I testified at the final hearng last night. I gave WDF&W numbers showing about 60 redds in the area prior to the flood and zero redds after the old Storedahl pits blew out. My report was 28 pages with enclosures. One of them was a color photo (one of 8) which I took on Februray 2, 1996, when I put my drift boat in the river on the morning after the peak of the flood and ran the river from Lewisville bridge to LaCenter. This photo shows the area just below the proposed mine under about 3 feet of water. I actually rowed my Don Hill boat up Hamm's driveway to the J.A. Moore road. But Storedahl says it's not in the flood plain.
However, that's not my point. With 4 species of ESA listed fish in this river, do we need a mine?
Last night closed oral comment on the issue and there were no speakers in favor of the mine. Comments by Storedahl's paid Ph.D. fish consultant were interesting, among them:
1. mine sediment in the river has not been proved to be all bad.
2. WDF&W redd surveys for steelhead could have been low because they couldn't see redds in the bottom of the old pits.
3. Recent water temperature increases could be the result of the Yacoult burn. (almost 100 years ago)
4. The fact that the East Fork wild fish are way below escapement (and going lower) while the Washougal and Kalama are greatly improving has nothing to do with the flood blowing out the ole mines.