[Fishlink] ~~>SUBLEGALS 28Mar03<~~
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~~>SUBLEGALS 28Mar03<~~
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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. 07, NO. 13 28 MARCH 2003
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"President Bush has said he wants to bring democratic freedoms to the
Iraqi people. In the rush to war, let us not sacrifice the very freedoms and
the way of life we enjoy here at home, under the guise of national
security."..................................................Martin Olav Sabo
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IN THIS ISSUE.......
Government Refuses to Investigate Charges of Political
Influence Leading to Klamath Fish Kill. 7:13/01
Suit Filed to Stop Hatchery Coho and Steelhead Predation
of Wild Chinook in Puget Sound. 7:13/04
Salmon and Sardines Top Agenda For PFMC Vancouver
Meeting. 7:13/06
30th Annual Bodega Bay Fishermen's Festival Set For
5-6 April Along Northern California Coast. 7:13/08
Marin Film Festival Features Documentaries on Transgenic Foods and
Farmed Salmon. 7:13/10
AND MORE......
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7:13/01. GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO INVESTIGATE
CHARGES OF POLITICAL INFLUENCE OVER BIOLOGICAL
OPINION LEADING TO KLAMATH FISH KILL: The United States'
Office of Special Counsel is refusing to investigate charges made last
October by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) biologist Michael
Kelly that his agency, under "political pressure," twice rejected its own
scientists' recommendations and, instead, allowed the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation (BOR) to cut water releases from the Klamath Irrigation
Project into the Klamath River well below the minimum flow needed for
salmon survival (see Sublegals, 6:18/02). The Associated Press (AP)
reported 22 March that the government will not investigate Kelly's
complaint that his recommendations were illegally rejected before last
year's Klamath River salmon kill, though a judge is allowing the
testimony in a lawsuit. NMFS had signed-off, under political pressure
according to Kelly, on a Biological Opinion (BiOp) for BOR's 10-year
operating plan for the Klamath Irrigation Project that conflicted with
scientific studies indicating far more water was needed in the river to
protect Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed coho salmon. Associate
Special Counsel Leonard Dribinsky said that although the die-off
followed the low water allocation, "we are unable to conclude ......
NMFS must have engaged in gross mismanagement." The low water
conditions in the river resulted in a massive kill of the federally
protected coho, as well as chinook and steelhead in the late summer of
2002 (see Sublegals, 7:09/03, 6:18/01; 6:18/02; 6:18/03; 6:17/06;
6:16/01; 6:15/01; 6:14/01; 6:13/01; 6:12/07; 6:02/09; 5:23/03; 5:20/09;
5:18/01; 5:17/02).
Karen Schambach of Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility (PEER) told AP that Dribinsky's office was "punting [on]
a controversial case ... It's not a question of conflicting science. Any
science you pick still shows jeopardy" to the salmon. PEER represents
Kelly in his whistleblower complaint. Dribinsky claimed a better forum
for Kelly's allegations is the federal district court considering a suit by
fishermen, including PCFFA, and environmental groups over
appropriate water levels. Kelly provided sworn pretrial testimony in the
lawsuit after U.S. Magistrate James Arson overruled the U.S. Justice
Department's objections that Kelly was a disgruntled employee
attempting "to paint a picture of a sinister back-room plot designed to
circumvent the requirements of law." Arson noted U.S. District Judge
Saundra Brown Armstrong had already ruled, in a related case, that BOR
earlier violated the ESA with its water allocation decisions. "Kelly's
accusations provide insider evidence from a scientist who was
involved in the decision-making process that the opinions of [NMFS's]
biologists may have been side-stepped and ignored," Arson ruled last
month.
Kelly was deposed this March in the litigation brought by
Earthjustice on behalf of PCFFA and other fishing groups,
environmental organizations and the Tribes. According to a Greenwire
report of 20 March, Kelly testified in his deposition that NMFS "never
performed the scientific analysis necessary to verify that the water levels
set in the BiOp would not jeopardize the continued existence of coho.
Moreover, Kelly said NMFS knew some coho would be adversely
affected, but never did the analysis to determine whether the number of
fish harmed or killed would be enough to jeopardize the species as a
whole.......He also said NMFS knew that flows laid out in the BiOp for
October through February could have adverse effects on coho, but the
opinion included no backup plan to increase flows in a pinch." Kelly
filed for protection under the federal Whistleblower Statute in October
2002, which employees can invoke when they want to report waste,
fraud or abuse in government without fear of retribution from
supervisors.
"We still have to analyze whether our anticipated reduction in the
population results in a viable population over time. No such analysis is
made. ... By law, the agency cannot believe that [the BiOp] may result in
jeopardy, and we intentionally didn't provide the analysis to demonstrate
otherwise," Kelly testified. "So here we've said, clearly said, using the
best available science in the effects analysis, that this risk to the
population essentially amounted to, potentially, jeopardy all by itself.
And then we don't address that, and we don't provide a mechanism to
address those effects." To see the Associated Press article that appeared
in the 22 March San Francisco Chronicle, go to:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/03/22
/state1603EST0068.DTL.
7:13/02. THE KLAMATH SAGA CONTINUES: The Eureka
Times-Standard reported 12 March that the National Research Council
(NRC) report on the Klamath River is only now about to be sent out for
peer review, which means it will be at least June or July before it's
released (see Sublegals, 7:09/03; 6:20/04; 5:06/01). The report, on the
agency opinions that prompted the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)
to reduce flows to Klamath Irrigation Project growers in 2001, will not
fully review an important flow study, nor a planned U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service (USFWS) report on the causes behind a huge fish kill in
September 2002. Utah State University researcher Thomas Hardy's flow
study, which is thought will advocate more water for salmon than BOR
has allotted, has been held up in a "contract office appropriations issue,"
according to the U.S. Department of Interior's Sue Ellen Wooldridge.
USFWS, meanwhile, reported only that its fish kill report is "coming
along."
