Construction Barges Contaminated With Invasive Mussels Heading to Seattle

Posted on Apr 13, 2012 by cwinkel

Up close photo of a contaminated barge.

We’ve reported on the threat of invasive quagga mussels in an earlier post, and it looks like that threat has never been greater. Forty-one barges are set to arrive in Seattle, Washington, and they appear to be infested with the destructive species.

According to Karen Vargas, wildlife staff specialist with the Nevada Department of Wildlife, trucks shipping the barges from Lake Mead, Nevada will be arriving throughout the weekend; the last shipment is scheduled to arrive on Monday, April 16.

Floating construction “barges” transported by truck. They bolt together and float on the water to support construction equipment.

The Vegas Tunnel Construction Company is responsible for the barges, and although the company claims that the barges have been cleaned, photographs taken by diligent inspectors with the Idaho Transportation Department show otherwise.

For now, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and Nevada Department of Wildlife have been in contact with the owners of the barges and are developing a plan to ensure that the barges are properly cleaned before leaving Nevada and re-inspected once they arrive in Washington.

These mussels spread rapidly and can quickly cover hard surfaces, smothering other aquatic life and clogging water system infrastructures. It’s not exaggerating to say that the costs of an infestation, both financially and to the ecosystem, would be enormous.

We’ll keep you updated.

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Posted in Columbia River, environment, invasive species, Lake Mead, Nevada, quagga mussels, Seattle | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Independent Scientists Complete Review of Fish and Wildlife Proposals

Posted on Apr 6, 2012 by cwinkel

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s panel of independent scientists recently completed a review of 71 projects to implement the Council’s Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program over the next several years, finding that just 14 of them “meet scientific criteria,” meaning that they can go ahead without additional refinements. Thirty-seven others met scientific criteria with qualifications, meaning that the project proponents need to answer questions raised by the panel, and three proposed projects did not meet scientific criteria, according to the11-member Independent Scientific Review Panel. The ISRP earlier gave the OK to 17 other project proposals.

Most of the 71 ongoing projects help resident fish; the other projects concern data management  and program coordination. The ISRP also reported on issues related to non-native fish management, trout-stocking strategies, and monitoring and evaluation of projects.

The Council and the Bonneville Power Administration use the review to ensure that projects meet the requirements of the program and federal biological opinions.

The ISRP will present its findings at the Council’s April 10-11 meeting. The Council will discuss the findings and the project proposals at its May and June meetings, and then make funding recommendations to Bonneville at the June or July meetings.

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California Sea Lions at Bonneville Dam Aren’t the Problem

Posted on Mar 22, 2012 by cwinkel

Steller sea lion

There’s a common perception that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s decision to allow Oregon, Washington, and Idaho to kill California sea lions at Bonneville Dam addresses the fish predation problem there. But right now, most of the damage is being done by Steller sea lions, not California sea lions. And it’s sturgeon they are mostly eating, not salmon.

According to the Army Corps of Engineers’ latest status report on pinniped predation at the dam, “California sea lions have remained scarce so far this year…We have documented approximately 45 different Steller sea lions visiting the dam so far and seven California sea lions.”

The Steller’s impact on sturgeon is a concern for fish managers worried about their toll on the population in the lower river. The fish aren’t listed, but Oregon and Washington have reduced the lower river harvest in recent years because of a decline in their numbers. While the sturgeon catch is less than last year’s catch at this time, at 1,189 fish it’s still high. It’s a difficult issue because Steller’s are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, so they can’t be harmed.

The total expanded salmonid catch, primarily by Stellers, through March 14 was 119 fish, much less than in the last six years. Last year at this time, the estimated salmon take was 185 and in 2010 it was 274. The Corps, which owns Bonneville, has been monitoring Steller and California sea lions since 2002 when they began arriving to feed on spawning salmon below the dam.  Sturgeon also mill around that area, making the estuary an easy feeding ground for the marine mammals. The Corps is only observing sea lion take in the immediate area of the tailrace below the project, not further downstream, so it’s hard to know exactly how many sturgeon or salmon are falling prey to sea lions below the dam to the river’s mouth. It would take many more boats and observers to try and do so.

For now, hazing is the method of deterrence for California sea lions. They’re protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which is why NOAA’s authorization was required. As the season continues, their numbers and level of predation may increase, and if so, the states will be able to protect endangered salmon and steelhead by trapping and lethal means. It’s a hard choice of last resort, but a necessary step to save a species that the region has made substantial investments to recover.

