By Chris Thew
Omak Chronicle staff

posted 9/22/05

The Okanogan County steering committee trying to rework portions of the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Plan received encouragement from NOAA Fisheries to continue, as the group will receive up to $6,000 for technical assistance from the agency.
Bud Hover, Okanogan County commissioner, told the group the money was offered at a Sept. 14 steering committee meeting.
Hover says that after filing forms indicating the group's scope of work, the money should be available some time in September or October.
The money, which would come through Okanogan County, most likely would help with the work by fish biologist Ken Williams, according to Farm Bureau spokeswoman Darlene Hajny.

Hover addressed those at the Sept. 14 meeting and questioned the need for a regional stakeholder forum, the first of which was held Sept. 15.

"If it's just another parallel action, it's not worth spending a lot of money on," Hover said. He said he decided to wait and see what actions would be taken at the Sept. 15 meeting.

Hajny, who is leading the steering committee and also is a spokeswoman for the Okanogan County Farm Bureau, questioned the timing of the meetings while work is still being done in Okanogan County.

She questioned how members of the public can be present at eight stakeholder meetings and six additional evening meetings - not to mention the steering committee meetings in Okanogan.

Present at the steering committee meeting were representatives from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Colville Confederated Tribes, including Bill Towey, the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board representative for the tribe.

Hajny talked about a letter sent from the tribe to Gov. Christine Gregoire asking to have the state accept the recovery plan delivered in June as a completed document.

She said she was upset with statements in the letter which said a "majority of citizens, local governments and stakeholders strongly support" the plan and that "a minority (underlined) of individuals are attempting to disrupt this process."

Hajny opened the steering committee portion of the meeting to members and a full room of people concerned with salmon recovery and its effects. The group looked at the executive summary of the plan, adding and deleting portions.

Members found several faults with the plan.

When the discussion moved to the tribe's work with an experimental stock of spring Chinook, Hajny asked Towey for his comments.
"I came to observe, not comment," Towey said.

Chuck Peven, private consultant working for Okanogan County and a technical writer for the upper Columbia salmon recovery plan, expressed an interest in saying in the plan that just one H - of habitat, harvest, hatchery or hydro - would not lead to recovery.
Peven told the group that criteria for delisting from the federal endangered species list are determined by NOAA, based on laws, treaties, conventions and court decisions.

Peven suggested the group should work on getting assurances from NOAA Fisheries that planned actions will be enough.
He said he feels the plan should include a call for physical assessments if there is a question about a recovery action, instead of "pulling figures out of a book."

Those physical assessments need to be backed with empirical information, not the best available science, he said.

Hover said he's concerned that actions for recovery are too easily focused on habitat. But he said he doesn't want to lump the blame on everyone else or breaching of dams, which he sees as an important factor in the economic health of the area, or landowners being solely targeted.

Since Congress asked for salmon recovery, there should be federal compensation for mitigating recovery projects, he said.
"I'll pay my share, but I want something in the plan that addresses that," Hover said.

He also wants it noted in the plan that it is not intended to be used for regulations. Hover said he's concerned with the state taking the plan out of context and he doesn't want regulations on land use coming from the plan.

The commissioner said Okanogan County is capable of writing its own land use planning.

"This isn't because we love salmon recovery - it's because it's something that's required of us," Hover said.

Sen. Bob Morton, R-Orient, added that he thinks that the plan should be based on smolt leaving the area, not returning adults. He pointed out record returns for Chinook the last four years.

Hover corrected the senator and said he wanted the counts based on production and not just fish in a certain stage.

"Little fish - not smolt," said Hover.

RELATED STORY:

posted 9/22/05

By Chris Thew
Chronicle staff

Representatives from the federal, state and county governments and citizens groups from the Methow and Okanogan Valleys met in Brewster Sept. 15 to discuss the major issues involved with salmon recovery.

The Colville Confederated Tribes and the Yakama Nation are charged with sending a "broadly supported local plan" to the Governor's Salmon Recovery Office for submittal to NOAA Fisheries, also known as National Marine Fisheries Service.

NOAA would in turn submit the document to the Federal Register after completion and comment.

The meeting began with NOAA Fisheries' Rob Walton providing answers to many of the questions posed at a July 20 meeting in Omak, including the goal of the plan, how much water salmon need and when recovery efforts are enough.

Walton questioned parts of the current plan and what he called "fuzzy" answers.

"This is a plan that is voluntary and non-regulatory," Walton said in addressing some of the questions. "By itself, it is not a regulatory document."

He said the federal Endangered Species Act, tribal treaties and court decisions, executive orders and treaties with other countries already have set obligations for the plan. Walton said NOAA Fisheries wants a plan that is efficient, biologically effective and economic.
Walton told the group that NOAA is trying to reach harvestable levels for spring Chinook salmon and steelhead. Bull trout, also covered in the plan, is a threatened species.

"We hope it will guide funding and assist in federal decisions," Walton said. "We hope that these recovery plans will get us closer to consistency."

Bill Towey, Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board representative from the Colville tribe, questioned the absence at the meeting of representatives from the Okanogan County Farm Bureau, which has been involved from the beginning in Okanogan County's process to rewrite part of the plan. Towey questioned the need for stakeholder meetings if not everyone was there.

Okanogan County commissioner Bud Hover, a member of the recovery board, told Towey the Farm Bureau's spokeswoman, Darlene Hajny, could not attend the meeting. When Towey objected to the absence, citing roles and responsibilities to which stakeholders agreed, Hover said he is a member of the Farm Bureau and would represent the group and the county at the meeting.

Walton pointed out the need to get as many people involved as possible. He asked the group to agree that any groups wanting to be involved in the process should be welcome.

