Poll Backs Local Hand In Reach Protection But Majority Also Supports Federal Role On Columbia River

Washington residents strongly support federal protection of the Columbia River’s Hanford Reach, but most don’t think the U.S. government should have sole responsibility for managing it, a new statewide poll indicates.

The poll of 450 voters done for the Grant County Public Utility District includes various findings that should encourage supporters of rival bills introduced by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash.

Murray’s bill would designate the 51-mile stretch of the Columbia River near the Hanford Nuclear Reservation as a Wild and Scenic River under federal management. Hastings’ plan would turn over control of the free-flowing stretch of river to local counties.

The poll was done by Moore Information, a Portland-based opinion research firm that works for such Washington Republicans as U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, Senate candidate and U.S. Rep. Linda Smith and Hastings. Its release comes just days before President Clinton visits the Puget Sound area on Saturday to boost Murray’s re-election campaign.

Murray said she plans to talk with Clinton about the Hanford Reach, which she hopes to preserve through congressional compromise, if possible, or federal action if negotiations break down.

The Hanford Reach is the last major spawning ground for salmon in the Columbia River.

The Moore poll, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent, found that 57 percent of those polled would support federal action giving a special designation to the stretch, with 19 percent opposed.

Only 15 percent, however, said they want the federal government to have sole responsibility for protecting the Hanford Reach. A total of 40 percent favored shared federal, state and local management, while 33 percent opted for state and local control only.

Officials of the Grant County PUD, who oppose a dominant federal role in river management, denied the survey was a “push poll” intended to push respondents toward negative opinions on federal protection.

“What we tried to do was put both sides’ best arguments, including the opponents of Wild and Scenic (River status), and see how it registered,” J. VanderStoep, a PUD lawyer and former Gorton aide, said Tuesday.

Some poll questions cited possible negative consequences from Wild and Scenic River designation, including removing dams, restricting farming and denying nearby communities a voice in how lands near the Columbia River are managed.

In contrast, the poll did not ask about controversial aspects of Hastings’ rival plan, such as eliminating a national wildlife refuge and irrigating lands currently protected as bird and animal habitats.

The poll showed that, by a 62 percent to 27 percent margin, voters oppose President Clinton issuing an executive order designating the Hanford Reach as a Wild and Scenic River if Congress fails to act.

Hastings’ bill is believed to have no chance of getting through Congress or being signed into law by Clinton. And House Republican leaders have said they would block any vote on Murray’s proposal.