649 



Editorials 



Eugene, Oregon, Saturday, September 11, 1993 



Restore wildlife funds 



By law, the Bonneville Power Ad- 

 ministration must "protect, miti- 

 gate and enhance" wildlife 

 harmed by the Northwest's system of 

 dams and power lines. The BPA, how- 

 ever, is treating an imporfar.t part of 

 its responsibility to wildlife as though 

 it can be ignored until the budgetary 

 climate improves. Oregon stands to 

 lose the most because of the agency's 

 attitude, and the state's congressmen 

 should do what they can to change it. 

 Protecting, mitigating and enhanc- 

 ing wildlife has generally meant cre- 

 ating refuges to replace areas blocked 

 or inundated by dam construction. In 

 the past, the BPA has approved the 

 purchase of wetlands or other wildlife 

 preserves on a project-by-project ba- 

 sis. Last year, the BPA abandoned 

 that process in favor of giving the 

 states a lump sum, which state wild- 

 life agencies could use as they see 

 best for purchasing or improving 

 wildlife habitat 



Montana has already received $12 

 million for wildlife mitigation under 

 these lump-sum trust fund arrange- 

 ments. Idaho has received a partial 

 payment of $10 million. Washington 

 and the BPA agreed to an interim fig- 

 ure of J45 million, with more to come 

 eventually. But Oregon has received 

 no trust fund money, and none is in- 

 cluded in the BPA budget for this pur- 

 pose. 



Delaying wildlife habitat protec- 

 tion and improvement projects tends 

 to increase their cost and diminish 

 their effectiveness. Opportunities to 

 purchase wildlife-rich land grow 

 more scarce each year as develop- 

 ment advances. Establishing or main- 

 taining viable wildlife populations be- 

 comes more difficult as the pressure 

 on those populations increases. The 

 BPA won't save money in the long-run 

 by deferring its wildlife obligations. 



A prime example of the potential 

 for lost opportunities lies near Eugene 

 and Springfield at the confluence of 

 the Middle and Coast forks of the Wil- 

 lamette River. This area, onre mined 

 for gravel, is rich in fish and wildlife. 

 It's an excellent candidate for acquisi- 

 tion as a preserve to mitigate dam- 

 related damage to fish and wildlife 

 elsewhere in the Willamette basin. 

 The land lies next to the Howard 

 Buford Recreation Area and could be- 

 come part of a wetlands and green- 

 way system extending all the way lo 

 Fern Ridge Reservoir. 



The Wildish Land Co. owns the 

 prorf^riy ind is interested in building 



houses, a golf course, a recreational 

 vehicle park and business retreat cen- 

 ter. Wildish is willing to consider of- 

 fers for public acquisition, but the 

 company won't defer its development 

 plans indefinitely, waiting for a public 

 offer that may never come. If the 

 Wildish parcel is developed, finding 

 other property whose purchase as a 

 preserve would do as much for wild- 

 life would be difficult and expensive. 



There's no guarantee that any par- 

 ticular parcel would be saved if Ore- 

 gon received its share of BPA wildlife 

 trust funds. The state Department of 

 Fish and Wildlife would evaluate the 

 costs and l>enefits of purchasing or 

 leasing sensitive lands throughout the 

 area affected by BPA projects. But 

 the Wildish land certainly looks like a 

 good candidate for acquisition. With- 

 out BPA funds, it and similarly valu- 

 able wildlife areas may soon be lost 



The SPA'S budget problems make 

 it harder to find money for any of its 

 fish and wildlife conservation pro- 

 grams. Among those programs, restor- 

 ing wild salmon is taking first priority 

 because several runs have been listed 

 as endangered species. Yet the cost of 

 the BPA's entire wildlife program has 

 never been more than a small compo- 

 nent in the agency's rates. Giving Ore- 

 gon its share of trust fund money 

 would not require a substantial shift 

 in the BPA budget 



Sen. Mark Hatfield, whose appro- 

 priations subcommittee reviews the 

 BPA budget says he would be reluc- 

 tant to insert a line item requiring the 

 agency to spend money on Oregon 

 wildlife. He shouldn't have lo — mea- 

 sures to protect mitigate and enhance 

 wildlife are already required by law. 

 The law doesn't say the BPA must 

 compensate for power projects' dam- 

 age to wildlife when it's convenient or 

 when budgets are loose. Wildlife pro- 

 grams are a continuing obligation — 

 one that the BPA should not ignore. 



Quotable 



From the newspaper Borba, of 

 Belgrade, as reprinted in World 

 Press Review: "Whether you 

 want to admit it or not, Bosnia wa.<i 

 writien off and erased from the list of 

 the living precisely at the moment 

 when its independence and sovereign- 

 ty were recognized by the worid's po- 

 litical elites." 