"At some point we have to move on," Walton said. "The purpose of this group is learning."

After the meeting, Hajny said the Farm Bureau is backing work by the Okanogan County steering committee to rewrite part of the plan, but is unsure about the regional stakeholder forums. Farm Bureau members are upset that the forums, which were originally scheduled for after public comment, have been started before the public comment deadline Oct. 1.

Hajny, who is also a member of the Okanogan County steering committee, says the group has been trying to point out the problems of having parallel processes.

"We had to prioritize and put our focus on the county meetings," Hajny said. "We consider it extremely important."

Hajny says unpaid members would be required to go to several day-long meetings and evening meetings - not to mention steering committee meetings.

"They are excluding people from the public, because they are holding all these at the same time," Hajny said. "We're doing the best we can."

Hajny said she is confused by Towey's remarks since after a Sept. 14 meeting Towey said it was important to work together.
"I left thinking that, other than the timeline, he was pretty open to working together," said Hajny.

Walton also told the group that NOAA Fisheries is still waiting for the remaining portions of the salmon recovery puzzle, which will be provided by the federal government. He said he believes writers of the plan should put pressure on harvest and other causes of fish mortality.

Hover pointed out that actions in the scope of the plan are only as good as actions downstream. He said he doesn't want to see habitat be the government's "big fix."

"We don't have any way of controlling what happens downstream of us," Hover said. "Habitat has a limited capacity of production."
Hover told the group that Okanogan County was only in the process because it was required, but the county would be against using the plan as an "open door to legislation." He said doesn't want the plan open ended to allow tweaking by overzealous politicians.

Hover said he believes that if the government was required to pay for the projects, the agencies involved should have to look at the economics of the specific action. He said he would like to see physical assessments done and wants to know when enough is enough.
Hover also said he'd like to make sure that land use issues stay at the county level, and doesn't want the county signing off land use authority.

Mary Hunt, a representative of the recovery board from Douglas County, agreed and expressed her concern about factors outside the control of the plan.

"If there aren't issues taken care of in out-of-basin effects, those fish won't be coming back," Hunt said.

She said she wants a plan that complies with the law and would like to see assurances that the plan will not hurt landowners. She said she strongly believes that out-of-basin effects should "take a share of the pain."

"This plan needs to remain and be a voluntary plan," Hunt said.

Ron Walter, a Chelan County commissioner and a member of the recovery board, said he wants to see the plan take a local approach and work with watershed planning at the county level. He said he'd like to questions deferred to local plans and feels that working with local watershed plans would result in public support and better science.

"You're poking everybody with a stick and then asking commissioners to go get (public) support," Walter said.

He said he would like to see out-of-basin effects considered, predation addressed and an end to recovery defined. He also wanted to know if NOAA will pay the legal bills in the end.

Towey discussed a letter from the Colville Confederated Tribes to Gov. Christine Gregoire calling for the plan to be submitted to the Governor's Salmon Recovery Office by Oct. 14.

He said the tribe believes the plan has adequate science and public participation, and said the purpose of the letter was to proceed in an expeditous manner. He added that the tribe has always been supportive of dialogue and discussion in the process.

However, Steve Martin, a representative of the Governor's Salmon Recovery Office, told the group about a suggestion from the governor's office to move the deadline for the plan to be submitted from Oct. 14 to Nov. 22.

"The governor is behind getting a supported plan," Martin said. "We think it's a good idea to push the date back."

Chuck Peven, a biologist under contract with Okanogan County, told the group about concerns Okanogan County officials have with the plan. He said they are mostly upset about what they call "bad science," which he believes can't be backed up.

Towey again brought up the lack of representation from the Farm Bureau.

"That doesn't sit well with me - the Farm Bureau was on that list" of stakeholders, Towey said. "They were invited and they don't want to participate."

Chris Johnson, representing the Methow Salmon Recovery Foundation, said Okanogan County meetings were getting out of hand.
"If they choose to miss all four meetings, that's how much comment they will have," Johnson said.

Walton again stressed the need for all groups to have a say in the plan.

"If we (NOAA) can feel that this forum is broad, then the forum is appropriate," Walton said.

The next stakeholder forum, dealing with in-basin effects, will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 6 in Brewster. A evening public meeting will be from 6-8 p.m.

During the Oct. 26 and Nov. 17 meetings, both in Brewster, out-of-basin effects will be discussed.

RELATED STORY:

posted 9/22/05

By Chris Thew
Omak Chronicle staff

Legislators from the 7th and 12th districts are writing a letter to Gov. Christine Gregoire in response to a letter sent by the Colville Confederated Tribes to the governor seeking immediate adoption of the upper Columbia salmon recovery plan.

The tribe called for the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board to meet its Oct. 14 deadline for submitting the plan to the governor's office. The tribe's letter also called for the plan to be forwarded to NOAA Fisheries Oct. 17.

Sen. Bob Morton, R-Orient; Sen. Linda Evans Parlette, R-Wenatchee; Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda; Rep. Bob Sump, R-Republic; Rep. Cary Condotta, R-Wenatchee, and Rep. Mike Armstrong, R-Wenatchee, are asking the governor to give the process more time so a plan with public support can be reached.

Kretz said people should have at least until December to work on the plan. He said he believes that if the governor wants the document to be done right, she should ask the board to push the deadline to April 2006.

"I want a process that is scientifically defensible that could actually help salmon," Kretz said. "Helping fish seems to be lost in the process."
Kretz said he is confused why the recovery board has not extended deadlines for the plan, since Bob Lohn, regional administrator of the Northwest region of NOAA Fisheries, implied that additional time could be given to the process.