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National Conservation Groups: Federal Budget for Columbia/Snake salmon falls well short National Conservation Groups: Federal Budget for Columbia/Snake salmon falls well short
November 29, 2001 CONTACT:
Rob Masonis, American Rivers (Seattle): 206.213.0330 x. 12
Jeff Curtis, Trout Unlimited (Portland): 503.827.5700 x. 11 (PORTLAND, ORE. / SEATTLE) - Representatives of American Rivers and Trout Unlimited, two leading national conservation groups, today called "grossly inadequate" the funding in the fiscal year 2002 federal budget for recovering wild Columbia and Snake river salmon, warning that it keeps wild salmon and steelhead on the path to extinction. They called for the Administration and Congress to mend broken promises by doing far better in fiscal 2003, for which the president's proposal is due in February. President Bush signed the fiscal 2002 Commerce-Justice-State spending bill last night, which provides funding for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and represents the final major piece of the federal funding package for Northwest salmon recovery. The conservation groups said an estimated $435.6 million in funding for the Columbia/Snake basin's imperiled salmon and steelhead represents a failure by the Administration and Congress to make good on federal commitments - a failure that could force a resurfacing of the debate over bypassing four federal dams on the lower Snake River in Washington state. | |
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