well, salmon can't run voting machines, nor do they have bottomless pockets

December 2, 2004

Northwest salmon to lose critical habitat; Bush admin to keep dams

A double dose of salmon news today: The Bush administration

yesterday announced its intention to cut by more than 80 percent the

miles of rivers and streams designated as critical habitat for

threatened and endangered Northwest runs of salmon and steelhead.

The plan, which is subject to a 60-day public comment period, was

drafted with assistance from Mark Rutzick, a former lawyer for the

timber industry who sued the government over salmon protections for

years before being appointed to the National Marine Fisheries Service

last spring. " As cynical as I am, I'm actually surprised at how bad

this [plan] is, " said David Hogan of the Center for Biological

Diversity, an environmental group. Also yesterday, the

administration asserted that big hydroelectric dams on the Columbia

and Snake rivers in the Northwest don't threaten the survival of wild

fish runs (why? because they said so!) and declared that it would no

longer consider dam removal as an option for restoring fish

populations.

straight to the source: The Seattle Times, Craig Welch, 01 Dec 2004

straight to the source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Robert McClure,

01 Dec 2004

straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, Glen Martin, 01 Dec 2004

see also, in Grist: Kick the Habitat -- GOP has set its sights on

revamping the Endangered Species Act -- in Muckraker

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