Batt Blasts States, Tribes On Steelhead
Idaho Gov. Phil Batt has castigated the states of Oregon and Washington and the four Columbia River tribes for allowing extended gillnetting he believes undermines efforts to keep Clearwater River steelhead off the endangered species list.
Although the National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed protecting the fish and will make a decision next summer, the fisheries managers for the two states and the tribes recently agreed to steelhead harvest rates of up to 40 percent, exceeding 1995 levels.
In blistering letters to the two governors and the tribal leaders, Batt said those decisions “have dealt a blow to the recovery of wild B-run steelhead and have further complicated an already difficult Endangered Species Act issue.”
He essentially joined Idaho Steelhead and Salmon Unlimited in blaming the gillnetting season for a far lower return to the Clearwater than originally expected.
The Idaho Fish and Game Department had predicted 15,000 or so B-run steelhead would return this fall but two weeks ago downgraded the estimate to 7,500.
Batt acknowledged that all causes of steelhead decline must be addressed - the major one being the hydropower dams that are blamed for destroying up to 97 percent of Idaho’s steelhead and salmon.
But Batt also said that anadromous fish harvest policies have relegated steelhead to second-class treatment and are now clearly outdated in light of increasing evidence that the runs are moving to the verge of extinction.