Recommendations on a Mainstem Plan for the Fish and Wildlife Program

Rec. 19 - Idaho Water Users Association

June 15, 2001

Dear Mr. Walker:

Enclosed are recommendations on amendments to the mainstem plan of the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program submitted on behalf of a large number of Idaho water users. We encourage the Council to take this opportunity to provide a greater balance between the biological and economic needs of the Columbia River Basin and to incorporate new scientific information into the Program. In particular, Idaho water users recommend that flow augmentation from southern Idaho be omitted from the revised Plan because it is a management measure having high social and economic cost but no significant biological benefit.

We appreciate this opportunity to provide recommendations to the Council on the amendments to the mainstem plan of the Fish and Wildlife Program.

Respectfully submitted by,

John Simpson
Barker, Rosholt, & Simpson
P.O. Box 2139
Boise, ID 83701-2139
On behalf of the Committee of Nine

Norm Semanko, Executive Director and General Counsel
Idaho Water Users Association
410 South Orchard, Suite 144
Boise, ID 83705

Enclosures:

• Recommendations (55k Acrobat PDF file)
• Appendix 1: The Fallacy of Upper Snake Flow Augmentation (655k Acrobat PDF file)
• Appendix 2: History of the Flow Survival Relationship and Flow Augmentation Policy in the Columbia River Basin (155k Acrobat PDF file)