U.S. Senate. Subcommittee on Fisheries Wildlife, and Water of the Committee on Environment and Public Works. Hearing on The Implementation of the National Marine Service's 2000 Biological Opinion for Anadromous Fish Regarding the Federal Columbia River Basin Power System. 108th Cong., 1st sess. 24 June, 2003. Washington D.C.: GPO, 2004 (reviewed by Allyson Goldstein)
Summary:
This hearing took place in June of 2003 in order to discuss the effectiveness of the 2000 Biological Opinion for Anadromous Fish in the Columbia River Basin. Michael D. Crapo, a Senator from Idaho, chairs the committee and runs the meeting. In addition to Senator Crapo, a variety of stakeholders from all of the various organizations involved in the meeting deliver a statement, and then answer questions. These people include the chairperson of the Northwest Power Council, the regional director of the Bureau of Reclamation, Pacific Northwest Regional Office, representative from Native American tribes, the CEO of Bonneville Power Administration, and others.
In general the government representatives agree that while progress has been made since the implementation of the plan, work remains to be done in order to protect anadromous fish in the Columbia River Basin.
The Native American representatives, Anthony Johnson from the Nez Perce tribe and Nancy Murillo from the Shoshone-Bannock tribes are disappointed in the program and feel that little has been done to protect salmon.
Representatives for the power administration say they have done everything in their power to help salmon, and that they need more federal funding in order to adequately protect the fish. They argue that they do not want to pass conservation costs on to their consumers because not all of the threats to the salmon stem from hydropower.
The hearing ends without any real resolution to the problem.
Critique:
This government document is useful for a variety of reasons. First, it shows the three very distinct sides-- government officials, Native Americans, and the power administration-- in discussions about anadromous fish in the Columbia River Basin. It also provides some background information about the problem, and about fish in the Columbia River Basin. Crapo, the committee chairman, tries to remain calm throughout the proceedings, and does an excellent job of asking questions rather than just listening to the prepared statements.
The document's main flaw however, is that although it shows the three sides, they do not really reach any sort of consensus over the course of the hearing. Furthermore, like many transcripts of government hearings, it is quite tedious to read through all of the formalities in order to find the useful information.
Robert D. Clark Honors College, University of Oregon
HC 441: Science Colloquium, Columbia River Ecology
Fall term, 2005
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