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Dam Breach Advice may be to Congress in Spring by John Stang, Tri-City Herald - August 24, 1999

A recommendation on whether the four lower Snake River dams should be breached may go to Congress next spring.

And at least three major salmon-related studies on the Columbia River Basin are to be released in draft form by the end of this year.

Then, the studies will be meshed together, public hearings will be held and recommendations will be made. Ultimately, all this will go to the National Marine Fisheries Service, which will send a recommendation to Congress, probably next spring.

The studies are looking at the 12 species of salmon in the Columbia and Snake river systems that are listed for federal protection and whether breaching the Snake River dams would help them recover.

Rick Ilgenfritz, director of external affairs for NMFS in the Northwest, discussed the study timetables with the Herald's editorial board Monday.

The studies include:

• A Army Corps of Engineers environmental impact study on what would happen to the Snake and Columbia Rivers if the four Snake dams between Pasco and Lewiston are removed or kept. Removal of the McNary and John Day dams on the Columbia also may be examined.

  This study's draft report originally was to be unveiled in October but now has been delayed to December. The delay is to allow the corps to address at least 1,000 public comments submitted on the study so far and to incorporate some additional biological analyses.

• The "Multi-Species Framework Project," which is developing and studying salmon recovery options. The Northwest Power Planning Council spearheads this project. A coalition of federal, state and tribal agencies - the Columbia River Basin Forum - has been formed to discuss these matters with the power council. This draft report is due in November.
• The "4H Paper," which will look at recovery options for the entire salmon life cycle from spawning grounds to the ocean. "4H" is the common term applied to the universally agreed top four factors that affect salmon - hydroelectric dams, habitat, harvest and hatcheries.

All of the studies are to provide a look at the overall salmon picture.

A series of 10 to 12 corps and BPA public hearings are to be in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana in January and February 2000.

The BPA will make recommendations on the hydropower portion of salmon recovery efforts and pick supporting measures that go with each option.

This recommendation will go to NMFS - probably in March. Then NMFS will take the matter to Congress.

Meanwhile, NMFS has scheduled several public meetings at the Northwest Fish Science Center, 2725 Montlake Blvd., Seattle, in the next few months to discuss the 4H paper.

Meetings are set for Aug. 31, Sept. 29-30, Oct. 27-28 and a yet-undetermined date in December. For more information on the meetings, call 206-526-4646.