243 



The Bcvan Committee recommeodatioos do no go far enough toward changing the system 



In general, these recommendations are aiming at the wrong targets Minor fixes of the system an 



dmore barging will not solve the problem The Bevan Team suffered from the same unwillingness 



to look at the full range of options that caused Judge Marsh to throw out the 1993 Biological 



Opinion (in which NMFS overruled its own scientific staff recommendations to adopt a "no 



jeopardy" ruling for the hydropower system as a whole) In Judge Marsh's opinion, after lengthy 



analysis of the NMFS 1993 Biological Opinion, he noted: 



"NMFS has dearly made an effort to create a rational, reasoned process for determining 

 how the action agencies are doing in their efforts to save the listed salmon species. But the 

 process is seriously, 'significantly, 'flawed because it is too heavily geared towards a status 

 quo that has allowed all forms of river activity to proceed in a deficit situation - that is. 

 relatively small steps, minor improvements and adjustments — when the situation literally 

 cries out for a major overhaul. Instead of looking for what Qisi be done to protect the 

 species from jeopardy, NMFS and the action agencies have narrowly focussed their attention 

 on what the establishment is capable of handling with minimal disruption... [I] find that 

 defendants' 1993 Biological Opinion on Hydropower Operations is arbitrary and capricious 

 and otherwise not in accordance with the meaning and underlyng purposes of the 

 Endangered Species Act, Sec. 7(a)(2), with respect to the chosen jeopardy standard and their 

 consideration of reasonable and prudent alternatives to avoid jeopardy. " '^ 



The same problem is carried over here — these recommendations simply do not go far enough and 

 amount to only fairly minor changes of a system that "cries out for a major overhaul " Its time to 

 admit that the system itself has created this biological disaster and get on with the costs of the 

 changes that must sooner or later be made. 



Conclusion and summary 



To summarize, the chief problems with the Bevan Committee's recommendations are as foQows 



(1) Overemphasis on artificial transportation programs which have little demonstrated scientific 

 validity or efficacy, 



(2) Too little emphasis on spill and other flow augmentation programs which we know are 

 effective and which are already a well worked out tool for better fish management; 



12 Idaho Dept of Fish & Game vs. MMFS. et al. (USDC-OR No 92-973-MA), Opinion of Judge Marsh, 

 March 28, 1994. 



13 



