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Urge Agencies to Envision a Better Future for Salmon and Dams

A NOTE on COVID-19 and the Draft EIS public comment period: In the past several weeks, Bird Alliance of Oregon joined coalition partners in making repeated requests to the federal agencies to address serious deficiencies of the public comment period given the great importance of the issues at stake AND the major disruption and health crisis posed by the Coronavirus. You can view two of the letters we sent on March 5 and March 11. While the in-person meetings have been cancelled and replaced with teleconferences, the federal government’s public input process remains woefully inadequate. We feel strongly that it must be extended and include public, in-person hearings after the health risks of the Coronavirus have passed. We will continue to press the agencies to address these fatal process flaws given today’s unprecedented circumstances.

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Join Bird Alliance of Oregon and fellow advocates at a virtual public hearing to urge federal agencies and our state and federal elected officials to save our salmon runs and restore balance to the Columbia River system by addressing the impact of the dams. A federal court ruled in 2016 that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and partner agencies must develop a new plan to protect salmon on the Columbia and Snake Rivers, and advised agencies that it was time to address the dams, the real cause of salmon decline.

 

 

A night time rally with dozens of folks in front of a lit up sign that says "Free the Snake"
Rallying advocates during NEPA hearings in 2016.

After 4 years of work, the proposed plan continues the tradition of 20+ years of failure of the agencies to propose a path towards recovery and restoration of our salmon runs and the greater Columbia River system. It’s now up to us to raise our voices to the Federal Agencies and our elected officials to envision an alternative path towards a restored system. Please plan on virtually attending and submitting testimony along with Bird Alliance of Oregon staff.

The virtual public hearing will start at 4 p.m. PST. Nearly all comments are delivered during the first hour, along with a brief introduction by agency leaders. This is a 1 hour commitment, not 4 hours. If you are only able to join after 5:00, you can still submit testimony into the record.

  • Toll-free: 844-721-7241
  • Access Code on prompt: 5998146#

 

Important Talking Points

  • The Agencies preferred alternative perpetuates an approach that has pushed salmon, orca and other fish and wildlife populations to the edge of extinction, and led to the unnecessary scapegoating of native wildlife like Double Crested Cormorants 
  • The Agencies preferred alternative is a huge waste of public resources and perpetuates the status quo – which has been rejected 5 times by a federal court over the last 25 years. 
  • The Plan must focus on three things: Removal of four obsolete Snake River Dams, increased flows over Columbia River Dams and habitat restoration
  • Persecution of native predator species must be eliminated from this plan
  • Real solutions for NW salmon, other wildlife and people will come from NW people – policymakers, sovereigns (states and tribes), stakeholders, and communities working urgently together to craft inclusive, creative solutions to our shared problems and bring all communities forward together.

Details

Date:
March 26, 2020
Time:
4:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Event Category:
Accessibility

Accessible by public transit, Wheelchair accessible, Minimal walking required, Assisted listening device available upon request

Venue

Virtual Public Hearing
OR United States + Google Map
Phone:
Toll-free: 844-721-7241 Access Code on prompt: 5998146#