September 17, 2002

Environmental Watch: $10M for state habitat plans, land buys

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has awarded over $10 million in grants to Washington state projects to protect endangered and threatened species.

The grants are part of an overall $68 million issued through the agency's Habitat Conservation Planning Assistance and Land Acquisition Program.

Under the program, the Fish and Wildlife Service provides up to 75 percent of the funding for land acquisition and conservation planning. Local partners contribute the rest.

The Washington grants are:

• $1,066,505 to the Washington Department of Natural Resources to support development of a statewide habitat conservation plan based upon the "Forests and Fish" agreement between the state and timber interests. The plan will cover up to 10.3 million acres of non-federal land harboring 30 species that are in some form of jeopardy, including six salmon species and bull trout.

• $3,297,569 for land acquisition in the Yakima River wildlife corridor in Kittitas County. The acquisition is associated with the Plum Creek Habitat Conservation Plan and will purchase nearly 2,200 acres of habitat to benefit the northern spotted owl, gray wolf, grizzly bear, bald eagle and bull trout. The land acquisition will help provide wildlife corridors that enable animals to travel north and south along the Cascade Crest. The Cascades Conservation Partnership has raised $2.4 million in matching funds, and the Plum Creek Timber Co. has donated $50,000.

• $5,482,000 for land acquisition in Jefferson and Clallam counties. This money will be used to purchase 365 acres of old growth forest adjacent to Washington State Department of Natural Resources land. The grant, associated with a DNR conservation plan, will benefit the threatened marbled murrelet.

• $1,800,000 for land acquisition in the Methow Valley. The grant will help fund the purchase of 568 acres of land including five miles of river frontage and forest along the Methow River in Okanogan County. The purchase is part of the long-running Methow Valley Protection Project, which has already secured more than 10,000 acres of land for habitat protection.

According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Methow is the only watershed in the country where the northern spotted owl, bald eagle, grizzly bear, Canada lynx, bull trout and gray wolf occur together. All are federally listed as endangered or threatened.

International Paper water rights challenged

DUNES CITY, Ore. (AP) -- International Paper Co., local residents and officials and a state water advocacy group are headed for a showdown over water rights.

The company has held permits to use water from Siltcoos and Tahkenitch lakes since 1960 for its paper mill operations at Gardiner. The mill shut down in 1998, but International Paper has continued to regulate lake levels.

The company in February was granted tentative certificates giving them permanent rights to the water, but Siltcoos Lake residents, Dunes City officials and WaterWatch of Oregon have challenged the application.

The permit process should include a hearing, said Karen Russell, WaterWatch attorney. She said because the company is no longer using the water, the rights should return to public ownership.

The lakes are near Dunes City, which is about 50 miles southwest of Eugene on the central coast.

Tilth convention in Yakima Nov. 8-10

YAKIMA -- Tilth Producers, the state’s non-profit association of organic and sustainable farmers, will hold its annual conference at the Yakima Convention Center, Nov. 8 through Nov. 10.

John Ikerd, a social economist and professor emeritus at the University of Missouri, will give the keynote address on the critical role of sustainable family farms in national and global systems.

Workshops with organic farmers and researchers will be offered, including a special track for fruit growers.

Lectures and hands-on workshops are tailored for both new and experienced growers, including topics such as marketing, large-scale composting, pests and diseases, soil nutrition, farm management, tools, innovation in local agriculture, and the economy of small farms.

The Tilth Producers conference will be preceded by a one-day research symposium sponsored by Washington State University, highlighting the latest research findings in biologically intensive agriculture. An industry-related trade show and an organic wine tasting will also be held.

For more information or to register for the conference, contact Nancy Allen of Tilth Producers, (206)442-7620 or e-mail nancy@tilthproducers.org or see the Web site www.tilthproducers.org.

Dead fish dump is industry first

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- A Vancouver Island salmon farm has dumped hundreds of tons of dead fish off the west coast of the island.

It was the first such ocean disposal permit issued to the aquaculture industry by Environment Canada.

Dixie Sullivan, a program scientist with the department's ocean disposal section, said the government is allowed Grieg Seafood to dispose of up to 2,800 metric tons because the weight of the dead fish threatened to sink the farm.

Sullivan said the permit was issued under an emergency provision of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

"Normally, the fish are swimming, so there's no weight on the fish-farm nets," she explained. "So when they're dead, they're laying on nets, and that weight puts the farm under.

"There was a concern there would be a release of live fish (alien Atlantic salmon) -- not to mention you don't want 2,800 tons on one spot, which could also cause an unacceptable risk to the environment."

Grieg Seafood managing director Peter Gibson said the fourth and final load of dead fish were dumped over the weekend at the designated site, about 20 miles west of the island.

Gibson said only 850-900 metric tons need to be disposed of at sea because the remaining fish have survived.

He said the problem began Sept. 2, when a toxic algae bloom never seen before in British Columbia began killing fish at the company's farm in Esperanza Inlet.

There wasn't time to take the dead fish to the nearest fish-rendering plant in Vancouver or to a landfill, he said.

Environmentalists say the Environment Canada permit sets a bad precedent.

Otto Langer, the David Suzuki Foundation's director of marine conservation and a former federal fisheries official, noted the Fisheries Act prohibits dumping dead fish or offal into fish-frequented waters.

"Any one else can't do it, but fish farms seem to have immunity," Langer said.