The BOR "is scrambling to find more water that might be used to
protect fish in the river, though Wooldridge said that is not an admission
that the Bureau's Klamath operations caused the fish kill, " noted the
Times-Standard article. "A water banking project in the upper basin aims
to buy 50,000 acre feet of water from farmers, and farmers have offered
to idle twice the amount of land the government can pay for. The bureau
is reviewing applications that cover about a tenth of the Klamath
Irrigation Project." Interior says it is also asking U.S. District Court
Judge Oliver Wanger in Fresno for higher flows for the Trinity River,
the Klamath's main tributary (see Sublegals, 6:24/01). The court hearing
on Klamath flows is going ahead for 29 April in U.S. District Court in
Oakland. Plaintiff fishing and conservation groups will ask for more
water to be sent down the Klamath also to guard against large-scale
juvenile salmon mortality, which has occurred several times in the past
decade. Humboldt, Del Norte and Trinity counties along with the cities
of Arcata, Eureka and Fortuna have filed amicus briefs in support of the
suit, which claims BOR's operating plan is illegal. To see the
Times-Standard article by John Driscoll, see:
http://www.timesstandard.com/Stories/0,1413,127%257E2896%257E12
38544,00.html?search=filter.
On 15 March, the American Fisheries Society (AFS) held as special
symposium at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California, at which
fishery scientists blamed near-record low flows of water, and consequent
overcrowding, for the deaths of least 34,000 chinook salmon during two
weeks in September. Scientists at the gathering blasted BOR for its
cutback in releases to the river, finding that lower flow levels in the river
also raised the water temperature. "The warmer water temperature
dictates how fast the diseases spread," said Jerri Bartholomew, an
Oregon State University biologist. "The flow dictates the dose -- how
many parasites or bacteria the fish encounter."
One presenter at the meeting, describing what happened to the fish as
a result of the cutback in flows, commented, "Nearly every run of fish in
the river has been beaten down. Coho salmon are threatened, the spring
run of chinook salmon is decimated, summer steelhead are scarce, green
sturgeon look as if they are fading away, cutthroat trout may become
protected and the tiny candlefish - once a massive run - may be all but
gone." U.S. Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA), a plaintiff in the
BOR fish kill lawsuit, keynoted the AFS meeting, calling the die-off "an
ecological disaster unlike anything we've seen on the North Coast." For
more, see the Los Angeles Times at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-klamath17mar17,1,1772892.s
tory?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dcalifornia.
While BOR officials are looking for water to avoid a "double
whammy" this year in the Klamath Basin, i.e., a water cutback to
growers such as happened in 2001 plus another fish kill such as 2002,
the Oregonian reports the government being badly gouged in its efforts
to buy water from growers in the basin to provide flows for fish.
According to a 16 March Oregonian article by Michael Milstein, when
the Department of Interior began searching for water to meet basin needs
last year, Medford fruit processor James Root, who has a second home
in Klamath Falls, offered to help. "Root offered a deal that appeared to
have benefits for all. In exchange for payments from the federal
government, he and some of his neighbors would stop irrigating their
pastures, leaving water in the rivers for both fish and farmers. The deal
was arranged with the help of U.S. Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR), and
touted by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who said it would help solve
the water problems 'this year and in future years.' During the next several
months, federal officials paid nearly $1 million to a nonprofit
corporation set up by Root. Now some officials and observers question
whether the money was well spent. Documents show that Root and his
fellow ranchers were paid many times the market rate for water -- and far
more than the U.S. government paid Klamath farmers in compensation
for water that was cut off in 2001. And a federal analysis concluded that
the deal restored to rivers less water than the government had negotiated
and paid for." To see the Oregonian article, go to:
http://www.oregonlive.com/search/oregonian.
The BOR is scheduled to begin water deliveries to Klamath Project
farmers on 1 April, as the basin prepares for what will probably be the
third dry summer in a row. Oregon officials said last week that Klamath
Lake, which flows into the river, is full, but the snowpack in the
mountains above the lake is only about 60 percent of average, the San
Jose Mercury reported 20 March. BOR, which decides on releases to the
river, will make its annual water allocation decision on 31 March. It is
expected to officially classify 2003 as a "dry'' year. "It's setting up a
perfect situation for another massive fish kill,'' said PCFFA Northwest
Director, Glen Spain. "It's institutionalized drought for the whole lower
river.'' To see the Mercury News article, "Some Say Bush Plan Could
Cause More Damage," by Marilee Enge, go to:
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/n
orthern_california/5436938.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
In response to the impending water shortage in the Klamath Basin,
the Humboldt County (California) Board of Supervisors on 25 March
voted to send a letter to Interior Secretary Norton requesting release of
50,000 acre-feet of water from Trinity Lake into the Trinity River to
augment flow and help cool water in the mainstem Klamath. The Trinity
is the largest tributary of the Klamath River. The Eureka Times-Standard
reported that in its "letter to Norton, the county lays out its claim to the
water, which stretches back to the origin of the Trinity River diversion to
irrigate crops in the Central Valley. A 1959 act seems unambiguous:
'That not less than 50,000 acre-feet shall be released annually from the
Trinity Reservoir and made available to Humboldt County and
downstream water users.'.........Humboldt County wants to claim the
water for fish, which the Bureau recently seemed disinclined to accept,
citing state water permit requirements. But the request may jibe with a
recent request by the Interior Department of a U.S. District Court judge.
The department is calling for 39,000 to 69,000 acre-feet to be released
from the Trinity to the Klamath in late summer to avert a fish kill. To see
the 26 March, Times-Standard article, by John Driscoll go to:
http://www.times-standard.com/Stories/0,1413,127%7E2896%7E12716
90,00.html?search=filter.
7:13/03. GOVERNMENT SPIN ON NEW KLAMATH WEBSITE -
JUST DON'T CALL IT "RADIO FREE KLAMATH": The U.S.
Government has announced in the 28 March Federal Register the
creation of a website to give its version of Klamath Basin water plans,
Biological Opinions (BiOps), scientific reports and reasons for fish kills.
According to the government release, "the Klamath Basin Federal
Working Group (comprised of agencies within the Departments of
Commerce, Interior and Agriculture) announces a new Internet site. This
site is devoted to providing access to the work plans and reports of the
three departments." The site can be accessed on the Interior Department's
web page at: http://www.doi.gov. The Federal Register notice went on to
say, as "an element of this effort, NOAA Fisheries has developed a web
page to describe the activities being conducted to protect and recover
anadromous fish populations in the Klamath River Basin." The National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) site "contains a report on past, present
and future protection and recovery activities in the Klamath River Basin,
as well as maps, tables and examples of restoration projects that have
been conducted." This site can be accessed at:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov.
