369 



and drop the ball on the pivotal issue of reservoir drawdowns, e.g., to call for more studies of the 

 studies, "better science," and thereby undermine the Council's Strategy for Salmon. [BPNUCC of 

 course planted their man on the recovery team; by all accounts he has done them yeoman's service.] 

 Public salmon advocates will attempt to get a federal court, ala the spotted owl, to remind NMFS 

 and its recovery team that the ESA is the floor of protection; it cannot legally be used to undennine 

 greater protection afforded under other law, i.e., the Northwest Power Aa. 



3] Bonneville asserts that its current financial condition will prevent or delay fitll implementation of 

 the Council's fish and wildlife program. What measures can Bonneville take to ensure more stable 

 finding for the Council's fish and wildlife programs, given its wide swings in revenues? 



Bonneville has demonstrated it will say or do almost anything to prevent or delay full 

 implementation of the Council's program. The Council's program is a small fraction of Bonneville's 

 budget. If Bonneville had any intention of fiiUy implementing the Council's program it would easily 

 plan for wide swings in revenue like any responsible agency would do. 



Bonneville knows the approximate cost of the Council's program. The President and/or the 

 Congress should firmly disabuse Bonneville of the idea that it will succeed in avoiding having to 

 implement the program and simply require the agency to set its rates at the required level. 



4J What can be done to facilitate water conservation and other changes in regional water 

 management to provide increased flows for power production and salmon recovery? 



In the short-term it simply is not practical to look to water conservation as making a substantive 

 contribution to salmon recovery. The salmon will not recover unless the main-stem juvenile fish 

 passage problem is resolved, and this problem cannot be treated with water conservation, only with 

 reservoir drawdowns in the lower Snake and a combination of drawdowns and reservoir releases in 

 the Columbia. 



Given reservoir drawdowns to ensure salmon recovery, water conservation has enormous potential 

 for complementary flow enhancement in tributary spawning and rearing areas, and over the long- 

 term, for marginally increasing hydropower production, among other public benefits. 



I have appended a detailed response to this question prepared by my colleagues at the Columbia 

 Basin Instimte. 



Other water management changes are necessary and doable in the shon-term. These include 

 use of non-treaty storage in Canadian reservoirs to enhance passage and survival of juvenile fish 

 migrating in the main-stem Columbia River. The Bureau of Reclamation has more than 3 million 

 acre feet of uncontracted storage behind Grand Coulee; the Secretary of Interior and BurRec 

 Commissioner should tell the BurRec NW Regional Director to teU BPNUCC to suck eggs and then 

 use that storage to improve juvenile fish passage pending drawdown of John Day Reservoir; this 

 may be the only way to force BPNUCC [and thereby the Corps] to stop fighting John Day 



