Questions from Orca Task Force

Q. What are the implications of Court Rulings? Why have they not concluded in a definitive order to breach?

A. Thus far, Federal Judges have been "reticient" to order the breaching of LSR dams. The latest ruling directed the Federal Agencies to "take a hard look" at LSR dam breaching.

A. Senator Jim Risch concisely articulated that Federal Judges have thus far been "reticent" to order the breaching of LSR dams or suspension of the FCRPS EIS license to operate. I quickly agreed to this choice of words at a lunch meeting (8/6/18) with the Senator and his wife Vicki, to whom I presented the New York Times opinion piece The Orca, Her Dead Calf and Us.

Importantly, Sen. Risch as well as the other congressmen have a large influence on BPA's decisions, eventhough the Power Agency is self-financing and receives no taxpayer money for operations. Congress does set constraints on BPA's borrowing from the Treasury, a very important component of BPA's finances.

Taking care of the interests of Congressmen from neighboring states will be of paramount concern.

Breaching is reversible, extinction and ecosystem collapse is not.

The concept of sustainability has been increasingly brought into focus as we have become convinced that all systems on earth are interrelated and that many of today’s problems were the solutions of yesterday. Sustainability is, however, a very old concept. Most American Indian cultures understood the importance of sustainability and sustainable development, living in harmony with all things.

Many people are familiar with the Seventh Generation philosophy commonly credited to the Iroquois Confederacy but practiced by many Native nations. The Seventh Generation philosophy mandated that tribal decision makers consider the effects of their actions and decisions for descendents seven generations into the future. There was a clear understanding that everything we do has consequences for something and someone else, reminding us that we are all ultimately connected to creation.