7:13/04. NORTHWEST GROUPS SUE TO PROTECT PUGET
SOUND WILD SALMON FROM HATCHERY RELEASES: On 19
March, Washington Trout and the Native Fish Society filed suit in U.S.
District Court in Seattle to prevent the Washington Department of Fish
& Wildlife (WDFW) from releasing 5 million hatchery coho and
steelhead into Puget Sound this spring that plaintiffs allege would
threaten Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed chinook. According to a
21 March Seattle Post-Intelligencer article, the groups cited studies of
predation by hatchery fish on native salmon as the basis for their federal
court action. "The wild chinook salmon guarded by the law are being
eaten by coho salmon and steelhead when both are juveniles, or smolts,
waiting in freshwater rivers for their time to head to the ocean," said the
P-I article by Robert McClure, reporting the claims made in the suit. The
article went on to say, "State officials were supposed to tell the National
Marine Fisheries Service in January 2001 how they planned to change
hatcheries to help protect the wild salmon from the State's fish hatchery
system, which is the world's largest. But those plans have not been
completed... The suit by the conservation groups aims to force the state
to get moving... It cites, among other studies, one on California's Feather
River showing that 532,000 hatchery-produced fish ate more than 7.5
million young chinook -- an average of about 14 chinook eaten by each
hatchery fish." While California has worked to reform its hatchery
practices, including releasing Feather River hatchery fish in the Delta to
reduce the possibility of predation on natural runs, Washington State has
not acted as quickly, according to plaintiffs. To see the P-I article, go to:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/113524_fish21.shtml.
7:13/05. GUALALA RIVER WATERSHED RESOURCE
INFORMATION SYSTEM NOW ON WEB: Northern California's
Gualala River, under threat until recently from an Alaskan water bagger
(see Sublegals, 7:02/06; 6:24/08; 6:19/06; 6:15/05; 6:14/10), has a new
watershed resource information system now available on line at
www.krisweb.com (choose Gualala), and also on CD from the California
Department of Forestry & Fire Protection (CDF). The database CD
comes with a separate map CD with ArcView and ArcExplorer
projections. The on-line version includes complete contents of the
database, but having it on a hard-drive allows quicker access to large
files, such as pdf format documents. This is the most thoroughly
reviewed KRIS [Klamath Resource Information System] project ever
produced by the Institute for Fisheries Resources. IFR responses to
comments from agencies, data providers and watershed stakeholders, as
well as a team of University of California reviewers, are accessible from
the opening page. KRIS CDs are also available from CDF for the Noyo,
Big, Ten Mile and Mattole rivers, as well as Redwood Creek. Call CDF
Fire & Resource Assessment Program at (916) 227-2652 to request
copies. KRIS database programs for watersheds from the Navarro River
(Mendocino County) south to San Francisco Bay are now being prepared
by IFR pursuant to a contract from the Sonoma County Water Agency.
7:13/06. PACIFIC FISHERIES MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
MEETING IN VANCOUVER, WA; SALMON AND SARDINES KEY
AGENDA ITEMS: The Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC)
will meet 6-11 April in Vancouver, Washington. Key action items
include final management measures for the 2003 ocean salmon fisheries
(see Sublegals, 7:11/01), consideration of preliminary draft rebuilding
plans for some groundfish species, setting process and schedule for 2004
groundfish management, Pacific halibut incidental catch regulations, and
sardine regulatory changes. The agenda and meeting details can be found
at http://www.pcouncil.org/events/2003/pfmc0403.html.
At the PFMC Vancouver meeting there will be a review of the
Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (CPSMT) Report,
"Discussion and Analysis of Management Alternatives for an Interim
Revision to the Pacific Sardine Allocation Framework" within the CPS
Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This draft Environmental Assessment
(EA) was prepared pursuant to PFMC guidance at its November 2002
and again at its March meeting to look at reallocating the sardine quota.
PCFFA, along with fishermen in the Monterey Bay areas and U.S.
Representative Sam Farr (D-CA), have weighed in opposing a
reallocation at this time that would be detrimental to the historic sardine
fishery in Monterey and Southern California as well as place the
resource at risk if there is the predicted oceanic regime change. The
PFMC is scheduled to take final action on the allocation alternatives and
provide guidance for completing the regulatory amendment. The EA is
available at: http://www.pcouncil.org/cps/cpsother/cpsexg2.html.
7:13/07. SCOPING SESSION SCHEDULED FOR GROUNDFISH
REBUILDING PLAN EIS: A public "scoping" session has been
scheduled for Sunday, 6 April, in Vancouver, Washington (in
conjunction with the Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting) for
preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for rebuilding
Pacific groundfish stocks. The EIS, prepared pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), was announced in the 18 March
Federal Register (Vol. 68, No. 52, pp. 12888-12889). The scoping is to
examine issues to be covered in changes to Amendment 16 of the Pacific
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan "to establish procedures for
periodic review and revision of rebuilding plans and to incorporate
rebuilding plans for groundfish species. NMFS and the PFMC
subsequently decided to prepare two (or more) separate analyses for
these actions. An EIS will be prepared to evaluate the environmental
impacts of implementing rebuilding plans for at least four of the nine
species currently declared overfished by the Secretary of Commerce
pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation & Management
Act."
The 6 April session will cover rebuilding-plan-related issues; written
comments are due 30 May. After that date, a scoping responsiveness
document, summarizing the public's issues and alternatives to be
evaluated in the EIS, will be drafted and made available on the Council's
website (www.pcouncil.org). Written comments on issues and
alternatives for the four rebuilding plans EIS should be sent to Dr.
Donald McIsaac, Pacific Fishery Management Council, 7700 NE
Ambassador Place, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97220. For more
information, contact Kit Dahl at: kit.dahl@noaa.gov.
7:13/08. 30TH ANNUAL BODEGA BAY FISHERMEN'S
FESTIVAL SET FOR 5-6 APRIL: "The Pearls of the Sea" is the title of
this year's Fishermen's Festival in Bodega Bay, California. The festival
began in this Northern California fishing community, where Alfred
Hitchcock filmed "The Birds" 40 years ago, as a celebration of the
opening of the salmon fishing season. Fishing boats are decorated and
parade out of the harbor on Sunday morning, gathering outside the jetties
to receive blessings of the fleet as a flower wreath is cast on the waters
to honor those who have lost their lives in pursuit of the fish. This year's
fest again features live music, great food, arts and contests. PCFFA and
IFR will have a booth at the Festival along with other fishing groups and
NGOs. The events are held at Westside Park Saturday and Sunday, the
5th and 6th, from 1000 HRS to 1700 HRS. For more information on this
year's event, go to: www.bodegabayhomes.com/fishfest2003.htm.
