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Power Council Schedules Hearing Tuesday Meeting Will Focus On Fish, Wildlife Management

Bert Caldwell Staff Writer

Spokane-area residents will get their best chance to testify on proposed changes to Northwest Power Planning Council fish and wildlife management efforts Tuesday.

The options that emerged from a council workshop last month in Portland range from more cooperation among competing interests working within existing legislation, to a major restructuring that could involve changes in the Endangered Species Act.

The council review was authorized by Congress last fall, when members established a cap on fish-recovery expenditures that are costing the region almost $500 million per year.

The study must be completed by mid-May. The preliminary report is entitled “Proposals for Fish and Wildlife Governance in the Columbia River Basin,” and copies are available by calling 1-800-222-3355 and requesting Document 96-4.

The public hearing convenes at 5:30 p.m. at Cavanaugh’s Inn at the Park, 303 W. North River Dr. The period for public comment on the alternatives closes April 4.

The following morning the council will unveil its new five-year power plan.

Ken Casavant, Eastern Washington’s representative on the eight-member council, said some restructuring will be necessary to keep up with changes in the region and the demands being made on its resources.

But, he said, both he and Washington’s other representative, Ken Kreidler, prefer modest adjustments that won’t require new legislation.

He said he is frustrated that the council was handed responsibility for formulating fish and wildlife policy without being given the authority to carry those plans out, Casavant said.

He said a February 29 meeting that included representatives of the council, Native American tribes and the National Marine Fisheries Service indicated there may be a way for the groups to work together on biological issues. “We’ll see how well that works,” he said.

If not, Casavant said, more draconian steps like binding arbitration using an administrative law judge may be necessary.

, DataTimes