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Stimulus funds putting members back to work
Lei Calica has learned to op
erate heavy machinery during
work on the Charlie Canyon
Project.
“We went back to work this
month,” Calica said. “It was my
first time running that thing, and
I can’t tell you how great it feels
to be back at work!”
“Right now, they’re putting
culverts into that section,” Leslie
Davis, accounting manager for
Warm Springs Ventures, said.
“When that’s done, they’ll rerock
part of that road.”
Funding for the project came
from stimulus funds through the
BIA. C onstruction received
three large contracts and have
until September of this year to
use those funds.
Up to 12 men are employed
on the project, which will take
another four weeks. Crews will
then move to the Trout Lake
Road and West Hills Projects.
—
May 18, 2011
Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
by Duran Bobb
Yvonne Ivenson/Spilyay
Margaret Buckland (right) and Elvis Frank Sr. (left) are
among the first to ride on the new upgraded Senior Bus.
Staff will assess the bus route as unpaved roads could
cause damage to the undercarriage of the lower bus.
Court checks to be on schedule
Lei Calica (right) and co-worker at Charley Canyon Project site.
Duran Bobb/Spilyay
Court hearing on Columbia River dam plan
(AP) — In what is likely the
final major hearing before a fed
eral judge decides what must be
done to make Columbia River
dams safe for salmon, lawyers
argued last week over just how
m any salm on have to come
back and whether that satisfies
the Endangered Species Act.
The answer is difficult, be
cause the numbers fluctuate
widely from year to year based
on how much food is available
in the ocean, no matter how
many billions of dollars are spent
making dams less lethal to fish.
The hearing in an overflow
ing Portland courtroom was per
haps the final argument in a fight
that has raged since 2001 over
what is called a biological opin
ion— a formal review required
by the Endangered Species Act
as part of the effort to reduce
the harm federal projects such
as dams cause protected wild
life such as salmon.
U.S. D istrict Court Judge
James Redden previously shot
down two Bush administration
plans for restoring salmon runs
and is now considering whether
minor improvements offered by
the Obama administration giv
ing biologists more flexibility to
react to problems are enough to
make the plan work.
The battle comes down to a
choice between cheap and abun
dant power provided by hydro
electric dams on the Columbia
and Snake rivers in Oregon,
Washington and Idaho, and the
many salmon the dams kill as
the young fish migrate to the
ocean and swim upstream as
adults to spawn.
The more water that goes
through the dam turbines, the
cheaper the electricity to farm
ers and electric ratepayers. When
more water is allowed to spill
over the tops of the dams, more
salmon survive.
The central argument by con
servationists is that the current
plan sets too low a bar for
salmon survival.
“The governm ent tries to
work its way around the prob
lem,” said attorney Todd True
o f the co n serv atio n group
Earthjustice. “But there is a fa
tal disconnect in the argument”
that growing salmon population
numbers equals recovery.
Government attorneys coun
tered that the plan is enough to
assure salmon survive, and con
servationists are m issing the
point.
The numbers of salmon fluc
tuate year to year, said U.S. Jus
tice Department lawyer Colby
Howell, and it’s impossible to
know whether the numbers the
court is using represent a valid
picture of what salmon popula
tions should look like. He said
ocean conditions and river man
agem ent play a large role in
salmon runs.
The plaintiffs are “playing a
game of back-and-forth where
they’re making up the rules,”
Howell said.
National Oceanic and Atmo
spheric Administration deputy
regional adm inistrator Barry
Thom said outside court that the
government might never make
the conservationists happy.
“I’m not sure we can,” Thom
said. “They’re willing to do any
thing to push for dam breach
ing. That seems to be the heart
PUC endorses removal of Klamath dams
(AP) — The California Public
Utilities Commission this month
endorsed removing four hydro
electric dams on the Klamath
River to help salmon.
Meeting in San Francisco, the
commission also granted Portland-
based dam-owner PacifiCorp a 2
percent rate increase for its
45,000 customers in California to
help pay for removing the dams
in Southern Oregon and North
ern California.
The $13.8 million raised by
the surcharge during the next
nine years goes into trust funds
New bus for Seniors
to be used if federal authorities
approve the removal.
The decision followed the
recommendation of an admin
istrative law judge. PacifiCorp
had argued it was better to take
out the dams than face the un
certain costs o f upgrading to
meet environmental standards
for clean water and fish passage.
Projected to begin in 2020,
removal of the dams is part of
a landmark agreement to help
salmon, give farmers better as
surances of irrigation, and re
store the ecology of the Kla-
math basin.
Glen Spain o f the Pacific
C oast
F ederatio n
of
Fishermen’s Associations said
the action caps potential costs
for ratep ayers, saving them
from the uncertainties of hav
ing to pay for future lawsuits and
dam upgrades.
He added that the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission
estimated the upgrades would
reduce power output by more
than a quarter, causing the dams
to operate at a net loss of $20
million a year.
r
of their argument.”
C onservation groups and
some Indian tribes have long
argued that restoring a free-flow
ing Snake River by breaking
through four dams in Eastern
Washington is the only way to
bring struggling salmon runs
back to thriving instead of just
surviving.
One biological opinion by the
Clinton administration put that
prospect on the table, but the
Bush administration took it off.
The Obama administration has
said it might study dam breach
ing as a last resort if other steps
fail.
Conservationists argue the
governm ent’s projections for
improving salmon populations
have failed before. Habitat im
provements planned from 2007
to 2009 were often delayed or
proved infeasible, and there was
no effort to relate the habitat
improvements that were made
to increased salmon survival.
Salmon advocates say the lat-
est rev ised plan from the
Obama administration is little
d ifferen t than the Bush
administration’s 2008 plan and
has little scientific evidence to
back it up. “If the fish are not
replacing them selves, there’s
only one thing they can do,” True
said. “And that's go extinct.”
Starting this month, Warm
Springs Tribal Court will be on
a check authorization schedule.
Authorization will take place
on the second Thursday of each
month, with the checks to be
mailed out the next day when
possible.
Tentative authorization days
are June 10, July 15, August 12,
September 9, Octpber 14, and
December 9 2011.
Tribal court will not release
checks for personal pick-up. All
checks must be mailed out.
Big horn spotting
Yvonne Ivenson/Spilyay
These two big horn sheep ewes live near the Warm
Springs Reservation, and are often seen on the
Highway 26 grade toward the Agency Plane. They are
not part of the tribes’ big horn sheep recovery project,
based in the Mutton Mountains, but instead these two
arrived to the region on their own, said Doug Calvin, of
tribal Natural Resources.
Fresh Produce at Commodities
The Commodities Food
Program is now offering
new fresh produce items
such as baby carro ts,
cauliflow er, celery, ro
m aine le ttu ce, granny
smith apples, and north
west pears.
P lease stop in, get
signed-up, and receive
some healthy, fantastic
fresh produce today!
W a rm S p rin g s
MARKET
Beads, Native American Gifts,
Museum, Deli, Grocery, Ice, Fishing
Permits, Western Union, Check-Free
Bill Pay, ATM and Much More!
2132 Warm Springs St., Warm Springs - ph. 541-553-1597
Located at the comer of Warm Springs St. and Hollywood Blvd.
Open Wednesday through Saturday
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Ph. 541-553-1041
Over 500 companies can be p aid through
our check-free service including: Pacific
Power, D irect TV, Verison, and Qwest.
J