Obama Administration
releases climate change assessment
Making a point to say that it is "a product spanning two
Presidential administrations and transcends political leanings or biases", the
Obama Administration released a detailed assessment of "Global Climate Change
Impacts in the United States" on June 16.
The report says that "remedial action is needed sooner
rather than later and that necessary actions include both global emissions
reductions to reduce the extent of climate change and local adaptation measures
to reduce the damage from changes that are no longer avoidable".
Impacts are provided by sector of the economy and by region.
For example, decreasing snowpack would alter
the amount and timing of water available for hydropower production. Inland
waterways would be affected by lower water levels. Agriculture would be
affected by increased length of growing season, less water and more droughts.
In the Northwest, the report says that coastal communities would
have rising sea levels and increased likelihood of flooding. Much of Harbor
Island in Seattle is likely to be under water by the end of this century if
moderate or high estimates of sea level change materialize. The Cascades April
1 snowpack would decline 40 percent by the 2040s. Warm season runoff would decline
by as much as 30 percent. Forest fire risk increases.
The report offers a grim outlook for salmon. "Studies
suggest that about one-third of the current habitat for the Northwest's salmon
and other coldwater fish will no longer be suitable for them by the end of this
century as key temperature thresholds are exceeded." Higher winter streamflows would
damage spawning beds, earlier peak flows would flush juveniles to the estuaries
before they are mature enough, warmer water in the rivers will harm the fish.
And, rising ocean temperatures would reduce ocean survival. The full 188-page report is available at www.globalchange.gov/usimpacts.
PNWA is already engaged in
addressing the issue, and will be meeting with the Administration next week. For
highlights of our work to promote low cost, fuel efficient and clean
infrastructure, view "PNWA's 2009 Climate Change Agenda". Our newest fact sheet titled "Snake River dams: Clean, efficient, economical energy and transportation" is also featured on our website and highlights the navigation and energy benefits of the Snake River dams.
Staff
contact: Glenn Vanselow
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PNWA op ed published
in Idaho Statesman
As part of our diligent defense of Snake River dams and the
benefits they provide to our region, PNWA Executive Director Glenn Vanselow
crafted an opinion editorial for the Idaho Statesman titled "It's time to stop
debating and focus on rebuilding fish runs".
The op-ed was published this past weekend in the Sunday edition of the
paper, and focused on PNWA's continuing support of the BiOp and our desire to
focus the region's attention on the on-the ground actions that will rebuild
fish runs. To view Glenn's op-ed in
full, please click here.
Staff contact: Glenn Vanselow
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Two new agenda items added to
PNWA Mid-Year Meeting
If you have not registered for the upcoming PNWA Mid-Year Meeting,
there are now two additional agenda items to entice you to attend and to add
even more value to our exciting meeting program!
-
Kevin Brice, Deputy District Engineer of the Corps' Portland District
and Alan Feistner, Deputy District Engineer of the Corps' Walla Walla District,
will be addressing attendees on the 2011 Columbia Snake River System lock
outage. They will specifically discuss
funding levels for the
projects to be tackled during the extended outage, and how
we can work together to minimize
impacts to river users and to ensure a reliable river system for the future.
-
Our 2009 Mid-Year Meeting program focuses on offering you stimulating
ideas and actions to take home and immediately apply to your organization and
community. As scheduled, Delore Zimmerman will address the meeting at lunch
Tuesday, June 30. He developed the High Performance Community Initiative and authored
"The Mobilization of Territorial Alliances to Enhance Economic
Development" and co-authored "High-Performance Communities: New
Economy Ideas into Action" with Phil Burgess. He has also co-authored Redeveloping
America's Productive Capacity: A Heartland Development Strategy with Joel
Kotkin.. Following lunch, Delore will conduct a hands-on workshop featuring
Wenatchee, Walla Walla, Ridgefield and Skagit County as case studies on how to
stimulate economic activity.
We want to continue this discussion with a large-scale roundtable at the Board
Meeting on Wednesday, July 1st, 8am-11am. We encourage all PNWA members to attend and
to take part in the discussion. If you
would like to participate, please come to the meeting prepared to very briefly
discuss the following questions: -
How is your community/port/organization doing?
-
What are you doing in response?
-
What is working and what isn't?
We
believe this will be a fantastic way for you to go home having had the
opportunity to participate in finding solutions and to take ideas home to
implement.
There is still time left to register for this meeting, so make your plans to
attend today! For more information, log
on to www.pnwa.net and view
our draft agenda. To register now, click here.
Staff contact: Heather Stebbings
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Date changed for "World's Toughest Fixes: Columbia
River Dam"
As previously reported, John Day lock and dam will be featured on an upcoming
episode of National Geographic's "World's Toughest Fixes: Columbia River
Dam". The program, originally set
to air on June 18th, will now be shown on Thursday, July 16th
at 9pm. World's Toughest Fixes follows some of the world's most daunting
repair jobs, and the episode featuring John Day lock and dam will follow host
Sean Riley as he rides up the Columbia River to film the replacement of the
John Day lock's upstream gate. Replacement of the lock gate was due to
the barge accident on February 28, 2008. PNWA was able to provide
background information on this project, as well as the Columbia Snake River
System, to producers of the show. Don't miss this exciting opportunity to
watch first hand, as the gate is barged down the Columbia River, lifted into
position, and becomes a fully operational part of the navigation lock.
Staff Contact: Heather Stebbings
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Sign up for the PNWA 75th Anniversary Golf Scramble
Lake Chelan is a premiere golf destination! The new Bear Mountain
Ranch is a championship level 18-hole golf course recently ranked one
of the top six new golf courses in the U.S.! PNWA's 75th Anniversary
tournament is open to all of our meeting registrants and friends, and
will begin at 4:30pm on Tuesday, June 30 with a shotgun start. It will be a traditional
scramble format, opening up the tournament to all golfing abilities.
Cost for the event is $35.00, and includes a GPS equipped power cart
and range balls. For more information, or to sign up to play, contact Heather Stebbings at heather.kenneson@pnwa.net or 503-234-8553.
Staff Contact: Heather Stebbings
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