February 6, 2013

  A federal report says removing four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River in Oregon and California and restoring ecosystems will produce a big increase in salmon harvests and boost farm revenues.  The 400-page report was produced by federal scientists to help the secretary of Interior evaluate whether it is in the public interest to go ahead with the $1 billion project, which is considered the biggest dam removal in U.S. history if it goes through as planned in 2020.  "In the long run, all the anadramous fish (salmon, steelhead, and lamprey) benefit from dam removal, according to our analysis," Dennis Lynch, program manager for the U.S. Geological Survey, who oversaw the report, said Monday.  Read more from Monday's Associated Press article Report says dam removal good for Klamath salmon.

It didn't take long for wolves to come up in the Oregon Legislature.  On the first full day of legislative activity, Feb. 4, Rep. Bob Jenson, R-Pendleton, alerted House members that a gray wolf had killed a pregnant cow in Wallowa County the week before.  Jenson prefaced his remonstrance, a political procedure that allows lawmakers to express opinions on the floor of the House and Senate, by saying that House members may have heard of the attack from reports in newspapers.  Read more from yesterday's Capital Press article Wolf attack gains attention in Legislature. 

And read about Oregon Senate Bill 197 in Bill would allow ranchers to kill wolves attacking livestock.