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<P class=MsoNormal><FONT color=black size=4><SPAN
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prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
/><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">SALMON
RUNS:<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Managers
to close salmon fisheries in Oregon and Northern
California<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Seattle</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place></st1:City><B><FONT
face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">
Post-Intelligencer – 3/7/06<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">By
Robert McClure, staff writer<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Federal
fisheries managers in <st1:City w:st="on">Seattle</st1:City> on Tuesday declared
their intention to close summer salmon fisheries off <st1:State
w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State> and <st1:place w:st="on">Northern
California</st1:place> to protect a stock battered by controversial water
diversions to help farmers.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">“It’s huge
and unprecedented” to take such a sweeping action, said Brian Gorman, a
spokesman for the National Marine Fisheries Service, whose officials briefed the
Pacific Fishery Management Council. “It’s a big deal and it’s tough for
fishermen.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
closure to help the ailing Klamath River fall chinook run means that the much
larger and healthier <st1:place w:st="on">Sacramento River</st1:place> salmon
stocks must also be left alone. It would affect waters off a 700-mile stretch of
coastline from Northern Oregon to <st1:place w:st="on">Big Sur</st1:place>,
south of San Fransisco. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">“If (the
closure) were only the Klamath stocks, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but they mix
with other stocks on the West coast and they’re indistinguishable,” Gorman said.
Virtually all the fish in question are landed and eaten in northern <st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State> and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">NMFS
official Peter Dygert told the fishery council that the move still must be
approved by the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality, said <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Seattle</st1:place></st1:City> fisherman Joel
Kawahara.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Only a
handful of fishing vessels from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Seattle</st1:City></st1:place> target the salmon stocks in question.
But the proposed closure could have impacts in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">Washington</st1:State></st1:place> as displaced fishermen from the
south seek salmon here, Gorman said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
Klamath, in southern <st1:State w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State> and northern
<st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">California</st1:place></st1:State>,
became a flashpoint in the battle between farmers and fish advocates early this
decade, with the Bush administration siding with farmers.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Later, a
massive die-off of Klamath salmon was traced by scientists to a parasite in the
river that fares well when river flows are low and temperatures warm – as when
water was diverted to farm fields.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
<st1:place w:st="on">Klamath River</st1:place> stock that spurred the closure
has failed to reach a population goal for the third year running, NMFS
scientists say. Fisheries managers targeted the Klamath stock to return to
36,000 fish. But current counts indicate the actual number will fall short of
that by about 6,000 fish, Gorman said.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Karahawa,
the <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Seattle</st1:place></st1:City>
fisherman, questioned why the White House should be involved in the decision.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">“I’m
concerned about the Klamath River stocks and I’m concerned about the political
interference by the administration in the recovery of the <st1:place
w:st="on">Klamath River</st1:place> stocks,” Karahawa said. “I’m angry about the
diversion of the water. I’m angry about the fact that for conservation needs,
they will shut down the fishery – however, there will be no adequate measures
taken in (the) river to support fish.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">If the
season is closed, the government would work to expedite federal disaster relief
for fishermen, said Frank Lockhart, director of NMFS’ northwest sustainable
fisheries division.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
council is expected to make its final recommendation to NMFS when it meets again
in April in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:City></st1:place>. But NMFS officials have the final
say, and they are the ones who announced their intentions on
Tuesday.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The fish
in question are not protected under the Endangered Species Act.
#<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><A
href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/262103_salmon07ww.html">http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/262103_salmon07ww.html</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Editorial:
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Klamath</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Basin</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> salmon
echoes<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><B><FONT face=Tahoma
color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">Seattle</SPAN></FONT></B></st1:place></st1:City><B><FONT
face=Tahoma color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">
Times – 3/8/06</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">A sharply
reduced salmon-fishing season may be the unhappy outcome of a meeting of
policymakers in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Seattle</st1:City></st1:place> this week. They are dealing with poor
decisions made by others five years ago in <st1:State
w:st="on">Oregon</st1:State>'s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Klamath</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Basin</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Dramatically
reducing the season from Northern Oregon into <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">California</st1:State></st1:place>, a 700-mile stretch, is necessary
to save chinook at sea as they commingle with other salmon. Protecting one means
cutting back on the catch of all. The options for the Pacific Fishery Management
Council range from bad to devastating, but the choices between levels of
curtailment and outright ban are about saving a fishery. It's that
fundamental.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Chinook
runs on the <st1:place w:st="on">Klamath River</st1:place> never rebounded from
a historic fish kill in the basin in fall 2002, and from devastating and
successive bouts of a parasite that claimed juvenile
salmon.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">In a
region with complex water issues, a brutal political shorthand reduced the
competition for water to one of fish vs. farmers. Agriculture had suffered
through a terrible drought in 2001. Over the protests of federal agencies, the
headgates were opened with a flourish in spring 2002 by two Bush administration
Cabinet members to increase water for irrigation.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">By fall,
salmon died in numbers subsequently estimated at 70,000 because of low flows of
warm water. An investigation by the California Department of Fish and Game laid
the blame on the federal government for conditions that allowed disease to
flourish and spread.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">This
fishery is dwarfed by the salmon harvest from <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State
w:st="on">Alaska</st1:State></st1:place> and competition grows from farm-raised
salmon, but the economic impact is still significant. The alternative, really
not a choice at all, is to risk harm that jeopardizes incomes beyond
recovery.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The
council's final recommendation will come next month at a meeting in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Sacramento</st1:City></st1:place>. The hard
choices driven by the Klamath experience come after a success story on the
<st1:place w:st="on">Sacramento River</st1:place>, which enjoyed a healthy
rebound of salmon.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Poor
choices five years ago in one basin haunt an entire industry.
#<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black
size=4><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><A
href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2002850635_fished08.html">http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2002850635_fished08.html</A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=black
size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; COLOR: black"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>