Agency Says River Restrictions Too Stiff Early Rafting Would Be Barred During Spawning Season

The Idaho Fish and Game Department says a new federal plan goes too far in its efforts to protect endangered salmon with restrictions on the upper Salmon River.

“I think it’s ultraconservative,” said Gary Power, regional Fish and Game director at Salmon. “I think we have a lot bigger issues that we need to be working on.”

The National Marine Fisheries Service is expected to rule on the Forest Service proposals by summer. Comments on the river restrictions must be submitted by May 15 to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.

Under the plan, commercial rafting guides will be kicked off the river mornings from mid-August until the spawning season is over. That could be the rest of the floating season.

Power says he doubts rafters can seriously distract mating salmon.

“When (salmon) get into active spawning, those son of a guns are just all over, whether anybody is there or not. I mean, they really get into the program,” he said.

That part of the river is east of Stanley along a 12-mile stretch from the Sunbeam Dam to Torrey’s Hole. Trips through Torrey’s Hole will be allowed only from 1 to 5 p.m. during that time.

If salmon are found in the area during the designated spawning season, their spawning beds, or redds, will be marked with a buoy. Boats will have to stay at least 25 feet from buoys. If that’s not possible, boats will have to be carried along the river bank until they are clear of the area.

If outfitters violate the plan, they could lose their licenses.

Sections of river bank also will be closed to anglers.

The plan is a bitter pill for outfitters who make their living along the river.

“We’re being held to an unreasonable standard,” said White Otter Outdoor Adventures outfitter Randy Hess. “Those dams can kill millions of fish and we can’t even disturb one.”

Fish biologists believe eight hydroelectric dams between the salmon’s spawning grounds and the Pacific Ocean, where the fish spend most of their adult lives, kill most salmon.

Nobody claims boating kills fish, but Forest Service officials say boaters disturb spawning activity. Exhausted from their 900-mile trip from the ocean, fish must be protected from human-caused stress while laying and fertilizing eggs, the agency argues.