farms pass on other
<BR>diseases to wild fish (see Sublegals 5:03/05). B.C.'s David Suzuki
<BR>Foundation, which has been highly critical of fish farms, recently got a
<BR>court injunction preventing the transportation of IHN-infected farm
<BR>salmon to the Fraser River, as originally planned by Heritage Farms, that
<BR>prevents exposure of already depressed wild stocks to the disease.
<BR>However, the B.C. government just lifted its moratorium on expansion
<BR>of fish farms in the province (see Sublegals 5:05/09). For more see:
<BR>http://www.fis.com.
<BR>
<BR> 5:11/14: SMALL OREGON PORTS LOSE FEDERAL DREDGING
<BR>FUNDS IN FAVOR OF PORTLAND: The Bush Administration's
<BR>newly proposed federal budget has stripped the coastal Oregon ports of
<BR>Bookings, Gold Beach, Bandon and Depoe Bay of federal funds for
<BR>harbor dredging, transferring those funds instead to the Port of Portland.
<BR>The Bush Administration has proposed cutting dredging funds in 2003
<BR>for many small ports, saying priority must go to larger ports with more
<BR>economic activity, according to a 15 March article in The Oregonian.
<BR>Coastal port managers say that without that dredging the sand building
<BR>up at the mouths of coastal rivers will create shallow waters and
<BR>unpredictable waves that could easily capsize small boats. Without
<BR>periodic dredging some harbor sand bar conditions could soon become
<BR>so treacherous that neither recreational nor commercial fishing boats
<BR>could safely moor there. In a 16 March editorial, titled "Defend
<BR>Oregon's Smallest Ports," The Oregonian noted "The money saved by
<BR>stranding these four shallow-draft ports would be small -- $1.4 million a
<BR>year -- while the costs to the communities would be huge.... The Port of
<BR>Portland may get some small benefit from that policy, but it's not worth
<BR>the cost to these coastal towns." For the full 15 March Oregonian
<BR>newspaper article see:
<BR>http://www.oregonlive.com/morenews/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.ss
<BR>f/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/101619701324402243.xml. For the
<BR>complete 16 March Oregonian Editorial you should go to:
<BR>http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf
<BR>/html_standard.xsl?/base/editorial/10162833291518958.xml, or go to:
<BR>http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/today to search the archives for
<BR>those dates.
<BR>
<BR> 5:11/15. EU RATIFIES KYOTO GLOBAL WARMING TREATY:
<BR>The 4 March San Francisco Chronicle reports that the European Union
<BR>(EU) governing body has now formally ratified the Kyoto Treaty on
<BR>Global Warming, thus further isolating the United States, which
<BR>produces 25 percent of all emissions but has refused to ratify the treaty
<BR>and the Bush Administration has formally rejected it in favor of
<BR>voluntary reduction programs with little meaning. The treaty requires the
<BR>reduction of greenhouse gas emission over time. The EU intends to
<BR>decide on specific gas reduction targets in an upcoming meeting in May
<BR>2002. See:
<BR>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/03/04/i
<BR>nternational1306EST0633.DTL.
<BR>
<BR> 5:11/16. REFUGE ADVOCATES BID ON KLAMATH REFUGE
<BR>COMMERCIAL LEASELANDS: In an innovative effort to rescue the
<BR>Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge from commercial farming, on
<BR>13 March the Klamath Forest Alliance, Northcoast Environmental
<BR>Center and the Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC) formally
<BR>submitted a sealed bid on a five-year agricultural lease within the
<BR>national wildlife refuge, intending to convert the land back from row
<BR>crops to wetlands as habitat for migrating waterfowl. "Our purpose is to
<BR>manage some of these national wildlife refuge lands for fish and wildlife
<BR>rather than industrial farming," noted a spokesman for the ONRC. The
<BR>groups have long opposed the Bureau of Reclamation's practice since the
<BR>1960's of leasing out more than 22,000 acres of the wildlife refuge for
<BR>commercial farming, the only refuge in the nation where commercial
<BR>farming is allowed. Under pressure from irrigators, the U.S. Fish &
<BR>Wildlife Service has deemed such actions "compatible" with refuge
<BR>purposes even though farmers use many pesticides and chemicals known
<BR>to be harmful to both birds and fish, and raise row crops (such as
<BR>potatoes and onions) whose benefit to wildlife is nearly nonexistent.
<BR>
<BR> The groups' bid of $5,000 for 127.9 acres in Area K of the Oregon
<BR>portion of the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, however, was
<BR>beaten back by another bid of $9,100 hastily submitted to ward off the
<BR>conservationists' bid. Many groups have called for ending the federal
<BR>Upper Klamath Basin wildlife refuge commercial lease program entirely,
<BR>and for converting those refuge lands (which are public lands) back to
<BR>wetlands to store more water in the basin, to help improve water quality
<BR>and to curtail serious agricultural pollution. Noting that the ultimate
<BR>solution would be for Congress to terminate the controversial leasing
<BR>program entirely, the groups have established a fund to outbid farmers
<BR>for other refuge leases in the future. For more see:
<BR>http://www.onrc.org/programs/klamath/pressrelease1.html.
<BR>
<BR> 5:11/17. WASHINGTON STATE WATER LAW ENFORCEMENT
<BR>CALLED 'ABYSMAL': The 8 March Seattle Post-Intelligencer
<BR>highlights a report by the Washington Environmental Council and the
<BR>Center for Environmental Law & Policy which calls that state's water
<BR>law enforcement process "dereliction of duty" and "abysmal." Failure to
<BR>identify or halt known illegal diversions and failure to implement a water
<BR>metering statute long on the books (see Sublegals 1:07/07) were cited as
<BR>examples. For the newspaper story see:
<BR>http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/61408_water08.shtml. The press
<BR>release and report itself, titled "Dereliction of Duty: Washington's
<BR>Failure to Protect Our Shared Waters," is available online at:
<BR>http://www.celp.org/prdereliction.htm.
<BR>
<BR>NEWS, COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS: Submit your news items,
<BR>comments or any corrections to Allison Vogt, Editor at:
<BR>ifrfish@pacbell.net or call the IFR/PCFFA office with the news and a
<BR>source at either: (415) 561-FISH (Southwest Office) or (541) 689-2000
<BR>(Northwest Office).
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<BR>fax number to: (415) 561-5464. Thanks!
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