7:13/09. CALIFORNIA FISH & GAME COMMISSION TO MEET
IN VISALIA: The California Fish & Game Commission will be meet 3 -
4 April in Visalia. The Commission will hear information regarding the
coho recovery planning process, the Marine Life Protection Act, and the
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Monitoring Plan for the
Marine Protected Areas.
The Commission will also discuss with the Department of Fish &
Game (CDFG) fishery priorities for 2003, along with changes to the
nearshore regional total allowable catches, trip limits, and weekday
closures. The Commission will also decide if they will adopt 2003 ocean
salmon regulations, Klamath-Trinity River Salmon regulations, and
whether they will consider changes to the recently created transgenic fish
rules. Details can be found at:
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fg_comm/2003mtgs.html.
7:13/10. MARIN FILM FESTIVAL WILL FEATURE
DOCUMENTARIES ON TRANGENIC FOODS AND FARMED
SALMON: The first annual Marin Environmental Film Festival will be
presenting a series of "powerful and provocative award-winning films"
at the Rafael Film Center, located in San Rafael, California (20 miles
north of San Francisco) over two days, Thursday and Saturday, 10 and
12 April. For fishermen and those concerned with fish, the Saturday
venue should be of particular interest. Featured that day will be: "What's
For Dinner?" that explores issues around who controls the market for
global food production, and the safety of genetically modified plants and
animals. * "Deconstructing Supper" starts in a five-star restaurant and
leads to a farmer's field, biotech labs and the billion-dollar battle to
control global food production. * "The Price of Salmon" assesses the
hidden costs of farmed salmon, including damage to wild stocks, local
marine and human health. * "Biopiracy: Who Owns Life?" examines
how large Northern Hemisphere corporations are developing their crops
by plundering genetic material from Southern Hemisphere farmers and
healers who have spent centuries developing it. * Rising Waters: Global
Warming and the Fate of the Pacific Islands" puts a human face on the
international climate debate by listening to Pacific Islanders - for them
there is no debate: they see the everyday reality - fishermen, scientists
and farmers point to the rising tides. For more information on the film
festival, go to: http://www.marinefm.org.
Paying Attention? The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors asked
the Interior Department for 50,000 acre feet of water for release from
Trinity Dam into the Trinity River. Why do they want this water?
A) For an "attractant" flow to bring more salmon from the Klamath into
the Trinity to increase catches by local sport fishermen and the Hupa
Tribe.
B) To augment the flow and help to cool the water in the mainstem
Klamath to reduce the possibility or extent of another fish kill.
C) To supplement the Mad River water the County plans to sell to
Alaskan water bagger Rick Davidge; Davidge outbid Westlands Water
District for Humboldt's share of Trinity water.
D) It's Humboldt County's way of giving the "middle finger" to Fresno
Federal Judge Oliver Wanger and Westlands Water District for
unlawfully taking Trinity water; the County action is intended to stop the
west side of the San Joaquin from taking any more of this Northern
California river's flows.
E-Mail your answer to "Editor" at: sublegals@ifrfish.org.
NEWS, COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS: Submit your news items,
comments or any corrections to Sara Randall, editor at:
sublegals@ifrfish.org, 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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&nbs=
p; &n=
bsp; ~~>SUBLEGALS 28Mar03<~~<BR>
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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>
&nbs=
p; &n=
bsp; =
ASSOCIATIONS<BR>
<BR>
VOL. 07, NO. 13 =
&nbs=
p; &n=
bsp; 28 MARCH 2003<BR>
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"President Bush has said he wants to bring democratic freedoms to the<BR>
Iraqi people. In the rush to war, let us not sacrifice the very freedoms and=
<BR>
the way of life we enjoy here at home, under the guise of national<BR>
security."..................................................Martin Olav Sabo=
<BR>
##########################################################<BR>
IN THIS ISSUE.......<BR>
<BR>
Government Refuses to Investigate Charges of Political <BR>
Influence Leading to Klamath Fish Kill. 7:13/01<BR>
<BR>
Suit Filed to Stop Hatchery Coho and Steelhead Predation <BR>
of Wild Chinook in Puget Sound. 7:13/04<BR>
<BR>
Salmon and Sardines Top Agenda For PFMC Vancouver <BR>
Meeting. 7:13/06 <BR>
<BR>
30th Annual Bodega Bay Fishermen's Festival Set For <BR>
5-6 April Along Northern California Coast. 7:13/08<BR>
<BR>
Marin Film Festival Features Documentaries on Transgenic Foods and<BR>
Farmed Salmon. 7:13/10<BR>
<BR>
AND MORE...... <BR>
########################################################## <BR>
<BR>
7:13/01. GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO INVESTIG=
ATE<BR>
CHARGES OF POLITICAL INFLUENCE OVER BIOLOGICAL<BR>
OPINION LEADING TO KLAMATH FISH KILL: The United States'<BR>
Office of Special Counsel is refusing to investigate charges made last<BR>
October by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) biologist Michael<BR>
Kelly that his agency, under "political pressure," twice rejected its own<BR=
>
scientists' recommendations and, instead, allowed the U.S. Bureau of<BR>
Reclamation (BOR) to cut water releases from the Klamath Irrigation<BR>
Project into the Klamath River well below the minimum flow needed for<BR>
salmon survival (see Sublegals, 6:18/02). The Associated Press (AP)<BR>
reported 22 March that the government will not investigate Kelly's<BR>
complaint that his recommendations were illegally rejected before last<BR>
year's Klamath River salmon kill, though a judge is allowing the<BR>
testimony in a lawsuit. NMFS had signed-off, under political pressure<BR>
according to Kelly, on a Biological Opinion (BiOp) for BOR's 10-year<BR>
operating plan for the Klamath Irrigation Project that conflicted with<BR>
scientific studies indicating far more water was needed in the river to<BR>
protect Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed coho salmon. Associate<BR>
Special Counsel Leonard Dribinsky said that although the die-off<BR>
