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Rider Tramples Salmon by Rick Eichstaedt Spokesman Review, November 17, 2006

Good ol' Idaho Sen. Larry Craig is at it again. This time he is plotting a last minute rider to bypass the Endangered Species Act and declare that no more water is needed to protect the Northwest's imperiled salmon runs. Craig's rider will declare that the federal plan for the Upper Snake River, which was previously held to be illegal, is in fact legal. Unfortunately, this rider will take us farther away from achieving real salmon solutions by legislating Idaho out of the regional salmon conversation.

We've seen time and time again that Sen. Craig and groups like the Idaho Water Users aren't really interested in resolving the salmon crisis. This anti-salmon rider is also a direct attack on the Endangered Species Act, one of our fundamental environmental laws. In the case of salmon, the Endangered Species Act also protects jobs and rural economies up and down the West Coast. This rider threatens not only salmon, but also hardworking people whose families and livelihoods rely on the salmon economy. Citizens of the Northwest do not want salmon extinction and they sure don't want this rider.

Related Sites:
Senator Craig's previous rider withdrew funding from the Fish Passage Center which provides Pertinent Data including:
Adult Salmon Return Comparison - compares current year to last year and the ten year average.
Adult Salmon Passage at Lower Granite Dam Yearly Adult Counts 1975 - Present