NEWSHOMEOPINIONLOCAL INTERESTRECENT ISSUESLETTERSCLASSIFIEDSLINKS |
Methow Valley News November 25, 1999 Publisher's Comment ~ by Lee Hicks Endangered Species Coverage Politics and science? The state Department of Fish and Wildlife appears to be asserting its political role in fish and water issues. F&W’s director, Jeff Koenigs, assumed a higher profile in a news release issued after defeat of Initiative-696, the proposed net fishing ban. "We must not be fooled into wasting our time on old, tired arguments that focus on allocation, on who gets what fish and how," Koenigs said. Instead, he said we must concentrate on the "best science we have to restore critical salmon habitat.." Koenigs praised the sacrifices of commercial and sport fishers, but said harvest and hatcheries don’t count if we can’t fix habitat. He didn’t address the other "4H," hydro (dams), or other factors such as ocean climate. Then, just before last week’s memorandum of agreement meeting, state Fish and Wildlife issued a "Fact Sheet" describing the MOA. One statement in this deserves particular attention: "If signed, the agreement would put more water into streams for fish while maintaining the local economy." How this idyllic combination would occur was not addressed. In fact, the agency has already struck a blow against the local economy by a proposal to close the Methow to fishing next year. Fish and Wildlife’s new political posture comes as National Marine Fisheries Service and other federal agencies are preparing to release the full "4H" report detailing strategies in fish recovery plans. NMFS has said that no decision on a menu of possibilities has been made. And there’s considerable conflict over various approaches. But a NMFS official was recently quoted as saying, "The political pressure that is being put on decision makers not to breach dams is going to be transferred from dams to habitat." The Endangered Species Act is supposed to be administered under the guideline of "best available science." It seems that definition has been extended to political science. Opinion | Sports |
Local Interest |