Number: 1978-23
WHEREAS, the construction and operation of hydro-electric dams on the mainstream Columbia and Snake Rivers in the Pacific Northwest has destroyed more than half of the spawning habitat of Pacific Coast anadromous fish and brought several runs to the brink of extinction; and
WHEREAS, either as the construction or licensing agency, the federal government is primarily responsible for the operation of these dams; and
WHEREAS, adequate compensation for habitat destruction has been neglected for over 40 years by the responsible federal agencies; and
WHEREAS, Operation Fish Flow 1977 demonstrated the benefits and workability of fishery-oriented operational techniques, such as flushing downstream fish migrants over dam spillways to reduce turbine mortality; and
WHEREAS, technologies currently exist for significantly reducing the nitrogen supersaturation problem common to many of these dams; and
WHEREAS, the Congress has authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to implement the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan partially to replace fish and wildlife resources lost to these dams;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 16-19, 1978, in Phoenix, Ariz., hereby supports the early implementation of the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan, the expeditious study and preparation of similar compensation plans for other dams in the Columbia Basin, and the retrofitting of dams licensed by the Federal Power Commission with devices and operating techniques to improve passage for upstream and downstream migrants and reduce fish mortality and disease.