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NFC: Fw: RiverCurrents: January 4, 2002
Robert Rice
NFC president
www.nativefish.org
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Amy Souers <asouers at amrivers_org>
Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2002 19:27:07 -0500
Subject: RiverCurrents: January 4, 2002
Message-ID: <B734868C757FD411B16700508B9A2C571A48B0@seattle>
RiverCurrents: January 4, 2002
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The online community for river activists and river friends
AOL KEYWORD: American Rivers
RiverCurrents is a weekly summary of river news and information as
reported by media outlets across the country. The inclusion of a
story or point of view in RiverCurrents does not necessarily indicate
endorsement by American Rivers. Unless American Rivers' position is
clearly indicated, stories or points of view expressed in
RiverCurrents are solely those of the groups and individuals named
and not those of American Rivers. If you have clarifications or
corrections about a story in RiverCurrents, please send them to
asouers at amrivers_org.
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In the news this week:
* Army Corps recommends dredging project on Columbia River
* Water education and river revitalization efforts in California
* Mine threatens wilderness, wildlife near Clark Fork River
* Energy: coal bed methane extraction threatens rivers
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Thank you...
...to those of you who filled out the RiverCurrents survey at
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We appreciate your feedback!
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This week's river news:
1) Army Corps recommends approval of Columbia channel deepening project
The Army Corps of Engineers this week said that dredging the Columbia
River to allow passage of larger container ships will not seriously
affect threatened salmon.
In its biological assessment, the Corps recommended the $188 million
dredging project that would cover 103.5 miles from the mouth of
Columbia at Astoria, OR to its confluence with the Willamette River
at Portland, deepening the river from its current average of 40 feet
to 43 feet (Seattle Times 1-3-01).
The Corps' assessment also includes a list of restoration projects that
it says would minimize the impact of dredging.
Environmentalists say the Corps used bad science to make the dredging
decision.
American Rivers' David Moryc told the Associated Press that uncertainty
is the chief problem for the salmon.
"So far it's just a snapshot in time," Moryc said of the corps' study.
"We still don't really know what will happen over the long term, so
moving ahead with this project with so many endangered salmon stocks
is dangerous."
As reports the Times, the project must still be approved by state and
federal regulatory agencies, and Congress must provide funding, along
with matching funds from Oregon and Washington.
Read more about American Rivers' efforts to restore the lower Columbia
River:
http://www.amrivers.org/columbiariver/lowercolumbiaabout.htm
Read about our efforts to reform the Army Corps of Engineers:
http://www.amrivers.org/armycorpsreform/default.htm
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Gateway to Rivers
American Rivers is building an interactive directory of our nation's
rivers.
You can create a web page for your river by choosing the "Add a River"
function. Or, send an email to asouers at amrivers_org.
http://www.amrivers.org/gateway/default.htm
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2) Water education & river revitalization in California
Wondering about ways to educate the public about what happens to their
wastewater? As reports the Los Angeles Times, the city council recently
awarded a contract to an artist to develop a public art project at a
sewage plant.
"The $700,000 project--the most expensive of its kind in city history--
will use wetlands behind the Ventura Water Reclamation Facility as the
centerpiece of an educational park, which would be designed to attract
tourists and bird-watchers." (LA Times, 12-20-01)
The park is to be developed around three ponds containing millions of
gallons of treated effluent. Pathways and viewing platforms may allow
visitors to see how treated water travels from the ponds to the wetlands.
Seattle artist Lorna Jordan and her team--a landscape architect, an
environmental planner and an environmental scientist--will begin creating
a master plan and demonstration project. Public meetings will be held to
discuss the plan.
In other Los Angeles news, California Gov. Gray Davis this week released
$10 million in grants to buy land and restore rivers and streams in Los
Angeles. As reports Greenwire (1-3-02), this is part of an initiative to
bring more open, green space to the city with the least amount of
parkland
of any major American city.
Two former industrial sites downtown are to be the cornerstone of the new
Los Angeles River Greenway. Land will also be purchased along the San
Gabriel River.
Click here to learn about other communities working to revitalize their
riverfronts:
http://www.amrivers.org/communityriverfronts/default.htm
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Now is the time!
If you have ever considered joining or donating to American Rivers, now
is the time.
We have made it easier than ever with our new online membership form:
https://radlib.com/ar/
Come find out about the benefits of joining the nation's leading
river conservation organization!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3) Mine would threaten wilderness, wildlife
The New York Times reported this week that after 14 years of study,
federal and state officials have approved a large copper and silver
mine in a wildlife habitat in northwestern Montana.
The Sterling Mining Company's Rock Creek Mine would extract 10,000
tons of copper and silver ore a day for 30 to 35 years. The mine would
be just above the Clark Fork River on the edge of the Cabinet Mountain
Wilderness and would tunnel 900 feet beneath the wilderness area.
American Rivers named the Clark Fork among the nation's Most Endangered
Rivers in 2000 because of the threat the mine poses to the river and
wildlife. The Cabinet Mountains provide important habitat for bull trout
and grizzly bears.
"The grizzly population is in trouble as it is," Bob Decker, executive
director of the Montana Wilderness Association in Helena. "And the mine
will be a major intrusion into their habitat." (New York Times, 12-28-01)
Some environmental groups say they will be appealing the decision. The
mining project would take at least five years of development before
construction begins.
To read American Rivers' 2000 Most Endangered River listing of the
Clark Fork, click here:
http://www.amrivers.org/mostendangered/clarkfork2000.htm
4) Drilling method threatens rivers
The coal bed methane industry is booming in Wyoming and Montana's
Powder River basin. And this week, the Christian Science Monitor
reported on threats the drilling method poses to communities and
rivers.
When methane, a form of natural gas, is released from underground
coal beds, vast quantities of water are extracted. Generally too
salty to use for irrigation, the water is typically discarded on
the surface or in nearby creeks -- degrading soils and accelerating
erosion which threatens rivers and streams, as well as ranchers, who
depend on irrigation water.
And, as the Monitor reports, "Where coal-bed methane is developed, it
introduces new miles of roads, wires, and pipelines into an empty
landscape."
Based on these threats, American Rivers named the Powder River one of the
nation's Most Endangered Rivers for 2001.
According to the Monitor, "while the prospect of drilling for oil in
Alaska
has become a focal point of debate over President Bush's national energy
strategy, his plan also seeks to encourage so-called coal-bed methane
drilling in the lower 48 states. This would disturb more acres of land
near
more people than would drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."
(Christian Science Monitor, 1-03-02)
Read more about how coal bed methane extraction threatens the Powder
River:
http://www.amrivers.org/mostendangered/2001powderreport.htm
Access our collection of resource materials about rivers and energy
development:
http://www.amrivers.org/mostendangered/riversandenergy.htm
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About RiverCurrents
RiverCurrents is a weekly summary of river news and information as
reported by media outlets across the country. The inclusion of a
story or point of view in RiverCurrents does not necessarily indicate
endorsement by American Rivers. Unless American Rivers' position is
clearly indicated, stories or points of view expressed in
RiverCurrents are solely those of the groups and individuals named
and not those of American Rivers.
If you have clarifications or corrections about a story
in RiverCurrents, please send them to asouers at amrivers_org.
About American Rivers
American Rivers has a national office in Washington, DC and field
offices across the country. We are a non-profit conservation
organization dedicated to protecting and restoring rivers and to
fostering a river stewardship ethic.
If you'd like to support our conservation efforts, please consider
becoming a member of American Rivers. Call 1-800-296-6900 x3009 to
find out how to become a member or to give a membership as a gift.
Additional information is available at our website,
www.americanrivers.org.
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