January 2000
Trout Unlimited January Letter

Trout Unlimited -- Ted Trueblood Chapter -- P.O. Box 1971 -- Boise, Idaho 83701 -- January 2000

Monthly Meetings: New day, new location The monthly joint meetings for the Ted Trueblood Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Boise Valley Fly Fishers will now occur on the Second WEDNESDAY of each month, starting Wednesday Jan. 12, 2000. The meetings will occur at the GARDEN CITY City Hall Auditorium. The address is 201 E. 50th Street, Just off of Chinden Boulevard (between Chinden and the Boise River). It is about halfway between Veterans Parkway and Glenwood Avenue. It is best to park at the back of the building and go in the back door. The times have not changed: 6:30 p.m. for fly tying and 7:30 p.m. for the program.

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

January Meeting Program. Bert Bowler, Idaho Department of Fish and Game biologist, is going to present a slide show and discussion covering past dam breaching efforts in our state. Three major dams were either breached or removed in the Snake River drainage in the state of Idaho between 1934 and 1973. All three dams were primary obstacles to anadromous fish that historically contributed an abundant salmon and steelhead resource to the state. Destruction of the dams was followed be either recolonization or reintroduction of the salmon and steelhead resource upstream of the project. Sunbeam Dam on the upper Salmon River and two dams in the Clearwater River drainage were inadequately laddered and resulted in extirpation or near extirpation of some very important anadromous fish stocks. All three dams were located on relatively large river systems. Their removal aided in the continuation of productive anadromous fish stocks to the state of Idaho. Sediment released after deconstruction did not compromise the ecosystem. The long-term success of anadromous fish stocks returning to Idaho is dependent on significant improvements in mainstem survival in the Lower Snake River.

3rd Annual Fly Fishing Seminar. The Boise Valley Fly Fishers and the Ted Trueblood Chapter of Trout Unlimited are again working on a winter fly fishing seminar, the 3rd annual, on Saturday, January 29, 2000. See the ad in this issue for more details. We are looking for volunteers who have some time in the coming weeks to help pull the event together. If interested please call Andy Brunelle at 343-1510.

February meeting program - If you ever wanted to know why the Boise River reservoir system is operated like it is, don't miss our February meeting. Jerry Gregg and Rick Wells of the Bureau of Reclamations Snake River Area Office will provide a slide presentation and oral primer to our group on how and why Anderson Ranch, Arrowrock and Lucky Peak dams and reservoirs are operated throughout the year as they are.

FEDS DO FOUR-CORNER STALL ON SALMON

Trout Unlimited: Studies Confirm Removal Of Lower Snake River Dams Is The Region's Clear Choice To Save Salmon
A spokesperson for the nation's largest coldwater conservation organization says the documents released today by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) confirm that the time is now for the Northwest to recognize that removal of the four Lower Snake River dams is the clear choice to recover the region's imperiled salmon.

"Today we begin in earnest the process of finding out whether the people in the Northwest have the courage and decency to make a place in our society for salmon," said Jeff Curtis, Trout Unlimited's Western Conservation Director. "The decisions that we in the region make in the next four months will determine if a species that defines the Northwest and that has survived the ice age can survive our onslaught on their rivers over the last 60 years."

The Northwest Fish Letter reported that the Corps of Engineers' draft environmental impact statement on the lower Snake and companion documents add up to about $5,000 a page, or $20 million for the entire package. But, as Corps spokespeople had warned, the document does not come to any conclusions about whether or not to breach the dams. The National Marine Fisheries Service downplayed the lack of conclusions at the Dec. 17 Portland press conference.

TU's Jeff Curtis said the companion documents - the Corps' Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and NMFS' All-H Paper - make a solid biological case for dam removal as the only way to save the species. The documents, however, still contain flaws that underscore the urgency needed for action to stave off extinction. The federal studies also miss the mark on the economic feasibility of dam removal.

"The Corps and NMFS want the people of the Pacific Northwest to believe that the economic feasibility of removing the Lower Snake River dams is still questionable and that the region still has lots of time to debate how to best save the salmon. They are wrong on both counts," he said. Curtis said the Army Corps of Engineers' EIS continues to seriously underestimate the long-term economic and social benefits of removing the four Lower Snake River dams.

An economic analysis of removing the dams, which Trout Unlimited sponsored and released last month, found that not only would removing the four dams create positive economic impacts in the region, any negative impacts from removal could be easily addressed. ECONorthwest, the Pacific Northwest's largest and most respected economic consulting firm, conducted the study.

