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Methow Valley News March 30, 2000 Endangered Species Coverage Basin water unit and NMFS set ground rules by Lee Hicks What constitutes "best available science" remains a major point in negotiations between the basin watershed planning unit and federal and state officials in attempts to complete an agreement on endangered fish recovery. A watershed unit committee met Tuesday (March 28) with Bob Turner, top state official of National Marine Fisheries Service, and other agency representatives to set ground rules for renewed talks to begin April 18. As in meetings stretching back to an earlier ill-fated memorandum of agreement presented last November, the issue of stream target flows needed for fish is still in dispute. Although NMFS officials acknowledge that more information is needed, Turner said Tuesday the agency considers its options limited under the 1973 Endangered Species Act. "The statute calls for ‘best available science,’ so we have to make decisions on what’s available," Turner said, adding that hydrology data for fish and streamflow relations is lacking in the Methow basin. "If you have dearth of data, you must act on the basis of best available data," Turner added. But, watershed unit member Ray Campbell told Turner, "You’ve been a little one-sided," in applying flow requirements in the basin. Committee member Dick Ewing said the planning unit wants to address ways to improve on hydrology data to make better decisions, to determine what fish need, how irrigation ditches affect fish and define mutual needs between the local group and federal agencies for "getting more science." "I don’t think you have to be antagonistic against state water law to reach your objectives," Ewing observed. Working in cooperation with local irrigators and the unit will be the best way to gain community support for salmon recovery, he said. Turner said he understands concern over water rights. But he repeated NMFS earlier positions that the ESA views "take" of endangered species independent of water law. The law, he said, "doesn’t say a take of endangered fish is any less for a junior water right holder that a state water right holder." Turner said he favors an approach that integrates state water law and policy into fish recovery. Tuesday’s meeting was a new first step aimed to begin development of a basin habitat conservation plan (HCP) that would provide an "incidental take permit" to protect against prosecution and litigation under the ESA. The issue in the basin is made more complicated by ESA provisions that affect "Section 7" ditches on federal land and "Section 9" private irrigation diversions. One federally permitted ditch, Wolf Creek, is discussing its own HCP with NMFS and other agencies, and several others have expressed interest. As committee member Bunny Morgan put it, "We want to do what’s prudent. We want to do what’s sensible. We don’t want to hurt fish." But, she added, "We don’t want a hammer, we want some help to do what’s right." The agencies and watershed unit members agreed to pull together a single document reflecting recent comments from NMFS and others, and to begin negotiations at the Twisp office of the Okanogan National Forest office at 8 a.m. April 18. Opinion | Sports |
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