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LAST WEEK'S STORIESHISTORY
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Methow Valley News March 28, 2001 Endangered Species Hatchery pondering fate of Chinook salmon by Lee Hicks Okanogan County has decided to "suspend its participation" in negotiations for a memorandum of agreement that would address endangered fish and water issues in the Methow basin. The county decision, outlined in a March 20 letter to state and federal officials, culminates two years of talks including an earlier draft agreement that was rejected at a public meeting in November of 1999. Signed by the three county commissioners, the letter said the county did not intend to "terminate the MOA but to defer consideration..." The letter was addressed to Tom Fitzsimmons, director of the state Department of Ecology and Bob Turner, state director for National Marine Fisheries Service, with copies to various other state and federal agencies and legislators close to the issues. The commissioners said the future of talks would require that NMFS, the lead agency enforcing endangered fish issues in the basin, "demonstrate on a smaller scale, that it is able to reach a pragmatic agreement with water users..." The decision comes near the April 5 completion of a 60-day "notice of intent" for the county to file suit challenging federal decisions affecting some irrigators. Instead of pursuing talks at this time, the commissioners said the Methow basin watershed planning unit "must refocus efforts of watershed planning required by state law." Although the county has acted as "intermediary" in the talks, the commissioners noted that individual irrigators "are clearly the best representatives of their own interests." The letter cited direct negotiations by some irrigators and NMFS to comply with the Endangered Species Act. The efforts coincide with work to develop "Guidelines for Preparation of Comprehensive Irrigation District Management Plans." Noting that NMFS has participated in developing the guidelines, the letter said the county endorsed that approach, "as an opportunity to develop a model for ESA compliance and water resource use at a manageable scale." While the irrigation management plans are a positive step, the commissioners said NMFS position on "target flows" to maintain water in streams "will remain an obstacle" to negotiations aimed at developing a basin "habitat conservation plan," or HCP. As a result of biological opinions for ditches that divert water from federal land, NMFS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service have "misinterpreted and misapplied the ESA." the letter charges. "If protected fish are to receive immediate and long-term benefits from habitat conservation, federal enforcement of the ESA must change to accommodate state water law and limits on federal authority," the commission letter argued. The letter said the county would proceed with issues in the notice to sue. But it asked that the federal and state agencies "give serious consideration to working with us to resolve the claims..." "We’re disappointed," NMFS’ Turner said Monday. "The overall objective (of the MOA) was to remove some of the legal uncertainty that covers the basin. The county seems to have taken the opportunity away," Turner observed NMFS will continue to work with individual irrigators, he said, but without an umbrella MOA it will be, "a lot harder for the individual ditches to find a solution..." The impact on potential government funding is also uncertain, he added. NMFS has been involved in the irrigation management plans cited by the county, Turner agreed. But following the guidelines may not in itself be adequate to address target flow issues. "You know fish need flows. You can’t get around the fact that fish need water," Turner said, and questioned county "expectations that the guidelines will get around it...." As for NMFS response, Turner said: "I can only tell you what we’re going to do is work with those who want to work with us." And he said the agency would continue "as always" to investigate and enforce potential "take" of ESA-listed fish. NMFS and USFWS continue to discuss development of individual habitat conservation plans with Wolf Creek, Skyline, Chewuch and Fulton irrigators. He also reiterated earlier statements that "as hard as we tried," NMFS and other agencies could not persuade commissioners to negotiate in person. The last conference with the county about the MOA was March 7, at which time the parties discussed language the county wanted that would have allowed watershed planning to proceed even if the county or the agencies went to court. The agencies responded with new language, but the county declined to meet before issuing the March 20 letter. The last face-to-face negotiations with the watershed planning unit were held last fall. Meanwhile, irrigation rights for many basin growers begin in only a few days against the backdrop of the governor’s declared drought emergency and state notices that interruptible water rights could be shut off early in the season. Hatchery pondering fate of record numbers of spring Chinook salmon By John Hanron With the first of what is expected to be a record run of spring Chinook salmon just entering the mouth of the Columbia River, plans for the surplus of Carson stock hatchery fish are still being formed. "We’re gonna be way overloaded with fish," said Chris Pasley, manager of the Winthrop National Fish Hatchery. "This is going to be a record year for us." Biologists are expecting to see