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NFC: Fw: [currents] RiverCurrents for the Week of March 24, 2000




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 River News for the Week of March 24, 2000


SNAKE RIVER:  MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD ON SNAKE RIVER SALMON! DEADLINE TO
CAST
YOUR VOTE IS MARCH 31!

The federal government needs to hear from you on salmon recovery. Urge
federal officials to make Snake River dam removal the cornerstone of
efforts
to avoid the extinction of Snake River salmon. Federal agencies will soon
decide whether to remove dams to aid rapidly declining salmon runs. You
can
help decide the fate of Snake River salmon AND YOUR COMMENTS ARE NEEDED
NOW!
Email the letter found online at http://www.salmonforever.org or write
your
own. This will be your last chance to influence the fate of these
magnificent fish. Your letter will automatically be emailed to the
appropriate federal agency officials.

Failure to remove the dams will require significant spending for more
expensive salmon-recovery options. And, according to federal estimates,
the
four Columbia/Snake River Indian tribes guaranteed the right to fish by
federal treaty could be entitled to over $10 billion in
compensation-money
that would come from federal taxpayers-if there is not enough salmon to
support tribal fisheries. The Clinton-Gore Administration is legally
obligated to decide this year whether to remove the four lower Snake
River
dams as part of its salmon recovery plan.

     *     *     *

UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER: Legislation designed to reduce polluted runoff
into
the Upper Mississippi River has attracted the support of a bipartisan
group
of Congressional representatives. Ten members of the House of
Representatives last week introduced H.R. 4013, the Upper Mississippi
River
Basin Conservation Act of 2000, which increases spending on voluntary
conservation programs, creates a basin-wide water quality monitoring
network, and encourages river managers to target major sources of
sediments
and nutrients. "H.R. 4013 addresses the single greatest threat to rivers
in
the heartland and across the nation - polluted runoff from farms and city
streets," said Jeff Stein, Mississippi River Regional Representative for
American Rivers. Overall, polluted runoff from farms and city streets
contributes 90 percent of the nitrogen and phosphorous being washed into
the
Mississippi River.

     *     *     *

WATER RECREATION: Personal watercraft (such as jet skis) are being banned
by
the National Park Service in dozens of national parks, recreation areas,
and
seashores. As reports the AP (3/22), the ban will take effect April 20th,
with only 21 parks and recreation areas out of the nation's 379 being
exempt
from the ban. However, superintendents of those excused parks do have the
authority to impose restrictions if necessary. The watercraft will
continue
to be allowed at 10 national recreational areas where water-related
recreation has been "a primary purpose" since their creation. As reports
the
AP, "environmentalists and conservation groups criticized the park
service
for not banning the motorized water craft outright, arguing that they
pollute the water and disturb the tranquility of parks with their noise,
as
well as pose safety hazards."  The Personal Watercraft Industry
Association
says the ban is too broad.

     *     *     *

DAM REMOVAL: This week federal officials with the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation
dropped plans for a massive dam on the American River in Northern
California. As reports the LA Times (3/22), the decision to "abandon a
tunnel that diverted water from the American River, could be the death
knell
for the long-stalled Auburn Dam project." The plan, which was opposed by
environmentalists who said it would only encourage wasteful water use
among
farmers and residents in sprawling South California, would have provided
flood control and helped send water to farmers on the east side of the
San
Joaquin Valley. Environmentalists also said the project was too
expensive,
would unduly harm the North Fork of the river, and instead of promoting
conservation, would only ship more water from Northern to Southern
California. The Auburn Dam project was authorized in 1965, but
construction
was halted in the 1970s with the rise of environmentalism and concern for
earthquakes near the site.

     *     *     *

MTBE: This week U.S. EPA Administrator Carol Browner announced the
phaseout
of the gasoline additive MTBE, which is used to reduce air pollution, but
has also been polluting drinking water supplies. As reports the
Washington
Post (3/21), MTBE is added to "about one-third of the nation's gasoline
supply, especially in smoggy areas, to cut emissions of carbon monoxide
and
airborne toxins and to reduce levels of lung-damaging atmospheric ozone."
However, it is also a source of cancer when ingested, and has been
showing
up in many wells and other sources of drinking water. The
Administration's
plan calls for a substitute for the chemical to come from ethanol and
other
agriculturally based fuel additives, made mostly from corn. The increased
use of ethanol brings up additional controversy, however, because when
combusted, it too can cause potential public health threats. Others who
oppose the move say it was a strictly political decision to benefit Vice
President Gore's popularity in the corn-producing Midwest. Another
implication of the phase out might be seen in California, where drivers
could be forced to pay more than $1 billion a year in higher gasoline
prices
when MTBE is replaced with ethanol, reports the San Jose Mercury News
(3/22).

     *     *     *

NEW MEXICO WATERS: People and livestock are being blamed for the majority
of
contamination of New Mexico's streams and lakes by mud, cloudy water and
heat. Cattle grazing, irrigated farming and mining, and
"hydromodification"
(human tinkering with streams and riverside plant life) are being blamed
in
the state's latest report on water quality for the excessive pollution.
As
reports the New Mexican Sante Fe (3/20), these contaminants together
account
for more than half of New Mexico's polluted streams, according to a
report
approved this week by the New Mexico Water Quality Commission. Human
manipulation of streams caused 43 percent of the pollution, with ranching
playing a role in "polluting 2,530 miles of rivers and the report
identified
it as a main cause of pollution on 975 of those miles."