followed the low water allocation, "we are unable to conclude ......<BR>
NMFS must have engaged in gross mismanagement." The low water<BR>
conditions in the river resulted in a massive kill of the federally<BR>
protected coho, as well as chinook and steelhead in the late summer of<BR>
2002 (see Sublegals, 7:09/03, 6:18/01; 6:18/02; 6:18/03; 6:17/06;<BR>
6:16/01; 6:15/01; 6:14/01; 6:13/01; 6:12/07; 6:02/09; 5:23/03; 5:20/09;<BR>
5:18/01; 5:17/02). <BR>
<BR>
Karen Schambach of Public Employees for Environment=
al<BR>
Responsibility (PEER) told AP that Dribinsky's office was "punting [on]<BR>
a controversial case ... It's not a question of conflicting science. Any<BR>
science you pick still shows jeopardy" to the salmon. PEER represents<BR>
Kelly in his whistleblower complaint. Dribinsky claimed a better forum=
<BR>
for Kelly's allegations is the federal district court considering a suit by<=
BR>
fishermen, including PCFFA, and environmental groups over<BR>
appropriate water levels. Kelly provided sworn pretrial testimony in the<BR>
lawsuit after U.S. Magistrate James Arson overruled the U.S. Justice<BR>
Department's objections that Kelly was a disgruntled employee<BR>
attempting "to paint a picture of a sinister back-room plot designed to<BR>
circumvent the requirements of law." Arson noted U.S. District Judge<B=
R>
Saundra Brown Armstrong had already ruled, in a related case, that BOR<BR>
earlier violated the ESA with its water allocation decisions. "Kelly's<BR>
accusations provide insider evidence from a scientist who was<BR>
involved in the decision-making process that the opinions of [NMFS's]<=
BR>
biologists may have been side-stepped and ignored," Arson ruled last<BR>
month.<BR>
<BR>
Kelly was deposed this March in the litigation brou=
ght by<BR>
Earthjustice on behalf of PCFFA and other fishing groups,<BR>
environmental organizations and the Tribes. According to a Greenwire<B=
R>
report of 20 March, Kelly testified in his deposition that NMFS "never<BR>
performed the scientific analysis necessary to verify that the water levels<=
BR>
set in the BiOp would not jeopardize the continued existence of coho.<BR>
Moreover, Kelly said NMFS knew some coho would be adversely<BR>
affected, but never did the analysis to determine whether the number of<BR>
fish harmed or killed would be enough to jeopardize the species as a<BR>
whole.......He also said NMFS knew that flows laid out in the BiOp for<BR>
October through February could have adverse effects on coho, but the<BR>
opinion included no backup plan to increase flows in a pinch." Kelly<BR>
filed for protection under the federal Whistleblower Statute in October<BR>
2002, which employees can invoke when they want to report waste,<BR>
fraud or abuse in government without fear of retribution from<BR>
supervisors. <BR>
<BR>
"We still have to analyze whether our anticipated r=
eduction in the<BR>
population results in a viable population over time. No such analysis is<BR>
made. ... By law, the agency cannot believe that [the BiOp] may result in<BR=
>
jeopardy, and we intentionally didn't provide the analysis to demonstrate<BR=
>
otherwise," Kelly testified. "So here we've said, clearly said, using the<BR=
>
best available science in the effects analysis, that this risk to the<BR>
population essentially amounted to, potentially, jeopardy all by itself.<BR>
And then we don't address that, and we don't provide a mechanism to<BR>
address those effects." To see the Associated Press article that appea=
red<BR>
in the 22 March San Francisco Chronicle, go to:<BR>
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2003/03/22<BR=
>
/state1603EST0068.DTL. <BR>
<BR>
7:13/02. THE KLAMATH SAGA CONTINUES: The Eureka<BR>
Times-Standard reported 12 March that the National Research Council<BR>
(NRC) report on the Klamath River is only now about to be sent out for<BR>
peer review, which means it will be at least June or July before it's<BR>
released (see Sublegals, 7:09/03; 6:20/04; 5:06/01). The report, on the<BR>
agency opinions that prompted the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)<BR>
to reduce flows to Klamath Irrigation Project growers in 2001, will not<BR>
fully review an important flow study, nor a planned U.S. Fish & Wildlife=
<BR>
Service (USFWS) report on the causes behind a huge fish kill in<BR>
September 2002. Utah State University researcher Thomas Hardy's flow<BR>
study, which is thought will advocate more water for salmon than BOR<BR>
has allotted, has been held up in a "contract office appropriations issue,"<=
BR>
according to the U.S. Department of Interior's Sue Ellen Wooldridge.<BR>
USFWS, meanwhile, reported only that its fish kill report is "coming<BR>
along." <BR>
<BR>
The BOR "is scrambling to find more water that migh=
t be used to<BR>
protect fish in the river, though Wooldridge said that is not an admission<B=
R>
that the Bureau's Klamath operations caused the fish kill, " noted the<BR>
Times-Standard article. "A water banking project in the upper basin aims<BR>
to buy 50,000 acre feet of water from farmers, and farmers have offered<BR>
to idle twice the amount of land the government can pay for. The bureau<BR>
is reviewing applications that cover about a tenth of the Klamath<BR>
Irrigation Project." Interior says it is also asking U.S. District Court<BR>
Judge Oliver Wanger in Fresno for higher flows for the Trinity River,<BR>
the Klamath's main tributary (see Sublegals, 6:24/01). The court hearing<BR>
on Klamath flows is going ahead for 29 April in U.S. District Court in<BR>
Oakland. Plaintiff fishing and conservation groups will ask for more<BR>
water to be sent down the Klamath also to guard against large-scale<BR>
juvenile salmon mortality, which has occurred several times in the past<BR>
decade. Humboldt, Del Norte and Trinity counties along with the cities<BR>
of Arcata, Eureka and Fortuna have filed amicus briefs in support of the<BR>
suit, which claims BOR's operating plan is illegal. To see the<BR>
Times-Standard article by John Driscoll, see:<BR>
http://www.timesstandard.com/Stories/0,1413,127%257E2896%257E12<BR>
38544,00.html?search=3Dfilter. <BR>
<BR>
On 15 March, the American Fisheries Society (AFS) h=
eld as special<BR>
symposium at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California, at which<BR>
fishery scientists blamed near-record low flows of water, and consequent<BR>
overcrowding, for the deaths of least 34,000 chinook salmon during two<BR>
weeks in September. Scientists at the gathering blasted BOR for its<BR>