The ECONorthwest study analyzed the data collected by the Drawdown Regional Economic Workgroup (DREW) in reaching its conclusions - the same information the Corps used in developing their economic impact statement. The study found that DREW underestimated the positive economic impacts of dam removal because they failed to recognize that the economy in the Pacific Northwest is continuing to evolve and many of the industries which may be impacted by dam removal are already in decline, losing both jobs and income. The study also found that DREW did not calculate quality of life issues and the positive economic impacts they would have on local and regional economies, as a result of dam removal. They failed to calculate the costs of the subsidies currently enjoyed by the beneficiaries of the dams which amount to $10 million in taxpayer funded dollars each year. Curtis said that independent studies have also shown that time is running out for the Snake River salmon, with both wild spring and summer chinook populations facing extinction between the years 2008 and 2017 (see the study listed below).

In March of this year, over 200 scientists, many of whom have worked for both federal and state agencies, sent a signed letter to President Clinton in which they cited dam removal as having the best promise for reversing declining salmon populations on the Snake River. "The NMFS is relying on overly optimistic assumptions of the risk of extinction associated with delaying the removal of the four Lower Snake River dams. In fact, two of the indicator stocks which they claim to have only a small risk of extinction over the next 10 years are already extinct by their own definition," said Curtis.

Curtis said it is time for political leaders in the Pacific Northwest like Gordon Smith and Slade Gordon to summon the political courage to do what is right for the salmon and ultimately for the citizens of the Pacific Northwest.


3rd Annual Fly Fishing Seminar: The Super Bowl of Fly Tying

Boise State University Student Union - Hatch Ballroom January 29, 2000 -- 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m

Admission $5.00 per person

EVENT ACTIVITIES Programs -- Fly Tying -- Rod Building -- Internet -- Raffles

Program Lineup (schedule is tentative)
9 - 10 a.m. Dr. Rick Williams - Slide presentation on fly fishing Christmas Island.
10 - 11 a.m. Marv Taylor - Slide presentation will be on float tube fishing, trout, bluegill, bass, entomology, etc., travel program.
11 a.m. - noon Bernie Babcock - Bernie will tie flies and do a program on eastern Oregon fly fishing opportunities.
1 - 2 p.m. Dr. Robert Friedli - Bob will do a power point presentation on fishing the Boise River in the wintertime. He will also be tying flies and work in the Bear Creek Outfitters booth.
2 - 3 p.m. Shim Hogan - Shim markets Anglers Choice fly tying materials. He will conduct a demonstration on fly tying with synthetics. He also guides in Baja and for saltwater silver salmon in Tofino on Vancouver Island. He will have a video on Tofino silver fishing.
3 - 4 p.m. Keith Kiler - Keith will do a slide program on Everglades saltwater fly fishing and also tie salt water flies.
4 - 5 p.m. Bert Bowler - Bert's slide program will be the story on three dams that were removed in Idaho between 1934 and 1973 to benefit salmon and steelhead runs. The dams were located in the Clearwater and Salmon River basins. This will be a good prelude to the debate on breaching the four lower Snake River dams.

Over forty of Treasure Valley's best fly tiers will be on hand to show off their skills

Sponsors: Trout Unlimited, Ted Trueblood Chapter; Boise Valley Fly Fishermen; Boise Valley Woolly Buggers

TROUT UNLIMITED CALENDAR

Wednesday, January 12, 2000 – Monthly Meeting – New Place, Garden City Hall Auditorium 201 E. 50th Street, Garden City. You all know about the proposal to breach dams on the lower Snake River to recover Idaho’s endangered salmon and steelhead runs. Dam removal in Idaho is nothing new, and Bert Bowler, Idaho Department of Fish and Game biologist, is going to present a slide show and discussion covering past dam breaching efforts in our state. Fly tying starts at 6:30 p.m. and the program is at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 29, 2000 – Third Annual Fly Fishing Seminar – Boise State University, Student Union Building. See the ad in this newsletter for details. Don’t miss out on this event!

Wednesday, February 9, 2000 – Monthly Meeting – Garden City Hall Auditorium 201 E. 50th Street, Garden City. Learn why the Boise River reservoir system is operated like it is. The Bureau of Reclamation will provide a slide presentation and oral primer to our group on how and why Anderson Ranch, Arrowrock and Lucky Peak dams and reservoirs are operated throughout the year as they are.

Wednesday, February 23, 2000 – Public Hearing, Army Corps of Engineers Draft Environmental Impact Statement on Improving Migration of Snake River Salmon and Steelhead, Boise Center on the Grove. This is the public hearing on the study that looks at the alternative of breaching the four lower Snake River dams. Public support for salmon and steelhead is needed. Make plans to attend.

Ted Trueblood Chapter News Published 10 times a year Vol. 10; Number 1 Editor: Andy Brunelle Comments and articles may be emailed to tutedtrue@aol.com
Ted Trueblood Chapter Idaho Trout Umlimited