SENATORS HEAR VARIED SNAKE RIVER OPINIONS

The members of the Senate subcommittee on water and power who attended Wednesday's hearing heard the views of nine panelists on the issue of breaching four Snake River dams.

Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., said he believes dams and salmon can be reconciled but he emphasized his view that one cannot be harmed at the expense of the other.

Ideas and opinions on how to make that happen dominated the 2-1/2 hour hearing as Smith and Republican Sens. Slade Gorton of Washington and Larry Craig of Idaho heard from a variety of Pacific Northwest voices. Gorton stayed just long enough to make an opening statement, though, and Craig attended only a portion of the session. That left Smith as the only committee member hearing from the last four panelists. In his opening statements, Craig decried "the bureaucracy of salmon" and reaffirmed his opposition to breaching the four dams in southeastern Washington state - Ice Harbor, Little Goose, Lower Monumental and Lower Granite. "I will not hold my state hostage to save these fish," Craig said. He also pressed the National Marine Fisheries Service to explain the federal agency's take on the issue. Donna Darm, an assistant regional administrator for the NMFS, told the panel her agency is prepared to take necessary actions to help the fish. "If the region does not reach a consensus on a plan for the future, the federal agencies must still act to discharge their legal obligations," she said. The senators also heard from Canadian biologist David Welch, who said the salmon population has declined because fewer salmon are surviving the trip back from the ocean. That challenges the belief that salmon reach the ocean weaker because of the dams. Welch also confirmed Craig's statement that higher predation has also reduced the number of young salmon. After Craig left, Smith listened to a spokesman from the fishing industry comment about the four dams. Glen Spain, regional director for the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, said the dams had little irrigation or flood control significance and that they hurt fishermen downstream. "I don't think it makes sense to save dams at any cost," Spain said. "We have traded upper-river economies for lower-river economies." Supporters on both sides of the issue continue to debate scientific studies, funding options and the merits of proposed solutions. Smith said that the dams are only a small part of the bigger picture. A several-thousand-mile-problem can not possibly be solved with a 125-mile solution, he said. Despite the suggestions offered at Wednesday's hearing, lawmakers are no closer to settling the matter. Another subcommittee hearing is scheduled for September. Breaching the dams will ultimately require congressional approval.

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