cutback in releases to the river, finding that lower flow levels in the rive=
r<BR>
also raised the water temperature. "The warmer water temperature<BR>
dictates how fast the diseases spread," said Jerri Bartholomew, an<BR>
Oregon State University biologist. "The flow dictates the dose -- how<BR>
many parasites or bacteria the fish encounter." <BR>
<BR>
One presenter at the meeting, describing what happe=
ned to the fish as<BR>
a result of the cutback in flows, commented, "Nearly every run of fish in<BR=
>
the river has been beaten down. Coho salmon are threatened, the spring=
<BR>
run of chinook salmon is decimated, summer steelhead are scarce, green<BR>
sturgeon look as if they are fading away, cutthroat trout may become<BR>
protected and the tiny candlefish - once a massive run - may be all but<BR>
gone." U.S. Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA), a plaintiff in the<BR>
BOR fish kill lawsuit, keynoted the AFS meeting, calling the die-off "an<BR>
ecological disaster unlike anything we've seen on the North Coast." Fo=
r<BR>
more, see the Los Angeles Times at:<BR>
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-klamath17mar17,1,1772892.s<BR>
tory?coll=3Dla%2Dheadlines%2Dcalifornia.<BR>
<BR>
While BOR officials are looking for water to=20=
avoid a "double<BR>
whammy" this year in the Klamath Basin, i.e., a water cutback to<BR>
growers such as happened in 2001 plus another fish kill such as 2002,<BR>
the Oregonian reports the government being badly gouged in its efforts<BR>
to buy water from growers in the basin to provide flows for fish.<BR>
According to a 16 March Oregonian article by Michael Milstein, when<BR>
the Department of Interior began searching for water to meet basin needs<BR>
last year, Medford fruit processor James Root, who has a second home<BR>
in Klamath Falls, offered to help. "Root offered a deal that appeared to<BR>
have benefits for all. In exchange for payments from the federal<BR>
government, he and some of his neighbors would stop irrigating their<BR>
pastures, leaving water in the rivers for both fish and farmers. The deal<BR=
>
was arranged with the help of U.S. Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR), and<BR>
touted by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who said it would help solve<BR>
the water problems 'this year and in future years.' During the next several<=
BR>
months, federal officials paid nearly $1 million to a nonprofit<BR>
corporation set up by Root. Now some officials and observers question<BR>
whether the money was well spent. Documents show that Root and his<BR>
fellow ranchers were paid many times the market rate for water -- and far<BR=
>
more than the U.S. government paid Klamath farmers in compensation<BR>
for water that was cut off in 2001. And a federal analysis concluded that<BR=
>
the deal restored to rivers less water than the government had negotiated<BR=
>
and paid for." To see the Oregonian article, go to:<BR>
http://www.oregonlive.com/search/oregonian. <BR>
<BR>
The BOR is scheduled to begin water deliveries to K=
lamath Project<BR>
farmers on 1 April, as the basin prepares for what will probably be the<BR>
third dry summer in a row. Oregon officials said last week that Klamath<BR>
Lake, which flows into the river, is full, but the snowpack in the<BR>
mountains above the lake is only about 60 percent of average, the San<BR>
Jose Mercury reported 20 March. BOR, which decides on releases to the<=
BR>
river, will make its annual water allocation decision on 31 March. It is<BR>
expected to officially classify 2003 as a "dry'' year. "It's setting up a<BR=
>
perfect situation for another massive fish kill,'' said PCFFA Northwest<BR>
Director, Glen Spain. "It's institutionalized drought for the whole lower<BR=
>
river.'' To see the Mercury News article, "Some Say Bush Plan Could<BR>
Cause More Damage," by Marilee Enge, go to:<BR>
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/n<BR>
orthern_california/5436938.htm?template=3DcontentModules/printstory.jsp <BR>
<BR>
In response to the impending water shortage in the=20=
Klamath Basin,<BR>
the Humboldt County (California) Board of Supervisors on 25 March<BR>
voted to send a letter to Interior Secretary Norton requesting release of<BR=
>
50,000 acre-feet of water from Trinity Lake into the Trinity River to<BR>
augment flow and help cool water in the mainstem Klamath. The Trinity<BR>
is the largest tributary of the Klamath River. The Eureka Times-Standard<BR>
reported that in its "letter to Norton, the county lays out its claim to the=
<BR>
water, which stretches back to the origin of the Trinity River diversion to<=
BR>
irrigate crops in the Central Valley. A 1959 act seems unambiguous:<BR>
'That not less than 50,000 acre-feet shall be released annually from the<BR>
Trinity Reservoir and made available to Humboldt County and<BR>
downstream water users.'.........Humboldt County wants to claim the<BR>
water for fish, which the Bureau recently seemed disinclined to accept,<BR>
citing state water permit requirements. But the request may jibe with a<BR>
recent request by the Interior Department of a U.S. District Court judge.<BR=
>
The department is calling for 39,000 to 69,000 acre-feet to be released<BR>
from the Trinity to the Klamath in late summer to avert a fish kill. To see<=
BR>
the 26 March, Times-Standard article, by John Driscoll go to:<BR>
http://www.times-standard.com/Stories/0,1413,127%7E2896%7E12716<BR>
90,00.html?search=3Dfilter.<BR>
<BR>
7:13/03. GOVERNMENT SPIN ON NEW KLAMATH WEBSITE -<B=
R>
JUST DON'T CALL IT "RADIO FREE KLAMATH": The U.S.<BR>
Government has announced in the 28 March Federal Register the<BR>
creation of a website to give its version of Klamath Basin water plans,<BR>
Biological Opinions (BiOps), scientific reports and reasons for fish kills.=20=
<BR>
According to the government release, "the Klamath Basin Federal<BR>
Working Group (comprised of agencies within the Departments of<BR>
Commerce, Interior and Agriculture) announces a new Internet site. This<BR>
site is devoted to providing access to the work plans and reports of the<BR>
three departments." The site can be accessed on the Interior Department's<BR=
>
web page at: http://www.doi.gov. The Federal Register notice went on to<BR>
say, as "an element of this effort, NOAA Fisheries has developed a web<BR>
page to describe the activities being conducted to protect and recover<BR>
anadromous fish populations in the Klamath River Basin." The National<=
