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THE BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION LAST WEEK BEGAN SPILLING
WATER at Bonneville and The Dalles dams to help
juvenile salmon migrate downriver.(Columbia Basin Bulletin,
May 18) The spill is expected to continue through June.
BPA said the spill would reduce power generation by more than
300 megawatts. BPA hopes to recoup the lost
generation in a power-for-water swap later this
year with the Grant County PUD, which would reduce spill at
its Priest Rapids dam. BPA said it decided to
proceed with the spill even though the swap has
not yet been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
because snowmelt in Idaho has resulted in high flows in the
Snake River.
GOV. LOCKE LAST WEEK SIGNED A BILL THAT REQUIRES THE STATE
DEPARTMENT of Fish and Wildlife to end the
practice of clubbing to death "surplus" hatchery
salmon and to use their eggs to replenish fish runs. (Columbia
Basin Bulletin, May 18) The bill, which passed both
houses of the state Legislature unanimously,
also requires the agency to allow more hatchery salmon
to spawn naturally. Locke signed the bill into law despite
opposition from the National Marine Fisheries
Service, which urged him to veto it. The governor
did veto a clause calling for immediate enactment of new
rules. A spokesman for the governor's Salmon
Recovery Office said the agency expects to
issue new rules by next spring.
YAKIMA COUNTY AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY HAVE
ORDERED dairyman Tom DeVries to remove his cows
and cease operations at a Moxee farm until he obtains
additional water. (DOE news releases, May 18) The farm, owned
by Tim Dennis, does not have a current water
right to operate a dairy and is limited to
pumping 5,000 gallons a day from existing wells. DeVries must
remove the dairy herd by May 25.
THE STATE FORESTRY PRACTICES BOARD LAST WEEK FORMALLY
APPROVED THE "Forests and Fish" plan
enacted by the state Legislature in 1999. (The Olympian, May
19) The 50-year plan, which establishes 90- to
200-foot buffers along 60,000 miles of rivers
and streams, goes into effect July 1. It affects 8 million
acres of private land and 2 million acres of
state-owned land. The plan also requires the
state to compensate small-forest landowners for leaving
marketable timber standing along waterways.
A PLAN TO DISMANTLE CONDIT DAM ON THE WHITE SALMON RIVER IS
RUNNING into problems. (The Columbian, May 18)
PacifiCorp, which owns the 125-foot-tall dam,
agreed almost two years ago to remove it by 2006, rather than
install fish ladders. But local property owners
don't want to lose the lake behind the dam, and
Skamania and Klickitat counties are worried that dynamiting
the
dam, as proposed, would destroy two miles of downstream
salmon habitat. The 69-year-old Condit Dam
would be the largest dam ever dismantled in the United
States. It produces about 14 megawatts of electricity.
THE WALLA WALLA COUNTY COMMISSION HAS RESCINDED A VOTE TO
ALLOW wineries and tasting rooms in areas zoned
exclusively for agriculture because the county failed
to publish notice of a public hearing on the issue 10 days in
advance. (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, May 15) The
publication error was one point of contention
cited by the Blue Mountain Foothills Preservation Committee
in a lawsuit challenging the vote. County Prosecuting Attorney
Jim Nagle recommended the commission rescind
its vote and reschedule the hearing.
2000 Washington Farm Bureau. NewsWatch is a daily update on
news of interest to agriculture. Contact
Dean Boyer, director of public relations, 1-800-331-3276
or dboyer@wsfb.com, to receive NewsWatch by fax or e-mail.
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any
copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair
use without profit or payment for non-profit research and
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