H20
I am quickly coming to the conclusion that you just like to argue even though your argument is pointless!

Our board members are not stupid. You did understand the boards "general feeling" right? If I had held this pole at any other fishing board, or down in Lewis County, you would probably loose control of you bladder when you read the results!

Finally, you said;" To further suggest that the conclusions of your poll should be taken into consideration by the game management agencies and individuals in this state as 'a collective voice for salmon and steelhead fishermen' is...well....like I said, have fun with that."

My pole results support exactly what over 100 people relfected when they met with Koenings!
Read it for yourself, and spin away! It sounded like a pretty "collectively" opinion to me!

By John Henderer ,
The Chronicle, 06-16-2000

An overflow crowd turned out Thursday evening in Chehalis to hear state Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Jeff Koenings explain his efforts to improve depleted Cowlitz River fish stocks, and to provide fishing opportunities.

Fishing groups reacted angrily to the director’s signing last month of a preliminary settlement document governing Tacoma Power’s Cowlitz dam operations. In an editorial, Fishing and Hunting News accused Koenings of agreeing "to kill sport fishing on the Cowlitz River."

Provisions to phase out the hatchery program supporting the early winter steelhead runs especially angered fishing groups.
But Koenings told the group he took over the department’s late-stage negotiations in May because he had their concerns in mind. "The thing that I found lacking was some appreciable (fishing) harvest over the next 40 years," he said. Koenings and several high-level department staffers told the crowd of nearly 100 people they are laboring under a dual mandate: to restore threatened fish runs, ultimately resulting in their federal delisting, and to provide fishing opportunities.

The settlement, which must be submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by July 15, would allow Tacoma to continue operating its dams for 40 years, and would require the utility to mitigate its effects on depleted and diseased steelhead and salmon runs.

The anglers yelled, "No," groaned and murmured their discontent, however, when officials said details governing specific fish runs could be hammered out after a settlement is signed. Officials later explained they would try to ensure these details are legally binding.

"I hear what you’re saying, but a cold reading of this really doesn’t give me confidence the safeguards (exist) you say are there," said Frank Urabeck, Northwest Marine Trade Association director of fishing affairs. "This document does not say what you said, in my interpretation."
"Let’s put this in writing," said Hal Boynton of Trout Unlimited. "Let’s put that in page 8 of the agreement with Tacoma, and then we’ll be happy."

Fishing groups urged Koenings not to eliminate the early winter steelhead program, arguing it has been a part of the Cowlitz River since long before Tacoma built its dams in the 1960s.
Three Cowlitz stocks are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, however, said Lew Atkins, assistant fish program director: late winter steelhead, spring chinook and fall chinook salmon. These stocks have priority for production and recovery because of the federal listing. By placing priority on the late winter steelhead, fishing opportunities may increase later in the year, they said.

In the short term, the department plans to continue the early winter run, but at a reduced level to keep spawners from interfering with late winter run spawners, where they may overlap.
Department officials said they managed to negotiate a better deal than Tacoma offered. It will upgrade the disease-infested Cowlitz salmon and trout hatcheries, and produce better juvenile fish for release into the river, they contended.
They also plan to change hatchery operations to produce larger fish, releasing them a bit later to try to improve survival.

Koenings vowed to take the anglers’ concerns into consideration as the negotiations continue over the next few weeks. Officials offered no guarantees any specific number of fish would return to the river, however.
Anglers expressed disgust at how poorly Cowlitz fish runs have fared compared to other rivers, but despite occasional outbursts, the crowd remained peaceful.

As word of the meeting spread, the department changed the hearing room at least twice, searching for larger quarters. Friends of the Cowlitz, which coincidentally had scheduled its annual meeting for the same time, canceled its meeting to hear from the department.
Some at Thursday’s meeting expressed concerns at the urgency to sign a deal with Tacoma, fearing it would release the utility of obligations to help fish. "We don’t need to be stampeded into a bad agreement that sells all these guys’ fishing rights down the river," said John Squires, Packwood, Cowlitz Plan for Restoration-Fish (CPR-Fish).

"We’ve got moss on the rocks we’ve never had before," said Toledo fishing guide Victor Dalosto, referring to low, controlled flows that don’t mimic a natural river. "How are we going to raise natives? We might raise frogs, but we’re not going to raise natives."

Others urged the department to negotiate for more money from Tacoma, suggesting a percentage of the utility’s sales or profits, saying it now pockets "a huge windfall." "You need to squeeze ’em till the juice runs," said Corky Smith, Friends of the Cowlitz founder.
Department officials repeatedly explained they are only one party to the settlement negotiations, and do not have authority to order Tacoma to do anything on the river.
Atkins urged the anglers to trust Fish and Wildlife to make good decisions based on sound scientific research.

None of the three Lewis County commissioners attended Thursday’s meeting, but county Prosecutor Jeremy Randolph explained the county’s role is limited regarding fish matters. "These (state and federal fish agencies) are the three gorillas," Randolph said. "We’ve got a couple bananas. ... We are not, nor do we have expertise, in the fish business."
Commission Chairman Dennis Hadaller has signed the agreement. In a prepared statement, commissioners expressed their continued support for a negotiated settlement.

Some criticized the department for not mandating fish ladders over the dams, and for setting a difficult standard before they ever could be built under the agreement. But Koenings said he looks at the issue practically. "I want the option and the flexibility to do whatever is necessary to rebuild those runs," he said. "If we get locked into one approach, that flexibility is gone."
Dave Becker, Friends of the Cowlitz relicensing coordinator, harshly criticized the agreement. "This was a railroad job by Tacoma to shove this through," he said. "They just made an end run to sign because they couldn’t get consensus."
Koenings disputed allegations the deal was crafted "in a back room," pointing to several years of public discussions leading up to the agreement.

Cleve Steward, a fisheries biologist hired by Tacoma to represent environmental groups, also criticized the deal as "letting them off the hook. We aren’t establishing goals that are based on fish. We’ve established goals that are based on Tacoma’s bottom line."
Tacoma Power hopes to submit a comprehensive settlement to FERC as the centerpiece of its application for a new license. Its existing license expires next year.

For the past four years, it has pursued a settlement under the alternative relicensing process, conducting its own environmental assessment, hiring a mediator, and shepherding state and federal fishing agencies, tribal and environmental groups through the process.
Public meetings ended last December with no settlement, but since then a flurry of meetings and negotiations behind the scenes produced the preliminary agreement.

Koenings invited public comment on the issue but said it must arrive within days. His office mailing address is 600 Capitol Way North MS 43135, Olympia, Wash., 98501-1091.
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John Henderer covers county government and environmental issues for The Chronicle.
He can be reached by e-mail at jhenderer@chronline.com or by calling 807-8239


Cowlitzfisherman