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NFC: Fw: [currents] RiverCurrents Online -- Week of October 15, 1999





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River News for the Week of October 15, 1999


YUBA RIVER: The south fork of the Yuba River in California has officially
been granted wild and scenic status through signed legislation by
Governor
Gray Davis. In spite of the recently signed legislation, a 39-mile
stretch
of the river won’t be added to the state's wild and scenic river system
until January 1, 2001, giving extra time to ensure that flood protection
money is available for downstream communities. Opponents to the possible
legislation had argued that the ban on any new dams and reservoirs (which
results from wild and scenic designation) on the river “could jeopardize
flood control, property and lives in downstream communities,” reports the
Sacramento Bee (10/12). The Governor has asked that $90 million in flood
protection funds for the region be included on the March 7 statewide
ballot.

     *     *     *

WORLD’S WATER SUPPLY: The Consultative Group on International
Agricultural
Research (CGIAR) this week declared that the world is squandering the
little
fresh water that it has, and the lack of fresh water will be the main
constraint for future agricultural production. The CGIAR, whose mission
is
to promote sustainable agriculture for food security in developing
countries, has stated that “one-quarter of the world's population will
suffer severe water scarcity within the next 25 years, even during years
of
average rainfall.” As reports the Washington Post (10/13), 70% of the
planet
’s surface is covered by water, but not the type that is suitable for
agricultural use. Naturally, as population grows (the world passed the 6
billion mark this week) so does the need for more food.

     *     *     *

FALLOUT FROM HURRICANE FLOYD: A deadzone has formed off the coast of
North
Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Floyd, a result of sewage-tainted
floodwaters containing human and animal waste flowing into coastal
estuaries. As reports the Associated Press (10/9), the runoff sits on top
of
the salt water, keeping oxygen from reaching the water and reducing the
salinity. Water from the hurricane flooded hog lagoons and sewer plants,
sending tainted sludge into the Neuse and Tar Rivers and finally into
Pamlico Sound, the nation's second-largest estuary. As reports the Post,
the
“largest affected area is a 350-square-mile expanse of Pamlico Sound and
part of Core Sound,” and the final effect on the Atlantic and the Sound
won’
t be known until next spring or summer.

     *     *     *

ATLANTIC SALMON: A report released on Oct. 8 by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife
Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service indicates that Atlantic
salmon are in danger of extinction, despite Maine’s efforts to revive the
species. As reports the Bangor Daily News (10/12), “the report criticizes
the state for not acting quickly enough to develop guidelines to regulate
the aquaculture industry or the withdrawal of water from rivers to
irrigate
blueberry crops.” The reports also brings into question the
administration's
policy of deferring to state plans in species protection. Environmental
groups are seeking an "emergency listing" for the salmon under the
federal
Endangered Species Act.

     *     *     *

BULL TROUT: The Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, the Washington
Environmental
Council and Friends of the Earth have threatened to sue the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service in 60 days if the agency does not declare the
Coastal-Puget
Sound bull trout a threatened species. As reports the Wall Street Journal
(Northwest Edition 10/13), the agency proposed listing the fish in 1998,
but
has not acted since. After proposing a listing, the agency has a year to
either list the species, withdraw its proposal, or extend its proposal
for
one year. The agency says it has delayed listing while it evaluates the
impact of such a listing on area residents and businesses.

     *     *     *

SELLING DAMS: The government is looking into handing over the operation
of
irrigation districts in the West to local landowners in the hopes of
saving
money. Environmentalists fear such actions will endanger waterways and
wildlife. As reports the Los Angeles Times (10/12), at issue is the
intention of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to sell the
multimillion-dollar
Island Park Dam in Idaho and a network of related facilities for
$270,000,
as well as a number of other Western dams. Environmentalists are
concerned,
since landowners don’t have the government's obligation to take
“aggressive
measures to restore a species.” Bureau officials insist the transfer
contract will require the irrigators to “assume full legal liability,
guarantee dam safety and provide protections for fish and wildlife.”
However, many landowners are attempting to negotiate deals directly with
Congress instead.

