Managing waterways to protect endangered species is a precision task, especially under changing conditions. The Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association (CSRIA) sent a formal letter recently to the Engineer Inspector General of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Commerce, which runs National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.

The group is requesting a formal investigation regarding the Columbia River Fish Managers' decision in 2015 to allow Endangered Species Act-listed salmon and steelhead migrations to remain in the Lower Snake River during extremely poor in-river conditions, rather than rely on Army Corp of Engineers' successful juvenile fish transportation program.

The letter commented that "the fish were exposed to adverse river conditions that almost certainly proved fatal, and have contributed to the low adult fish returns now occurring in 2017."

In the letter, the organization said records show that fish managers deviated from the legally required ESA Biological Opinion "spread the risk" policy in spring 2015, when they transported only 13% of juvenile salmon and steelhead during low-flow and high-temperature conditions. The letter noted that this is "when young fish are the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of remaining in the river."

They observed that according to records, this 13% move was the "lowest percent transported since records were first kept in 1993. The action defied judgement."

CSRIA noted that in addition to failing to meet the "legal ESA obligation to optimize fish survival, the fish managers overlooked their obligation to create a transparent administrative record showing why they made this unusual decision."

Look at the record
The group points to records that show NOAA Fisheries' scientists attempted to obtain agreement for an early start date to transportation to get the juvenile fish out of the river during poor survival conditions. But other agency fish managers did not support this action, and for reasons not shown in the record, "The Corps apparently felt helpless to act on NOAA Fisheries' repeated requests."

CSRIA noted that the only practical alternative is to invoke a hydro-project exemption, allowed under ESA statute, commonly called the "God Squad" review. The ESA "God Squad" has seven members: The Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of the Army, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, administrator of the EPA, Secretary of the Interior, administrator of NOAA and one individual from the affected state. For an exemption to be enacted, five of the seven members must vote in favor.

The group noted that this process takes time, and that in the meantime, they will need to "live with the ESA litigation process and attempt to make intelligent management decisions regarding ESA-listed fish."

The group asserts that the 2015 action "likely killed significant quantities of ESA-listed fish." You can learn more about the group at csria.org.

Source: Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association