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NFC: Fw: [Updates] ACTION ALERT -- THE CEDAR RIVER NEEDS YOUR HELP!





Robert Rice
Help Preserve our Aquatic Heritage join the Native Fish Conservancy
online
 at our website  www.nativefish.org

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Suzy McDowell" <smcdowell at amrivers_org>
To: "Updates List Member"  <robertrice at juno_com>
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1999 10:15:04 -0400
Subject: [Updates] ACTION ALERT -- THE CEDAR RIVER NEEDS YOUR HELP!
Message-ID: <MDAEMON-F199907081015.AA153460MD06027 at amrivers_org>

THE CEDAR RIVER NEEDS YOUR HELP!

PLEASE URGE THE SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL TO IMPLEMENT A HABITAT CONSERVATION
PLAN THAT WILL RESTORE THE CEDAR RIVER AND SERVE AS A MODEL FOR OTHER
FISH
AND WATER SUPPLY AGREEMENTS ACROSS THE NATION!

CALL OR EMAIL BEFORE JULY 12, 1999!

On Monday July 12, the Seattle City Council will vote on the Cedar River
Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), which will determine how much water will
stay in the river and how much will go toward water supply for the next
fifty years. Seattle developed the plan to address water supply and
endangered species conflicts on the Cedar River, one of American Rivers'
Most Endangered Rivers of 1999. The Cedar River is imperiled by unchecked
development which has caused dramatic declines in Cedar River salmon and
steelhead runs to the point that chinook salmon are on the Endangered
Species list.

UNFORTUNATELY, SEATTLE'S 50-YEAR WATER FLOW PLAN MAY DO MORE HARM THAN
GOOD
by allowing more water to be taken from the river, further degrading
salmon
habitat and fueling even more urban sprawl. For more information about
the
Cedar River HCP and its potential impacts, see
http://www.amrivers.org/cedar-action.html.

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THE CEDAR RIVER HABITAT CONSERVATION PLAN
PRIORITIZE
RESTORATION OF CEDAR RIVER FISH AND HABITAT BECAUSE IT WILL BE A MODEL
FOR
OTHER HCP'S AROUND THE NATION.  Although Seattle deserves credit for
agreeing not to log the upper watershed, the city's plan does not leave
enough water in the river at key times of the year to restore and sustain
threatened chinook salmon. Also, the city has not made a written,
enforceable commitment not to take any more water out of the Cedar River
in
the future if studies show that fish need the water.

PLEASE HELP US CREATE A MODEL FISH AND WATER SUPPLY AGREEMENT THAT CAN BE
USED ACROSS THE REGION.

URGE THE SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL TO:
1) Develop a year-round water flow plan that is based on habitat and
ecosystem needs. The plan must leave enough water in the Cedar River to
restore the habitat that will support a robust run of chinook salmon and
ensure their safe migration to the sea in the spring.
2) Implement the water plan on an interim basis. A short-term trial of
the
plan would allow scientists to test its effectiveness in terms of fish
and
habitat recovery needs and allow for changes to the plan if needed.
3) Do not withdraw any additional water from the Cedar during the study
period. When the science is in on what the salmon need and how they have
responded to the flow plan, the scientists should agree on whether any
more
water could be taken out of the river.
Contact information listed below.

For more information about the Cedar River and the Cedar River HCP,
contact
Katherine Ransel at kransel at amrivers_org or 206-213-0330 or visit
http://www.amrivers.org/99cedar.html.

To see  a letter sent by American Rivers to the Seattle City Council
listing
additional steps that should be taken to finally resolve the flow issues
raised by the public, visit http://www.amrivers.org/cedar-action.html.

For more information on Habitat Conservation Plans, visit
http://www.fws.gov/r9endspp/hcp/hcp.html.


CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL:
Mayor Paul Schell
206-684-4000, Mayors.office at ci_seattle.wa.us

Seattle City Council members: 206-684-8800
Martha Choe: martha.choe at ci_seattle.wa.us
Richard Conlin: richard.conlin at ci_seattle.wa.us
Jan Drago: jan.drago at ci_seattle.wa.us
Sue Donaldson, sue.donaldson at ci_seattle.wa.us
Nick Licata: nick.licata at ci_seattle.wa.us
Richard McIver: richard.mciver at ci_seattle.wa.us
Margaret Pageler, margaret.pageler at ci_seattle.wa.us
Tina Podlodowski: tina.podlodowski at ci_seattle.wa.us
Peter Steinbrueck: peter.steinbrueck at ci_seattle.wa.us

********************
Suzy McDowell
Outreach Coordinator
American Rivers
1025 Vermont Ave, NW, #720
Washington, DC 20005
202-347-7550 x3040
smcdowell at amrivers_org