October 6, 2001
American Rivers in September released its annual report chronicling the river conditions for the Snake and Columbia rivers, its first assessment since the new federal salmon recovery plan was released in December 2000.
American Rivers is a non-profit, Washington, D.C.-based conservation group focused on protecting and restoring U.S. rivers and promoting a river stewardship ethic.
According to the group, federal dam managers failed to meet federal standards for water quantity and water temperature in the Snake and Columbia rivers — violating both the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act.
“It’s a really bad sign that in the first year under the new federal salmon plan, federal dam managers have missed their flow and temperature targets by the widest margin ever,” said Michael Garrity of American Rivers. “The whole point of the new federal salmon plan was to ramp up salmon recovery efforts in an attempt to avoid employing the single most effective recovery tool — partial removal of the lower Snake River dams.”
The federal government, said American Rivers, suspended key recovery measures this summer. As a result, migrating salmon are dying in the warm, slow-moving reservoirs behind Snake and Columbia river dams. The government’s failure to meet the requirements of its salmon recovery plan makes it likely that partial removal of the lower Snake River dams will have to be reconsidered during the federal salmon plan’s 2003 review period.
| 2001 Salmon Migration Report Card | ||
| Snake River | ||
| Enough Water? | Spring = F | Summer = F |
| Water Temperature | Spring = A | Summer = F |
| Columbia River | ||
| Enough Water? | Spring = F | Summer = F |
| Water Temperature | Spring = A | Summer = F |
On the Snake River, based on American Rivers’ analyses, federal dam managers failed to meet spring water quantity targets 97.5 percent of the time, and failed to meet summer water quantity targets 100 percent of the time — earning two Fs. For Snake River summer water temperatures, the managers received an F because the Clean Water Act standard was violated 83.3 percent of the time.
Federal dam managers also received failing grades from American Rivers for both spring and summer flows and summer water temperature in the Columbia River. Summer water temperatures during the 2001 migration were “extremely bad” in the Snake and Columbia. Fisheries scientists, reports American Rivers, are predicting decimated runs when this year’s young salmon return as adults.
Complete statistics regarding violations and graphs may be found in this PDF document of the report card.
Federal dam managers manage the Snake and Columbia rivers to comply with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s 2000 Biological Opinion to protect salmon. The flow targets are only “targets,” but American Rivers said they have been routinely ignored by dam managers under the 1995 federal salmon plan and under the new 2000 plan.
In addition, the group maintained that the Clean Water Act standard river water temperature of 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) is mandatory and legally binding. Last April, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was ordered by a federal court to come up with a plan to bring the four lower Snake River dams into compliance with the Clean Water Act. However, as the American Rivers’ 2001 Salmon Migration Report Card indicates, river conditions violated the Clean Water Act standard for essentially the entire summer.
By keeping flows sufficiently high in the Snake and Columbia rivers, dam managers can help flush federally protected juvenile salmon downstream to the ocean and reduce water temperatures during the hot summer months. Cool water temperatures help prevent salmon from becoming physically stressed, more susceptible to disease or being killed outright.
“What this shows is that key salmon protections in the federal plan are an illusion,” said Garrity. “Every year the federal agencies fail to meet the flow and temperature targets. In light of the dam managers’ record on this issue, Congress should begin laying the groundwork for partial removal of the lower Snake River dams, because that is what likely will be needed to save Snake River salmon for future generations.”
In May, a broad coalition of conservation, fishing, and business groups, including American Rivers, filed suit against the federal salmon plan in federal district court, arguing that the plan contains loopholes and lacks the strong measures needed to meet the federal obligation to comply with the Endangered Species Act. Fisheries scientists, according to American Rivers, have noted that the suspension of recovery measures this year has resulted in poor survival for migrating juvenile salmon and steelhead this year.