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Posted in Bonneville Dam, California sea lions, Columbia River, endangered species, environment, fish and wildlife, predation, salmon, Steller sea lions, sturgeon | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Another Good Year for Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Runs

Posted on Mar 16, 2012 by cwinkel

Washington, Oregon, and Idaho fish managers are optimistic about salmon and steelhead returns to the Columbia River Basin in 2012, with some runs predicted to return in numbers not seen in decades – particularly sockeye. State fish and wildlife agency representatives briefed the Northwest Power and Conservation Council this month on the 2011 runs and predictions for 2012. Here are some of the highlights:

  • Upriver spring Chinook: The 2012 forecast is 314,200 fish entering the Columbia — 168,000 Snake River fish (39,100 wild) and 32,600 upper Columbia spring Chinook (2,800 wild), with the remainder of the run returning to mid-Columbia tributaries. That’s nearly 100,000 more than the 2011 run of 221,200.
  • Summer Chinook: The 2012 forecast is for 91,200 fish, which would be the highest return since at least 1980, and 135 percent of the 10-year average (67,500 adult fish). The 2011 run totaled 80,574.
  • Sockeye: The 2012 sockeye forecast is a whopping 462,000 fish, which includes 28,800 to the Wenatchee River, 431,300 to the Okanogan River, and 1,900 to the Snake River – in all, 348 percent of the recent 10-year average. The 2011 return was 187,300 fish. The 1,900-fish forecast for the Snake River would beat last year’s 1,500, which was the second-highest observed since at least 1980, trailing only the record return of 2010. That’s an impressive improvement from the 1990s, when the run dwindled to single-digit returns.
  • Upriver summer steelhead: The 2012 forecast is 380,300 fish, which is 95 percent of the 10-year average and very similar to the 2011 return.
  • Upriver fall Chinook: The estimate for 2012 is 483,500, which would be more than in 2011. The upriver-bright component, fish that spawn in the Hanford Reach primarily, is expected to be 353,300 fish, which is nearly 100,000 more than the 2000-2011 average of 257,000.
  • Snake River wild fall Chinook: The run was estimated at 14,900 in 2011, and about the same number are expected this year – approximately double the 2000-2011 average of 8,100 fish.
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Council Urges Inspections at Lake Mead to Prevent Spread of Invasive Mussels

Posted on Feb 27, 2012 by cwinkel

Mussels attached to gate at Davis Dam on the Colorado River

With the spring and summer boating season approaching, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council recently appealed to the directors of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Parks Service to use a $1 million earmark in the 2012 budget of the Fish and Wildlife Service to establish a mandatory inspection and decontamination system at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

Destructive zebra and quagga mussels have invaded lakes in the Southwest, notably Lake Mead on the Colorado River, and the threat that they will find their way north to the Columbia River by way of infested watercraft increases every year.

Since 2009, police agencies in the Northwest states have intercepted a large number of mussel-infested boats as their owners hauled them north in the spring and summer. The majority came from Lake Mead. The Council believes it’s critical to have a containment program in place at Lake Mead before boats begin returning to Northwest waters this spring.

The dime-sized mussels grow hard shells and form rapidly into thick, mat-like colonies that can adhere to virtually any hard surface. These colonies rob nutrients from other aquatic species and can clog subsurface structures from docks and piers to water intakes at hydroelectric dams. The Bureau of Reclamation includes $1 million annually in its budget for Hoover Dam, which impounds Lake Mead, for maintenance of subsurface structures infested with mussels.

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Tracking the Northwest’s Power Supply

Posted on Feb 10, 2012 by cwinkel

In order to plan the region’s energy supply, the Council maintains a comprehensive database of generating resources. The data is updated in a workbook each day, and a portion of it is made available to the public periodically.

“We use the information in the Council’s models and analyses and to assess the adequacy of the power system,” says Terry Morlan, power division director.

Ken Dragoon, resource analyst and Gillian Charles, policy analyst gave a tour of the database and interactive map at this week’s Council meeting.

The database is a critical tool for the Council as it develops its regional power plan, but it’s also widely used by others in the Northwest, and in other parts of the country and world as well.

“The main purpose of the database is for our work, but it’s one of the most complete resources available, and because of that we’ve found that a lot of other organizations use it,” says Charles.

The database contains a wealth of information that can be filtered in a variety of ways. Several charts and graphs are also available showing the region’s energy mix and historical development.

In the future, the Council hopes to continue to make the public portion of the database even easier to use, with links to other pertinent information.

“Right now, we’re really focused on keeping the information updated. We’d like people to know about the database, that it’s a useful tool not just for our work, but for others as well,” notes Charles.

If you have information that will help us to keep the database updated, you’re encouraged to contact Charles at 503-222-5161 or gcharles@nwcouncil.org.

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Power Plan shows how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants

Posted on Dec 23, 2011 by Eric Schrepel

On December 21 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued new rules to curb emissions of mercury and other toxic substances from power plants that burn coal, relying on pollution controls that are already in use at more than half of the nation’s coal-fired power plants. According to an EPA press release, power plants are the largest remaining source of air pollutants including mercury, arsenic, and cyanide. Once final, the standards will ensure the remaining plants take steps to decrease emissions of dangerous pollutants.

The Pacific Northwest does not rely on coal to generate electricity as much as other parts of the country because of our abundant supply of hydropower. Still, coal-fired generating plants represent 12.2 percent of the region’s generating capacity and 16.9 percent of the electricity generated on average throughout the year. An Oregon Public Broadcasting story breaks down the amount of coal-fired electricity generation by state in the Northwest.

