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Recapping a Successful Pacific Northwest Fish Symposium by Marvin Dugger Lewiston Tribune, August 27, 2023

That's what has made our country great:
the free and open exchange of ideas.

The Pacific Northwest Fish symposium was a resounding success. We had around 100 people in attendance. With harvest in full swing and on a workday, the turnout was better than we hoped.

Most voiced their support for our cause, but there were a few dam breachers in the crowd, just enough to keep the discussion lively. That's good. That's what has made our country great: the free and open exchange of ideas.

At one point, a couple of our speakers even invited the other side to attend our committee meetings to further discuss fish and dams. Several individuals in the audience who identified themselves as having careers in fish or dams joined in the lively debate.

Each of our speakers had many decades of experience in their individual professions. They clearly presented and defended their positions surrounding fish and dams. These are their stories:

• John McKern, our keynote speaker, attained a Bachelor of Science degree in wildlife science and a Master of Science degree in fisheries science. He started work for the Army Corps of Engineers at the Walla Walla District in 1971. His work originally concentrated on fish passage at the dams but grew into fish and wildlife measures to mitigate the effects of dams and reservoirs. He has been a consultant on fish passage since 2000.

  "I illustrated the causes of the decline of the Snake River salmon. Early impacts like logging, gold rush mining damage to spawning streams, commercial exploitation of salmon in the river and ocean, dams built upstream from the Corps dams, and municipal and agricultural use of waters essential to salmon reduced returns from a historic 10 million to 16 million salmon to less than 500,000 over Bonneville Dam in 1938. I showed when runs had their lowest and highest counts with the highest runs being since 2000. I showed that all four dams have been improved to provide over 96% survival for juvenile and over 99% for adult chinook and steelhead."

• Rusty Bentz is an avid fisherman and a well-known local fishing guide and outfitter. He started guiding in 1969. He has vast knowledge of the wild rivers and the fish from northern Idaho through western Canada and Alaska.

  "Results matter to (a) sportsman like myself. At our symposium, we pointed out that there were great results from 2000 to 2015, the best in 85 years. (The years) 2016 and 2017 brought us poor results under spill ordered by (U.S. District Court Judge Michael) Simon. The technical committee started reversing the trend but a new biological opinion in 2021 chose spill as the best way to get our salmonids downstream. The results are a severe disappointment. Sportsmen need to demand a change. This is the most important issue currently facing us. We deserve a better response than a condescending remark, ‘How dare you question the expert's opinion?' "

• Charles R. Pottenger is an avid fisherman. He has degrees from four different colleges, including a Bachelor of Science degree, a Master of Science degree and a doctorate. He worked for Potlatch Corp. in management from 1968-2000. He was group vice president responsible for operation, maintenance, marketing, sales and planning for mills in Lewiston and McGehee, Ark., from 1993-2000.

  "My presentation reviews facts telling about the decline of salmon returns from about 1850 to the early 1930s. It describes how dams without fish ladders have contributed to a 55%-plus loss of salmon spawning habitat. It also reviews data showing that dams with fish ladders did not impede adult salmon returns over the past 85 years.

  "I reviewed data showing extremely good adult returns when high percentages of smolts are barged downriver with 98%-plus survival versus spilling, which kills 40% to 60% of smolts. Proper management to increase adult returns has been demonstrated. If barging is increased both wild and hatchery salmon return in greater numbers."

• Dan Caldwell is an avid outdoorsman. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in production agriculture and a Master of Science degree from Washington State University. He managed a 2,700-acre ranch for the Animal Sciences Department and an award-winning composting program for WSU. He then worked for 13 years in all aspects of smolt tagging and fish identification and as a fish transport barge rider/operator.

  "My talk centered around the purpose and importance of barging juvenile salmon and steelhead to the estuary below Bonneville Dam. I presented a brief history of the equipment and facilities involved in the operation. Management, personnel and organizations involved with tagging, data collection, research and transportation were also presented. I mentioned the continual, ongoing upgrades and improvement to the dams, the transportation system as well as the turbine generation for power. Finally, I suggest we continue to do more barging. It is documented to be the most effective and successful survival rate for juveniles of all the options currently in place."

• Jerry McGehee is an avid outdoorsman. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in biological sciences and 36 years of extensive training and award-winning service in aquaculture. He was a manager at the fish hatchery in Ahsahka for almost three decades.

  "My goal as a presenter was delivering information showing attendants that the current situation of salmon and steelhead in our region is like the image on a jigsaw puzzle. Many pieces interlock showing the full picture. I presented only six pieces to explain how the answer to the recent decline in adult returns is a much more complex solution than any one single action. In my closing, I offered the challenge to identify all of the pieces that led to the incredible adult returns of 2001, encouraging everyone to pull together to duplicate them and save our fish."

Citizens for the Preservation of Fish and Dams invites you to visit cfpfd.org where you can watch the whole symposium when you want and learn from the comfort of your easy chair.