Manager's Report

Every month, I like to take a minute and report on some of the issues that Lane Electric deals with. Sometimes, I may write about poles, lines and wires. Other times, it might be about power supply issues, service interruptions or member meeting schedules. And sometimes, it’s simply to keep you informed about what goes on at Lane Electric, your cooperative. Be sure to check out the Ruralite pages on our site for other information you might be interested in, too.

Dear Member:

There has been a lot of discussion in the news lately about the salmon recovery efforts in the Northwest and associated costs. Much time, effort, emotion and money have already been spent in search of a win-win solution - and it’s not over yet.

Despite recent reports that federal regulators may close ocean fishing from Oregon’s north coast to the Mexico border, fishing season on the Columbia River opened last month right on schedule.
Chinook salmon run in the Columbia River are predicted to be good this year, and that’s good news. However, the tenuous, fragile nature of fish runs combined with the sudden collapse of west coast Chinook salmon is disconcerting.

Four key areas must be addressed if salmon recovery efforts are to be successful; habitat, harvest, hatcheries and hydro-power.

In the past 20 years, Northwest rate-payers have invested more than $9 billion through their electric bills to restore Northwest fish and wildlife resources in two specific areas: hydro-system operations and habitat improvements. Harvest and hatcheries have received far less attention.
Unless harvest and hatcheries undergo major reforms, like hydro-power and habitat have, the likelihood that federally listed salmon runs will be protected, much less recover becomes questionable.

When it comes to the salmon harvest in the Columbia River, some simply want to know who gets how much? Others question whether or not there should even be a harvest given the decline; delicate and passionate issues, to be sure.

Harvest specifically targets runs of hatchery fish. And hatcheries were built to provide fish for “harvest” to help balance or mitigate human-caused losses of wild or native fish.

Today, one of the biggest concerns is gill netting which is indiscriminate. Whether hatchery or wild, gill nets capture and kill all the salmon caught in the net. Different with sport fishing, protected salmon can be identified and must be returned to the river.

In 2007 alone, more than $860 million was invested in regional salmon recovery measures, including providing added flows or “spill” for fish which resulted in significant losses of hydro energy production. As a side note, the commercial harvest on the lower Columbia has been valued at approximately $4 million annually.

Colleague and friend, Terry Flores, Executive Director of the Alliance of Columbia and Snake River Users seems to have said it best: “The answer to salmon recovery is not to throw more money at it, but to ensure that the dollars are well spent and deliver results. A rigorous scientific analysis, and a comprehensive approach covering all factors affecting listed salmon, is essential to ensure this happens.” I couldn’t agree more.

Rick Crinklaw,
General Manager