about 6,600 spring Chinook pass through Wells Dam as they return to the Methow, Chewuch and Twisp rivers and the Winthrop hatchery, about double the number that returned last year. Of those, Pasley said, 2,700 are forecast to be of Carson hatchery stock, 2,900 are expected to be the Methow composite hatchery stock. Another 1,000 are forecast to be "wild," or natural spawners. He emphasized that the forecast "could be way off." The most hatchery spring Chinook salmon that have returned to the facility in the past was 1,300 in 1988. The Methow composite stock is on the endangered species list but the Carson stock, which hails from hatcheries on the lower Columbia, has been targeted by the National Marine Fisheries Service to be phased out of the Methow River system in the next two years. "We think the salmon in this area (the Methow composite) still have adaptations that help them survive," said Rob Jones, chief of hatcheries and inland fisheries for NMFS. "That’s what this is all about, getting them off the list." Though NMFS acknowledges that there has been interbreeding between the two stocks, the agency says the Carson stock, which has been domesticated in the Methow system for the last 40 years, should not be allowed to spawn freely any more with the Methow composite stock because it would decrease the survivability of future generations. Others, including native American tribes that have treaty interests in the salmon populations as well as a long-standing reverence for the fish, say any salmon that can maneuver its way to the Pacific Ocean and back to the Methow, passing nine dams on the Columbia River twice, commercial and recreational fishing pressure and a host of natural predators, has proven its mettle and should be allowed to live and spawn here. Jones maintained that there are enough differences in behavior between the Carson stock and the Methow composite to warrant removal of the Carson stock from the river as a means to increase the chances of survival—and removal from the endangered species list—of the Methow’s spring Chinook salmon. Tests conducted in hatcheries have shown the offspring of wild salmon to be flighty and suspicious while hatchery stock offspring "just sit there with their mouths open," Jones said. About 90 people gathered in the Winthrop Barn last week to hear the latest observations from scientists about the "wild vs. hatchery" question. Leading the discussion were Dr. Andre Talbot, chief geneticist for the Columbia Inter-tribal Fish Commission; Dr. Robin Talbot, senior scientist with NMFS; and Dr. Fred Utter, professor emeritus at the University of Washington School of Fisheries. Jones said it wasn’t really an issue of conflicting scientific evidence, but rather disparate opinions. "There are people on both sides of the issue," he said. "We (NMFS) are the people who have to exercise this judgment. We feel pretty comfortable so far about this judgment being based on scientific fact." Last year the Winthrop National Fish Hatchery processed 1.86 million eggs of the Carson stock. Of those, the hatchery sent 815,000 to the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery, sent 650,000 smolt to the Big White Ponds near the mouth of the Little White Salmon River on the lower Columbia, and recently released 100,000 fry into Omak Creek. The Winthrop hatchery was allowed to keep 300,000 eggs. This year that number goes to 200,000 and next year it drops to 100,000. In 2003, the hatchery will not be allowed to raise any more Carson stock. So the question this year is: What do we do with all of the "surplus" adult Carson salmon and their eggs? Plans to club and dispose of excess hatchery salmon last year met with strong protestation from the public, culminating in a demonstration led by native tribes in which a weir was placed across Spring Creek, which leads to the Winthrop hatchery, in an effort to keep the salmon in the river system where they could spawn naturally. Because identification of Carson stock and Methow composite stock is not possible without killing the fish and reading the code wires embedded in their heads, hatchery workers won’t know how many of the predicted record numbers of spring Chinook that return to the hatchery are of each stock. Options for utilizing the adult fish after processing in the hatchery include offering them to federal prisons and food banks for meat and using the carcasses for nutrient augmentation in the river. Last year the tribes refused to accept offerings of the meat, Pasley said. NMFS’ Jones said the agency is trying to be flexible and open to any options for the fish that doesn’t jeopardize the chances for the Methow composite stock to survive and thrive. "It’s not fair to say we’re not trying different things," he said. The disposition of the eggs, once they are harvested and fertilized, may be complicated by the expected low runoff this spring. The hatchery, said Pasley, has water rights that are junior to the Foghorn Ditch. If the irrigation association requests, the hatchery will have to decrease the amount of water it uses, which would limit the space available for rearing the young fish. "We will not have the space or the water," Pasley said. The first of the spring Chinook could reach the Methow by early May, though their numbers are not expected to peak here until mid-June. "It’s going to be another interesting year," Pasley predicted. "And probably another political year. I wish someone could come up with a brilliant plan that works for everyone." 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