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Columbia River nation’s 2nd most endangered

Advocacy group: environment should play role in control

The Columbian
Published: April 8, 2015, 5:00pm

Management policies that cut the environment out of management decisions about the Columbia River have earned it the title of America’s second-most endangered, according to an advocacy group.

Only the Grand Canyon section of the Colorado River, which faces pressure from developers and mining companies, came in higher on American Rivers’ list of America’s 10 most endangered rivers.

American Rivers is a national advocacy group that promotes river conservation and restoration.

Its report, released Tuesday, highlights rivers across the country where big decisions in the coming year will alter the ecosystem.

Most to lose, gain

It’s not a list of the nation’s least healthy rivers — just those with the most to lose or gain.

Ongoing discussions about the future of the Columbia River Treaty earned America’s third-largest river its place near the top of the list.

The treaty, which dictates how Canada and the United States can use the Columbia, is under consideration for an update.

Right now, Columbia River water managers have two primary concerns: Generating hydropower and controlling floods. American Rivers is among the groups pushing for an “ecosystem function” that would add the health of salmon and other wildlife to the list of considerations managers must make when deciding how to use the Columbia’s water.

Treaty in focus

A team of federal agencies in charge of the Columbia River dams has recommended adding the ecosystem function to the treaty if an update happens. But it’s unclear whether President Barack Obama’s administration will seek to renegotiate the treaty.

Michael Garrity, American Rivers’ conservation director for Washington state, called the treaty talks “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to modernize management of the river and “realize lasting benefits for salmon and communities.”

The Columbia was one of two Oregon waterways on the list. The Rogue watershed, which includes parts of Southern Oregon and Northern California, was named seventh most-endangered. Proposals to strip mine for nickel in the Rogue headwaters landed it on the list.

Other endangered rivers were, in order of most-endangered to least-endangered: Kentucky’s Holston River, Montana’s Smith River, Alaska’s Chuitna River, Wisconsin’s St. Louis River, Tennessee’s Harpeth River and Louisiana’s Pearl River.

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