The Council’s Northwest Power Plan, which guides the Bonneville Power Administration, the region’s largest electricity provider, recommends ways to reduce toxic gas emissions from power plants that burn fossil fuels, primarily carbon dioxide.

The Council’s plan explores, through various scenario analyses, what actions must be taken to meet emission targets in state law in Oregon and Washington, Washington and in the Western Climate Initiative.

There are four critical elements to those actions. First is acquiring nearly 6,000 average megawatts of energy efficiency improvements over the 20-year planning horizon (through 2029). Second is reducing reliance on coal-fired generation to about half of current levels. Third is meeting renewable-energy portfolio standards that already exist in three of the four Northwest states. Finally, the region needs to preserve the capability of the hydroelectric system to the greatest extent possible within the limits of fish and wildlife impacts and other obligations. These actions, designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, also will reduce emissions of other toxic air pollutants.

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Former Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus Looks Back

Posted on Dec 13, 2011 by cwinkel

Cecil Andrus says much has changed and much has stayed the same in the environmental and energy arenas since he was governor of Idaho–first in the 1970s, and then again in the 1990s, with four years as United States Secretary of the Interior under President Jimmy Carter in between.

Andrus, arguably Idaho’s most accomplished political leader, is the subject of a new biography written by Chris Carlson, an original member of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council and a longtime Andrus aide.

Andrus, now 80, has slowed a bit, but he’s still a keen political observer who stays current on environmental and economic issues.

As a politician, he was known for being a straightshooter, and that hasn’t changed. The current Idaho Legislature is “a bunch of damn idiots” for the way lawmakers have handled–or mishandled, in his opinion–important issues such as education funding.

He’s distraught over the increasing incivility of political discourse. “Sometimes when I look at what’s going on in the political arena–the arrogance of political power when it’s so dominant in one area and there is no compromise available. Power does in fact corrupt.”

But he’s not a defeatist. “Obviously, I’m the eternal optimist or I would not have done what I did for 50 years.”

In an upcoming interview in the Council Quarterly, Andrus talks about the ongoing controversy over salmon and the impacts of the four federal dams on the lower Snake River. “The salmon-runs issue hasn’t really changed. There’s been a lot of scientific information and speeches made about it, but the answers are still yet to come, and that hasn’t changed.” He also speculates on what is needed to finally resolve the dispute.

He’s concerned about the accumulation of nuclear waste in Idaho. “The biggest thing I see facing us is the nuclear waste issue here in Idaho.  You gotta have a home for it, and I don’t see any home on the horizon. Although we have a 1995 agreement that says all of it will be removed by 2035, I can look you in the eye and tell you it ain’t gonna happen. Because with Yucca Mountain’s disappearance there isn’t any place for it.”

 

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A Last Look at Condit Dam

Posted on Oct 24, 2011 by cwinkel

This week, Condit Dam will go down on October 26. It will be the second-highest dam removed in the United States. Built in the early 1900s on the White Salmon River in Washington state, impounding the river removed 33 miles of steelhead habitat and 14 miles of salmon habitat. You can read more about the project in this story by the Columbian.

We were able to tour the dam recently and took some photos. Needless to say, there are are a lot of photos and video of the dam as demolition day approaches. This blog is a great resource.

But we were particularly struck by the inscription written on a wall in the powerhouse. It is a bet waged by workers on when World War II would end. Reading it, you suddenly feel the presence of the past, and it is singularly alive, vivid with meaning. It’s a reminder of the the ways in which even the smallest, incidental human gestures are interwoven in the arc of history, and survive despite the odds. In this sense, sharing becomes a means of preservation.

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Snohomish Opens New Small Hydro Project

Posted on Oct 18, 2011 by cwinkel

Snohomish PUD commissioners press the button to start the generator and bring the facility on line.

This past weekend, the Snohomish County Public Utility District opened the first new hydroelectric project in Washington state in nearly 20 years. The Youngs Creek facility, south of Sultan, has a generating capacity of 7.5 megawatts–enough to power about 2,000 homes.

“We’re committed to operating this facility and other hydropower projects in a way that protects our natural environment while serving the community’s need for high quality water and energy,” says PUD Board of Commissioners President Dave Aldrich.

The project gives the PUD greater flexibility since it’s a locally generated, reliable resource that will provide energy at times of the year when it’s needed the most. It’s also competitively priced compared to other green energy sources, which aligns with the Council’s planning recommendations.

The Council’s most recent power plan’s resource strategy encourages developing “…other renewable alternatives that may be available at the local, small-scale level and are cost-effective now.”

Located above a waterfall, the project doesn’t affect migrating fish like salmon, and because it’s close to load, it reduces the need for hundreds of miles of new transmission line, minimizing line losses and effects on the environment.

In developing the project, Snohomish worked closely with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, other state and federal agencies, and local tribes to make sure river flows and fish were protected.

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