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Comments Sought on Columbia, Snake Salmon Plans by Staff Walla Walla Union Bulletin, August 26, 2013

PORTLAND -- Comments are being sought on a new draft plan to protect salmon and steelhead affected by federal dams on the lower Columbia and Snake rivers.

The draft plan outlines specific actions that will be taken between 2014 and 2018 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Bonneville Power Administration. The actions are intended to meet the requirements to benefit fish as described in NOAA Fisheries' biological opinion for operation of the dams.

In a release, BPA spokesman Kevin Wingert said the work behind the biological opinion "is the largest effort of its kind ever undertaken in the Columbia River Basin and is based in sound science."

Most populations of wild salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act have increased in abundance since the first listings in the 1990s, he said.

The draft implementation plan is open to a 30-day public comment period with copies available online at www.salmonrecovery.gov. The deadline for submitting comments is Sept. 23.

Comments can be submitted at bpa.gov/comment or by mailing them to: BPA Public Involvement, P.O. Box 14428, Portland, OR 97293.