Longley Meadows Fish Habitat Enhancement Project Draft Environmental Assessment
The following comments were submitted in response to the open comment period described below.
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The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the U.S. Forest Service are currently requesting public comments on the Draft Environmental Assessment. Please send your comments by September 20, 2019, so they may be considered in the Final Environmental Assessment.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
BPA) and the U.S. Forest Service, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest (Forest Service) proposes to restore aquatic habitat on a 1.4-mile stretch of the Grande Ronde River to benefit Endangered Species Act-listed spring Chinook salmon, summer steelhead and bull trout. Approximately 1.0 mile of the project would be implemented on National Forest System Lands, 0.4 miles on State and private lands. This is the second phase of restoration work in a reach of the Grande Ronde River which was disconnected from its floodplain when the Grande Ronde River Road (Highway 244) and the railroad grade were constructed. BPA is considering whether to fund the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to implement this proposal and the Forest Service is deciding whether to issue a special use permit.
Specific proposed actions include:
1. Excavation of new channel meander bends to improve aquatic and riparian habitat diversity and complexity, and increase channel-floodplain interactions.
2. Creation of secondary channels to increase the available area of juvenile salmon rearing habitat.
3. Placement of wood structures to increase habitat complexity.
4. Vegetation planting and seeding to improve streambank stability and provide protective cover for juvenile salmonids.
For More Information:
https://www.bpa.gov/efw/Analysis/NEPADocuments/Pages/Longley-Meadows-Fish-Habitat.aspx
Close of comment: 9/20/2019
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PaceRestoring habitat in the Grand Rhonde is a noble thing to do. However, this is not the responsibility of the hydro system. Rather, the harmful effects on spawning and rearing of anadromous fish come from logging, railroad construction and mining. For BPA to use ratepayers’ funds for this project violates the “in lieu” provisions in the Northwest Power Act. BPA needs to focus on the mainstem and tributaries that are impacted by the day-to-day (and hour-to-hour) operation for wind integration, power peaking, load following, etc. These are the factors with harm directly tied to power system operations, not over logged and mined out tributaries in the upper reaches of the basin. Instead, BPA has become a “sugar daddy” for funding projects that bear no resemblance to the projects envisioned in the Northwest Power Act.
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