NOR'WESTER NEWSLETTER ISSUE #329                                            

masthead

April 14, 2009

In This Issue:
PNWA continues to defend navigation
Rep. Doc Hastings to speak at PNWA's Mid-Year Meeting
Reminder: PNWA online registration to open tomorrow
PNWA continues to defend navigation
 
In response to the most recent barrage of attacks on the four lower Snake River dams, PNWA has been taking action to set the record straight.  Our message has been consistent: dam breaching is not the answer for fish recovery in the Northwest.  In addition to our recent letter to President Obama, we have responded to several efforts to by dam breaching advocates.
 
Yesterday, PNWA wrote a response to a New York Times editorial. The Times urged President Obama to consider breaching the Snake River dams.  In our response, we focused on the facts.  Juvenile fish survival through the Columbia Snake River System has tripled since the 1970s.  Adult returns are the highest since the 1930s.  To read the entire PNWA response, click here.
 
PNWA has written all 100 outdoor and fishing businesses who signed a February 25 letter to the President in which they urged consideration of Snake River dam removal.  Our letter to these businesses highlighted record Northwest fish returns, as well as the hydropower and barging benefits the river system provides.  To view PNWA's letter, click here.
 
PNWA believes that the 2008 Biological Opinion and the Tribal and State Fish Accords create the pathway to recovery for ESA-listed fish in the Columbia Basin. We urge all parties to end the debate and get down to the important work of implementing projects from the BiOp and Accords to provide benefits for the fish.
 
PNWA staff contact: Glenn Vanselow
Rep. Doc Hastings to speak at PNWA's Mid Year Meeting

PNWA is excited to announce that Congressman Doc Hastings will kick off our Mid-Year Meeting as our keynote speaker on Monday, June 29th!  Rep. Hastings has been a great advocate for issues of importance to PNWA and our membership.  His support for regional economic development and transportation infrastructure has earned him a reputation as an effective leader both in the Northwest and our nation's capital.  In 2007, PNWA honored Rep. Hastings as our Pacific Northwest Waterways Association Legislator of the Year.

During his time in Congress, Rep. Hastings has established a long history of serving the individuals, ports, and communities of Central Washington.  He started the ongoing feasibility study for new water storage in the Yakima Basin, got the federal government engaged in finding a solution for the Odessa Subaquifer, and founded the bipartisan Congressional Nuclear Cleanup Caucus to promote the cleanup of nuclear waste sites like Hanford.   Rep. Hastings was recently selected as the top Republican on the House Natural Resources Committee, overseeing the Bonneville Power Administration, Bureau of Reclamation irrigation projects (including Columbia Basin Project and Yakima Project), endangered species recovery, and federal hydropower projects like those on the Columbia Snake River System. 

The membership of PNWA appreciates the time Rep. Hastings will spend with us at the Mid-Year Meeting, and looks forward to seeing him in June.

PNWA staff contact: Kristin Meira
Reminder: PNWA online registration to open tomorrow!  For more information, log on to our website