     *     *     *

WASHINGTON STREAMS: Scientists and river experts are working now to wrap
up
reports that detail how fish habitat has been damaged on all the state's
major salmon streams, at the direction of the 1998 Washington
Legislature.
As reports the Columbian (3/20), much of the information for their work
is
taken from the report "Salmon and Steelhead Habitat Limiting Factors for
Water Resource Inventory Area 27," which covers the Lewis and Kalama
river
watersheds. Completed reports are available at the Washington State
Conservation Commission Web site,  www.conserver.org/salmon/.

     *     *     *

WOONASQUATUCKET RIVER: The US EPA has identified two more companies it
will
ask to contribute to the cleanup of the Woonasquatucket River in Maine.
As
reports the Providence Journal (3/21), cleanup of the river could cost as
much as $16 million, and the EPA has now identified 5 companies accused
of
contaminating the river: New England Container Corp., the drum
reconditioning outfit; the developers of the two apartment complexes,
Centerdale Manor Associates and Brook Village Associates; Crown-Metro
Inc;
and Emhart Industries, the successors of Metro-Atlantic, the company that
manufactured chemicals on the site into the early 1970s. Exact costs for
cleanup haven't yet been determined, and the EPA has awarded a $200,000
contract to study exactly how to clean the property. The river was
designated a national Superfund site last month, so financing won't be a
problem because designation makes the project eligible for federal money.

     *     *     *

ATCHAFALAYA RIVER: The US Corps of Engineers has been asked to increase
the
flow of Mississippi River water into the Atchafalaya River to aid
crawfish
production. As reports the Baton Rouge (3/21), St. Martin Parish
President
Scott Angelle has asked for the increased flow, citing a continued drop
in
the Atchafalaya Basin despite U.S. Army Corps of Engineer efforts to
divert
Mississippi River water. The Corps began diverting water for a two-week
period on March 11, but the river continues to fall, says Angelle.
Normally,
30% of the Mississippi's water is diverted into the Atchafalaya, and
officials fear that diverting more will cause the Mississippi to actually
change course toward the lower and shorter river. Angelle is asking for
another 2% to be diverted.

     *     *     *

MISSOURI/MISSISSIPPI RIVER CENTER: The Missouri Conservation Department
and
the Department of Natural Resources each have pledged $1.4 million toward
the $14 million to $18 million needed to build a visitors and
interpretive
center at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, reports
the
St. Louis Post Dispatch (3/20). The project is timed to open in 2004, and
will be tied to a national observance of the bicentennial of Lewis and
Clark's exploration of the Louisiana Purchase.

     *     *     *

SALMON RECOVERY: The Salmon Funding Recovery Board this week approved
spending slightly more than $1 million to pay for nine salmon habitat
recovery projects in Southwest Washington. As reports the Columbian
(3/22),
"topping the priority list were land purchases in the Grays River and
Chinook River watersheds near the mouth of the Columbia." This will
protect
and restore critical estuaries where juvenile salmon from rivers
throughout
the Columbia Basin adjust from fresh water to salt water before entering
the
ocean. Among the groups being funded include the Columbia Land Trust
which
will receive $83,00 for the Grays River land acquisition and $131,000 to
acquire and restore streamside habitat near the Washougal River. Also,
Fish
First will receive nearly $200,000 for three stream restoration projects
on
Lewis River tributaries. In total, 84 projects were funded, with 19
buying
important salmon habitat, 47 focusing on in-stream work like installing
fish
screens, 14 working to improve stream corridors; and 4 supporting
projects
in the upper reaches of watersheds.

     *     *     *

ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Pecos pupfish will not be listed as endangered,
says
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, since a conservation agreement
developed
by state and federal agencies in New Mexico will sharply reduce threats
to
the species' survival. As reports the Albuquerque Journal (3/22), the
number
of Pecos pupfish has drastically declined over the past two decades due
to
habitat loss from dams along the Pecos River and excessive pumping of
ground
water that caused springs and sinkholes to dry ups. Hybridization with
the
non-native sheepshead minnow has also endangered the fish. However, under
a
conservation agreement, "pupfish populations on Fish and Wildlife, Bureau
of
Land Management and State Parks lands in the Pecos River basin of New
Mexico
will be blocked by barriers to prevent sheepshead minnows from getting
into
protected habitats," and historic habitats will be restored for pupfish
reintroduction.

     *     *     *

COLORADO RIVER: This week people from across the country joined more than
50
organizations and businesses to celebrate and inaugurate "The Century of
River Restoration. " The event was lead by Colorado River advocate and
environmental leader David Brower, and called for restoration of the
Colorado River and Glen Canyon. As reports the Glen Canyon Action Network
(3/21), Yvon Chouinard, owner of Patagonia, Inc., stated during the
celebration that "the construction of Glen Canyon Dam more than any other
dam in the United States represented the most blatant disrespect for the
planet's sacred landscape -- all for a facility that we know was not
needed." Among the items being requested by the participants includes the
decommissioning of Glen Canyon Dam, the establishment of a federal
laboratory to serve as the nation's primary research facility for river
and
riverine habitat restoration, the rigorous analysis of all new management
plans affecting the Colorado River watershed, that no new dams be
constructed on the river, that operating licenses should be required for
all
federal dams, and that the National Park Service implement a program to
quantify, monitor, and evaluate the presence of a wide range of
pollutants.

==================

 Interested in Legislative Policy Updates? Email Suzy McDowell at
 smcdowell at amrivers_org with your name, address with nine-digit zip code,
and email to be placed on the weekly river policy update listserve.

 American Rivers is also involved in a campaign to reform operations by
the
 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to restore habitat for river wildlife and
 reduce future flood losses. To receive periodic updates on this
activity,
 email Suzy McDowell at smcdowell at amrivers_org with your name, address
with
 nine-digit zip code, and email address.

 ==================

 For more news, visit American Rivers at www.amrivers.or