skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, April 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Tribal advocates keep up legal pressure for fair political maps; 12-member jury sworn in for Trump's historic criminal trial; Healthcare decision planning important for CT residents; Debt dilemma poll: Hoosiers wrestle with college costs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Civil Rights activists say a court ruling could end the right to protest in three southern states, a federal judge lets January 6th lawsuits proceed against former President Trump and police arrest dozens at a Columbia University Gaza protest.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural Wyoming needs more vocational teachers to sustain its workforce pipeline, Ohio environmental advocates fear harm from a proposal to open 40-thousand forest acres to fracking and rural communities build bike trail systems to promote nature, boost the economy.

Salmon Groups: Let’s Try Something Totally Different

play audio
Play

Tuesday, November 22, 2011   

SALEM, Ore. - An offer to try something new and different is on the table for restoring endangered salmon.

The state and salmon-recovery interests want a settlement judge appointed, believing such a move could improve discussions. The federal government has rejected the offer, noting that current habitat projects already are improving salmon survival rates at dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers - something salmon advocates dispute.

Brett Brownscombe, a policy adviser for the Governor's Natural Resources Office, is disappointed by the feds' decision.

"There's a real opportunity here to, once and for all, resolve the decade-plus litigation. We feel the government is missing this, asking the region to walk down the same path that has led to multiple court decisions against the government's position."
A settlement process would involve all sides to work toward solutions, says Bill Arthur, a Sierra Club national field director. He says that means listening to the commercial and recreational fishermen, tribes, barge workers, farmers, and taxpayer advocacy groups, among others.

"Actually sit down doing the hard work, and taking a serious look at what's going to really be needed to recover the salmon and to deal responsibly with the communities and other affected parties."

The Bonneville Power Administration issued a news release stating that its approach to habitat projects is supported by independently developed scientific information which documents benefits to fish - and that it's focusing on all aspects of fish survival.

Although the current federal approach of habitat improvements has seen some success, Brownscombe says, more than tweaks are needed to meet court-ordered changes.

"An approach is needed that focuses on outcomes through a process that addresses not just habitat mitigation, but the other key issues and interests around this region related to operation of the Columbia dams and reservoirs."

U.S. District Judge James Redden has ordered parties in the lawsuit to collaborate on ways to improve the federal salmon plan, which was ruled "illegal." The judge is expected to issue a decision on the request for a settlement judge in the coming weeks.

The BPA news release is online at piersystem.com.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The Bureau of Land Management's newly issued Public Lands Rule is designed to safeguard cultural resources such as New Mexico's Chaco Culture National Park. (Photo courtesy SallyPaez)

Environment

play sound

Balancing the needs of the many with those who have traditionally reaped benefits from public lands is behind a new rule issued Thursday by the Bureau…


Health and Wellness

play sound

Alzheimer's disease is the eighth-leading cause of death in Pennsylvania. A documentary on the topic debuts Saturday in Pittsburgh. "Remember Me: …

Social Issues

play sound

April is Financial Literacy Month, when the focus is on learning smart money habits but also how to protect yourself from fraud. One problem on the …


Social Issues

play sound

The need for child care and early learning is critical, especially in rural Arkansas. One nonprofit is working to fill those gaps by giving providers …

Workers harvest a field before the annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. (Jeff Huth/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

An annual march for farmworkers' rights is being held Sunday in northwest Washington. This year, marchers are focusing on the conditions for local …

Social Issues

play sound

A new Gallup and Lumina Foundation poll unveils a concerning reality: Hoosiers may lack clarity about the true cost of higher education. The survey …

Environment

play sound

As state budget negotiations continue, groups fighting climate change are asking California lawmakers to cut subsidies for oil and gas companies …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021