BR>
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) site "contains a report on past, present<BR>
and future protection and recovery activities in the Klamath River Basin,<BR=
>
as well as maps, tables and examples of restoration projects that have<BR>
been conducted." This site can be accessed at:<BR>
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov. <BR>
<BR>
7:13/04. NORTHWEST GROUPS SUE TO PROTECT PUGET<BR>
SOUND WILD SALMON FROM HATCHERY RELEASES: On 19<BR>
March, Washington Trout and the Native Fish Society filed suit in U.S.<BR>
District Court in Seattle to prevent the Washington Department of Fish<BR>
& Wildlife (WDFW) from releasing 5 million hatchery coho and<BR>
steelhead into Puget Sound this spring that plaintiffs allege would<BR>
threaten Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed chinook. According to a<B=
R>
21 March Seattle Post-Intelligencer article, the groups cited studies of<BR>
predation by hatchery fish on native salmon as the basis for their federal<B=
R>
court action. "The wild chinook salmon guarded by the law are being<BR>
eaten by coho salmon and steelhead when both are juveniles, or smolts,<BR>
waiting in freshwater rivers for their time to head to the ocean," said the<=
BR>
P-I article by Robert McClure, reporting the claims made in the suit. The<BR=
>
article went on to say, "State officials were supposed to tell the National<=
BR>
Marine Fisheries Service in January 2001 how they planned to change<BR>
hatcheries to help protect the wild salmon from the State's fish hatchery<BR=
>
system, which is the world's largest. But those plans have not been<BR>
completed... The suit by the conservation groups aims to force the state<BR>
to get moving... It cites, among other studies, one on California's Feather<=
BR>
River showing that 532,000 hatchery-produced fish ate more than 7.5<BR>
million young chinook -- an average of about 14 chinook eaten by each<BR>
hatchery fish." While California has worked to reform its hatchery<BR>
practices, including releasing Feather River hatchery fish in the Delta to<B=
R>
reduce the possibility of predation on natural runs, Washington State has<BR=
>
not acted as quickly, according to plaintiffs. To see the P-I article, go to=
:<BR>
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/113524_fish21.shtml. <BR>
<BR>
7:13/05. GUALALA RIVER WATERSHED RESOURCE<BR>
INFORMATION SYSTEM NOW ON WEB: Northern California's<BR>
Gualala River, under threat until recently from an Alaskan water bagger<BR>
(see Sublegals, 7:02/06; 6:24/08; 6:19/06; 6:15/05; 6:14/10), has a new<BR>
watershed resource information system now available on line at<BR>
www.krisweb.com (choose Gualala), and also on CD from the California<BR>
Department of Forestry & Fire Protection (CDF). The database CD<BR>
comes with a separate map CD with ArcView and ArcExplorer<BR>
projections. The on-line version includes complete contents of the<BR>
database, but having it on a hard-drive allows quicker access to large<BR>
files, such as pdf format documents. This is the most thoroughly<BR>
reviewed KRIS [Klamath Resource Information System] project ever<BR>
produced by the Institute for Fisheries Resources. IFR responses to<BR>
comments from agencies, data providers and watershed stakeholders, as<BR>
well as a team of University of California reviewers, are accessible from<BR=
>
the opening page. KRIS CDs are also available from CDF for the Noyo,<BR>
Big, Ten Mile and Mattole rivers, as well as Redwood Creek. Call CDF<BR>
Fire & Resource Assessment Program at (916) 227-2652 to request<BR>
copies. KRIS database programs for watersheds from the Navarro River<BR>
(Mendocino County) south to San Francisco Bay are now being prepared<BR>
by IFR pursuant to a contract from the Sonoma County Water Agency. <BR>
<BR>
7:13/06. PACIFIC FISHERIES MANAGEMENT COUNCIL<BR>
MEETING IN VANCOUVER, WA; SALMON AND SARDINES KEY<BR>
AGENDA ITEMS: The Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC)<BR>
will meet 6-11 April in Vancouver, Washington. Key action items<BR>
include final management measures for the 2003 ocean salmon fisheries<BR>
(see Sublegals, 7:11/01), consideration of preliminary draft rebuilding<BR>
plans for some groundfish species, setting process and schedule for 2004<BR>
groundfish management, Pacific halibut incidental catch regulations, and<BR>
sardine regulatory changes. The agenda and meeting details can be found<BR>
at http://www.pcouncil.org/events/2003/pfmc0403.html.<BR>
<BR>
At the PFMC Vancouver meeting there will be a revie=
w of the<BR>
Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (CPSMT) Report,<BR>
"Discussion and Analysis of Management Alternatives for an Interim<BR>
Revision to the Pacific Sardine Allocation Framework" within the CPS<BR>
Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This draft Environmental Assessment<BR>
(EA) was prepared pursuant to PFMC guidance at its November 2002<BR>
and again at its March meeting to look at reallocating the sardine quota. <B=
R>
PCFFA, along with fishermen in the Monterey Bay areas and U.S.<BR>
Representative Sam Farr (D-CA), have weighed in opposing a<BR>
reallocation at this time that would be detrimental to the historic sardine<=
BR>
fishery in Monterey and Southern California as well as place the<BR>
resource at risk if there is the predicted oceanic regime change. The<BR>
PFMC is scheduled to take final action on the allocation alternatives and<BR=
>
provide guidance for completing the regulatory amendment. The EA is<BR>
available at: http://www.pcouncil.org/cps/cpsother/cpsexg2.html.<BR>
<BR>
7:13/07. SCOPING SESSION SCHEDULED FOR GROUNDFISH<B=
R>
REBUILDING PLAN EIS: A public "scoping" session has been<BR>
scheduled for Sunday, 6 April, in Vancouver, Washington (in<BR>
conjunction with the Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting) for<BR>
preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for rebuilding<BR>
Pacific groundfish stocks. The EIS, prepared pursuant to the National<BR>
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), was announced in the 18 March<BR>
Federal Register (Vol. 68, No. 52, pp. 12888-12889). The scoping is to<BR>
examine issues to be covered in changes to Amendment 16 of the Pacific<BR>
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan "to establish procedures for<BR>
periodic review and revision of rebuilding plans and to incorporate<BR>
