Howdy all!
Thanks for being subscribed to the FOC bi-weekly blasts. Today I have a big win to share with you as well as a request for comments in support of breaching the lower Snake River dams.
It’s the end of the world (for End of the World)
On Friday, FOC, represented by Advocates for the West, won the End of the World (EOTW) and Hungry Ridge (HR) lawsuit, halting both projects. The two sprawling projects would have covered 40 square miles, drastically altering and opening the forest ecosystem of the Salmon-Clearwater divide.
In the June 24 decision, the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho agreed with Friends of the Clearwater that the Forest Service failed to ensure required minimum amounts of old growth will be protected from logging. The court enjoined End of the World and Hungry Ridge and ordered the Forest Service to accurately identify old growth stands and to comply with all old growth protections.
We were able to take on this project because of member support. If you haven’t renewed your membership this year, please take the opportunity to donate so we can continue to hold our government to account.
This is a win for the rare species of the Clearwater, including fisher, lynx, steelhead, and salmon. At least one grizzly bear has been seen near the project area since 2018, and the forest adjacent to the Gospel Hump and the River of No Return Wilderness is a critical corridor for their eventual return.
It’s also a win for our climate: old growth, both in the trees themselves and in their rich soils, are much better carbon sinks than logged forests.
Big thanks to Advocates attorneys Bryan Hurlbutt and Laird Lucas for their great work on this.
You can read our press release on our website.
Speak Up for Salmon
Speaking of salmon, Washington is officially talking lower Snake River dams (LSRD) removal. Governor Inslee and Senator Murray have released a draft report that analyses the costs and benefits of the LSRD, as well as the costs and benefits of breaching.
The report, at least on its face, isn’t anything dramatic: replacing the dams will be expensive and complicated. The system as it is now is expensive and complicated, so it’s really a matter of which Snake River we want: one with or without dams.
Inslee and Murray have not released their official recommendations. They are accepting comments from the public before they do so. There are three ways to comment:
- Through the www.lsrdoptions.org website, which includes the full draft and a comment box
- By emailing info@lsrdoptions.org with the subject line “Draft LSRD Benefit Replacement Report.”,
- or you can mail your comments to Draft LSRD Benefit Replacement Study c/o Ross Strategic, 1325 4th Ave., Suite 1600, Seattle, WA 98101
The comment period is open until July 11th.
Please do your part and show our politicians that you support a free-flowing Snake, Treaty rights, and the recovery of our wild salmon!
Thanks again, and have a great week.
Paul Busch
Membership and Development Director
Friends of the Clearwater
paul@friendsoftheclearwater.org