     *     *     *

AMERICAN SHAD: American Shad on the Potomac River in Maryland were
offered
an apology this week by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt for the 1959
construction of an ill-planned fish ladder past the Little Falls Dam. The
ladder was built in good faith, but the fish were unable to utilize the
ladder and series of pools. With overfishing, pollution, and a number of
additional dams on rivers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the shad
population crashed. To compensate, a $2 million project is being kicked
off
to construct a 24-foot notch in the 1,400-foot dam to allow for shad
passage, though the dam won’t be totally removed. As reports the
Washington
Post (10/12), the federal government will pay for 75% of the cost and
Maryland will provide the additional 25%.

     *     *     *

COEUR d’ALENE RIVER: After months of haggling, signs will finally be
erected
along the Coeur d'Alene River between Harrison and Cataldo in Idaho
warning
people about harmful metals in the river. Concerns over the impact on
tourism kept the signs from being posted before this time, but agreement
on
wording was finally reached. The signs will warn of consuming fish along
the
stretch due to the lead from nearby mining. As reports the Idaho
Statesman
(10/12), “the signs advise washing off soil and dust, not cooking with
river
water and keeping children from playing in mud and eating it.”

     *     *     *

OHIO RIVERS: Ohio won’t meet its goal for cleaning up 75 percent of its
rivers by century's end, reports Ohio EPA Director Chris Jones.
Industrial
polluters have been working to clean up their share, but additional,
unanticipated pollution has been entering rivers in the form of runoff
from
farm fields and parking lots, erosion, and pollutants washed out of the
air.
As reports the Cincinnati Post (10/12), the state still thinks it might
meet
a goal of 70% by 2001 by implementing a new program to control water
pollution from runoff and erosion.

     *     *     *

ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO STREAMS: A ruling by a federal judge in
Albuquerque
may lead to “protecting more than 200 miles of Arizona and New Mexico
streams from mining, grazing and development pressures.” As reports the
Arizona Daily Star (10/13), the ruling gives the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service five months to designate critical habitat for the spiked dace and
loach minnow, both federally listed as threatened species, along the San
Pedro and Gila rivers and their tributaries. No federal projects or
projects
requiring federal permits that might potentially harm the habitat such as
mining using river water, cattle grazing along the streams, or
groundwater
pumping along the streams, will be allowed.

     *     *     *

MISSOURI RIVER MANAGEMENT: The eight states in the Missouri River basin
hope
to reach an agreement by next Tuesday on the proper management of the
Missouri River. The issue of managing the flow of the Missouri River has
been in contention for more than a decade, as the US Army Corps of
Engineers
has been considering how to operate the six upstream dams that manage the
river’s flow. The Missouri River Basin Association will be forwarding
their
recommendations to the Corps next week, and the agency will then choose
in
early September a new operating plan for managing the flows each year.
The
plan will be revealed in October. American Rivers is pushing the agency
to
choose a plan that allows for a split navigation season on the lower
river,
which will be of greatest benefit to area fish and wildlife. The split
season would allow for barging in spring and fall, but not summer.

     *     *     *

MINING: Mountaintop removal mining projects will not be permitted in West
Virginia, unless “coal operators propose post-mining land uses that will
provide increased economic or public benefits.” As reports the Charleston
Gazette (10/14), the U.S. Office of Surface Mining stated this week that
coal companies can’t merely propose “fish and wildlife habitat” as the
future use for mined land, but must instead propose uses with increased
economic or public benefits beyond agricultural uses.

     *     *     *

SALMON RETURN: Not all salmon are scarce in the northwest. This fall an
unusually high number of chinook salmon returned to Clear Creek Hatchery
on
Fort Lewis, allowing the Nisqually Indian Tribe to once again (the fifth
year in a row) give away a fish to every person willing to wait in line.
At
the state's Voight's Creek Hatchery in Orting, so many returned that the
Puyallup Tribe of Indians “has been able to put naturally spawning salmon
back in the upper Puyallup River for the first time in 95 years,” reports
the Tacoma News Tribune (10/14).

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