Field Reports: Wolf delisting topic in Spokane

Spokane Valley is the last stop for a six-state U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tour to gather comments on removing Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolves from the federal Endangered Species list.

The sessions are set for Thursday at the Oxford Inns & Suites, 15015 E. Indiana Ave., as follows:

Public meeting to provide information, 3 p.m.-5 p.m.

Public hearing to gather comments, 6 p.m.-8 p.m.

After humans eliminated wolves from the Rockies by the mid-1900s, reintroductions began in the Yellowstone region in 1995. The wolves flourished and have exceeded recovery goals.

The FWS has proposed reducing the protections on the wolves and giving states options for managing them.

Comments can be made at the meeting, or e-mailed to NRMGrayWolf@fws.gov or mailed to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wolf Delisting, 585 Shepard Way, Helena, MT 59601. Comments must be received by April 9.

Info: www.fws.gov/mountain- prairie/species /mammals/wolf.

Rich Landers

BICYCLING

Cyclists bid for more space

The Oregon legislature is considering a bill that would require motorists to give bicycle riders a 3-foot safety buffer when passing them from behind.

Eleven cyclists died in Oregon traffic-related accidents in 2005. According to the Oregon Department of Transportation, responsibility for accidents involving cyclists and motorists was equally split between the two groups.

Associated Press

ENDANGERED SPECIES

Ladders required for relicensing

PacifiCorp must build new fish ladders and make other modifications so salmon can swim freely past four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River if it wants a new license to produce electricity, federal fisheries agencies said last month.

The ladders, turbine screens and fish bypasses are estimated to cost about $300 million and will be requirements of any new operating license issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, boosting pressure on the utility to remove the dams as a cheaper alternative.

Removing the dams would open access to 350 miles of spawning habitat blocked for nearly a century in what was once the West Coast’s third most productive salmon river basin, but whose mounting struggles triggered a near shutdown last summer of commercial salmon fishing off Oregon and California.

Associated Press