rebuilding plans for groundfish species. NMFS and the PFMC<BR>
subsequently decided to prepare two (or more) separate analyses for<BR>
these actions. An EIS will be prepared to evaluate the environmental<BR>
impacts of implementing rebuilding plans for at least four of the nine<BR>
species currently declared overfished by the Secretary of Commerce<BR>
pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation & Management<BR>
Act." <BR>
<BR>
The 6 April session will cover rebuilding-plan-rela=
ted issues; written<BR>
comments are due 30 May. After that date, a scoping responsiveness<BR>
document, summarizing the public's issues and alternatives to be<BR>
evaluated in the EIS, will be drafted and made available on the Council's<BR=
>
website (www.pcouncil.org). Written comments on issues and<BR>
alternatives for the four rebuilding plans EIS should be sent to Dr.<BR>
Donald McIsaac, Pacific Fishery Management Council, 7700 NE<BR>
Ambassador Place, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97220. For more<BR>
information, contact Kit Dahl at: kit.dahl@noaa.gov. <BR>
<BR>
7:13/08. 30TH ANNUAL BODEGA BAY FISHERMEN'S<BR>
FESTIVAL SET FOR 5-6 APRIL: "The Pearls of the Sea" is the title of<BR>
this year's Fishermen's Festival in Bodega Bay, California. The festiv=
al<BR>
began in this Northern California fishing community, where Alfred<BR>
Hitchcock filmed "The Birds" 40 years ago, as a celebration of the<BR>
opening of the salmon fishing season. Fishing boats are decorated and<BR>
parade out of the harbor on Sunday morning, gathering outside the jetties<BR=
>
to receive blessings of the fleet as a flower wreath is cast on the waters<B=
R>
to honor those who have lost their lives in pursuit of the fish. This year's=
<BR>
fest again features live music, great food, arts and contests. PCFFA a=
nd<BR>
IFR will have a booth at the Festival along with other fishing groups and<BR=
>
NGOs. The events are held at Westside Park Saturday and Sunday, the<BR>
5th and 6th, from 1000 HRS to 1700 HRS. For more information on this<BR>
year's event, go to: www.bodegabayhomes.com/fishfest2003.htm. <BR>
<BR>
7:13/09. CALIFORNIA FISH & GAME COMMISSION TO M=
EET<BR>
IN VISALIA: The California Fish & Game Commission will be meet 3 -<BR>
4 April in Visalia. The Commission will hear information regarding the<BR>
coho recovery planning process, the Marine Life Protection Act, and the<BR>
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Monitoring Plan for the<BR>
Marine Protected Areas.<BR>
<BR>
The Commission will also discuss with the Departmen=
t of Fish &<BR>
Game (CDFG) fishery priorities for 2003, along with changes to the<BR>
nearshore regional total allowable catches, trip limits, and weekday<BR>
closures. The Commission will also decide if they will adopt 2003 ocean<BR>
salmon regulations, Klamath-Trinity River Salmon regulations, and<BR>
whether they will consider changes to the recently created transgenic fish<B=
R>
rules. Details can be found at:<BR>
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fg_comm/2003mtgs.html. <BR>
<BR>
7:13/10. MARIN FILM FESTIVAL WILL FEATURE<BR>
DOCUMENTARIES ON TRANGENIC FOODS AND FARMED<BR>
SALMON: The first annual Marin Environmental Film Festival will be<BR>
presenting a series of "powerful and provocative award-winning films"<BR>
at the Rafael Film Center, located in San Rafael, California (20 miles<BR>
north of San Francisco) over two days, Thursday and Saturday, 10 and<BR>
12 April. For fishermen and those concerned with fish, the Saturday<BR>
venue should be of particular interest. Featured that day will be: "Wh=
at's<BR>
For Dinner?" that explores issues around who controls the market for<BR>
global food production, and the safety of genetically modified plants and<BR=
>
animals. * "Deconstructing Supper" starts in a five-star restaurant and<BR>
leads to a farmer's field, biotech labs and the billion-dollar battle to<BR>
control global food production. * "The Price of Salmon" assesses the<BR>
hidden costs of farmed salmon, including damage to wild stocks, local<BR>
marine and human health. * "Biopiracy: Who Owns Life?" examines<BR>
how large Northern Hemisphere corporations are developing their crops<BR>
by plundering genetic material from Southern Hemisphere farmers and<BR>
healers who have spent centuries developing it. * Rising Waters: Global<BR>
Warming and the Fate of the Pacific Islands" puts a human face on the<BR>
international climate debate by listening to Pacific Islanders - for them<BR=
>
there is no debate: they see the everyday reality - fishermen, scientists<BR=
>
and farmers point to the rising tides. For more information on the fil=
m<BR>
festival, go to: http://www.marinefm.org.<BR>
<BR>
Paying Attention? The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors asked<BR>
the Interior Department for 50,000 acre feet of water for release from<BR>
Trinity Dam into the Trinity River. Why do they want this water? <BR>
<BR>
A) For an "attractant" flow to bring more salmon from the Klamath into<BR>
the Trinity to increase catches by local sport fishermen and the Hupa<BR>
Tribe.<BR>
<BR>
B) To augment the flow and help to cool the water in the mainstem<BR>
Klamath to reduce the possibility or extent of another fish kill.<BR>
<BR>
C) To supplement the Mad River water the County plans to sell to<BR>
Alaskan water bagger Rick Davidge; Davidge outbid Westlands Water<BR>
District for Humboldt's share of Trinity water. <BR>
<BR>
D) It's Humboldt County's way of giving the "middle finger" to Fresno<BR>
Federal Judge Oliver Wanger and Westlands Water District for<BR>
unlawfully taking Trinity water; the County action is intended to stop the<B=
R>
west side of the San Joaquin from taking any more of this Northern<BR>
California river's flows. <BR>
<BR>
E-Mail your answer to "Editor" at: sublegals@ifrfish.org. <BR>
<BR>
NEWS, COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS: Submit your news items,<BR>
comments or any corrections to Sara Randall, editor at:<BR>
sublegals@ifrfish.org, 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). <BR>
##########################################################<BR>
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>
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<BR>
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<BR>
If you have any trouble subscribing or unsubscribing, contact<BR>
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R>
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