Friday, July 29, 2022
CapitalPress.com 3
Newhouse ‘outraged’ by White House dam breaching draft reports
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
Washington Congress-
man Dan Newhouse says
he is “outraged” by the
White House’s recent draft
reports studying breaching
of dams on the lower Snake
River, and that agriculture
was “completely ignored.”
Environmentalists have
long argued that the four
dams must be removed to
promote salmon recovery,
but agricultural stakehold-
ers say those arguments
don’t consider the larger
environmental threats to
the fish, or the broader
impacts to the environment
and economy.
“The Biden adminis-
tration has shoved science
to the wayside, ignoring
the multiple, multi-year,
multi-million-dollar fed-
eral studies that have all
come to the conclusion that
breaching our dams is not
the answer,” Newhouse
told the Capital Press.
“Even worse,” he con-
tinued, “it appears that
the Biden administration’s
(Council on Environmental
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse
Quality) has been working
behind closed doors with
plaintiffs in the ongoing
lawsuit over the (Colum-
bia River system opera-
tion) environmental impact
statement, all while pro-
moting a supposedly open
and transparent stakeholder
listening process meant to
develop a regional solution
for salmon and the river
system.”
Newhouse charged that
“it seems pretty clear” that
the Biden administration is
“working hand-in-hand”
with Washington Gov. Jay
Inslee and Sen. Patty Mur-
ray’s “politically moti-
vated” efforts to breach the
dams, “and Central Wash-
ington communities are
going to pay the price.”
Breaching the dams
requires
congressional
authorization, Newhouse
noted.
“This decision is before
Congress and no one else,”
he said.
Newhouse said he will
continue to educate his col-
leagues, and that the sci-
ence says not only do the
lower Snake River dams
and salmon and co-exist, but
“dams are not the biggest
problem that salmon face.”
“There is much more
to this argument than the
dam-breaching advocates
would like to include, and
I will continue to educate
on all sides of this issue,”
Newhouse said.
Newhouse said he has
extended an invitation to
lawmakers to tour the dams
before, and he will con-
tinue to invite any mem-
ber of Congress, Inslee or
President Joe Biden to visit
the dams and hear directly
from the Army Corps of
Engineers, which operates
the dams every day.
“I would also encour-
age them to come and meet
with the farmers, irriga-
tors, transportation indus-
try, shipping industry, and
ratepayers throughout our
region who rely on the
Lower Snake River Dams,”
he said. “After analyzing
the science, understanding
the impacts, and witness-
ing the benefits that the
dams provide, they would
have a very difficult time
justifying the actions that
they have taken and the
position they continue to
uphold.”
Inslee toured the Snake
River in Asotin County
in 2014, said Mike Faulk,
press secretary for the gov-
ernor’s office.
Newhouse noted that the
report is not an environ-
mental impact statement.
“In fact, it is merely an
opinion from the White
House, and at this point,
we don’t even know if
this opinion was writ-
ten by scientists at all,”
he said.
Congress will continue
oversight on the issue, and
will be asking questions of
the White House and CEQ
moving forward, New-
house said.
Regional quarantine expanded as more cases of bird flu found in Central Oregon
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
BEND, Ore. — The
Oregon Department of
Agriculture is expanding a
regional quarantine around
Bend, limiting the move-
ment of poultry and poul-
try products after confirm-
ing another case of highly
pathogenic avian influenza.
On July 19, ODA and the
USDA Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Ser-
vice detected bird flu in a
non-commercial backyard
flock of about 40 ducks
and chickens, marking the
fourth case in Deschutes
County and ninth case
statewide.
Because the farm sold
eggs, it is classified as poul-
try rather than a backyard
flock by federal definitions,
requiring an expansion of
the quarantine that was first
established July 12.
Birds on the property
were also euthanized to
prevent further spreading
the disease.
The quarantined area
— which already encom-
passed the city of Bend
and outlying areas — has
now been extended by
about seven miles through
the middle of Redmond,
including the Deschutes
County Fairgrounds.
Dr. Ryan Scholz, state
veterinarian for ODA, said
additional surveillance will
not be completed in time
for the Deschutes County
Fair and Rodeo, scheduled
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press File
More bird flu has been found in backyard flocks in Cen-
tral Oregon.
for Aug. 3-7. He is working
with Deschutes County 4-H
on a plan that will allow
participants to exhibit and
sell market birds.
However, a show for
breeding birds will not be
possible.
A regional quarantine
for bird flu covering part
of Lane County in the Wil-
lamette Valley was issued
May 17 and lifted June 7.
ODA says there is no
immediate public health
concern due to bird flu,
and the disease does not
affect poultry meat or eggs,
which remain safe to eat.
Commercial
poultry
farmers and backyard flock
owners should increase
biosecurity to protect their
birds, such as limiting vis-
itors, cleaning and disin-
fecting equipment, keeping
domesticated and wild birds
separated and watching
closely for signs of illness.
Symptoms in poul-
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try may include diarrhea,
incoordination, lethargy,
coughing, sneezing and
sudden death.
As of July 21, the U.S.
Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention reports
bird flu has infected more
than 40.1 million poultry in
37 states, as well as 1,890
wild birds in 44 states.
Only one case of human
transmission has been
reported, at a commercial
farm in Colorado.
To report possible cases
of bird flu in domestic
birds, call ODA at 503-
986-4711. For wild birds,
call the Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife
at 866-968-2600, or email
Wildlife.Health@odfw.
oregon.gov.