Reduced Dam Spill and Barging for Increased Salmon Survival

Congressman Hastings, the top Republican on the Natural Resources Committee, sent a letter today to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers requesting that, in light of this year's low water supplies, endangered juvenile salmon should be transported past dams rather than flushed downstream by spilling water at the dams.

A January 2010 study by NOAA Fisheries' Northwest Fisheries Science Center found that juvenile fish transported in barges resulted in significantly higher rates of returning adult salmon in most cases compared to fish kept in-river.

"Moving from spilling water to transporting juvenile fish in a low water year is supported by science," said Hastings. "It also saves Northwest families and businesses money in these tough economic times by generating clean, low-cost hydropower rather than water bypassing the turbines through spill. Transport would restrict the need for expensive water spills and would also protect the young salmon from predators, low flows and warmer water conditions. We must have a balanced dam operation to improve fish survival and preserve critical water and power resources ... Read more ...

What do you think of this method to increase the salmon population? ... Let us know what you think!

Don't Feed Coyotes

Columbia Basin Explorer thought anyone living in Washington state or people planning to visit our great state should know that- According to the WDFW; "officials had to euthanize a coyote that had become aggressive toward people in Seattle".

Here's this month's "CROSSING PATHS NEWS NOTES" issued by the WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE.

Coyotes, which live throughout the state in both rural and urban areas, breed in late winter and by early spring are feeding pups. You may see coyotes almost anywhere in Washington, including in suburban and even urban areas.

Enjoy watching them, but don't feed coyotes, either intentionally or by allowing them access to food such as garbage and pet food.

Earlier this year, WDFW officials had to euthanize a coyote that had become aggressive toward people in Seattle's Discovery Park and the nearby Magnolia neighborhood. The animal's bold behavior indicated it had learned to associate humans with food.

Normally, coyotes avoid people but they may become habituated to humans-and abnormally bold-if they are intentionally fed or find food near human residences. While most people don't directly feed coyotes, many unwittingly leave food that draws these opportunistic omnivores.

This video offers useful information and helpful tips for living with coyotes. These intelligent and adaptable animals now manage to occupy almost every conceivable habitat type, from open ranch country to densely forested areas to downtown waterfront.

Unsecured garbage or compost piles can be a food source for coyotes or for smaller animals that are prey for coyotes. Secure garbage and compost bins with tight fitting covers. Don't let spilled seed pile up under bird feeders. Don't leave pet food outside.

Protect cats and small dogs by keeping them indoors, especially from dusk to dawn. Coyote conflicts with off-leash dogs can increase in early spring when coyotes are more territorial, and may have their pups in tow.

Although coyote sightings and attacks on pets occur periodically throughout the state, attacks on humans are extremely rare. Only two such attacks have been documented in Washington-in 2006 a coyote bit two young children in Bellevue and was later euthanized.

More information on living with coyotes can be found on the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/coyotes.htm.

Vantage Bridge of the Columbia Basin-WA

On September 8, 1927, the Vantage Bridge, which crosses the Columbia River at Vantage in the great Columbia Basin-WA, opens. It is a 1,640-foot, two-lane cantilever bridge built by the Washington State Highway Department. The bridge replaces a small two-car ferry that operated in the same spot beginning in 1914.



The bridge at Vantage was the seventh bridge to be built across the Columbia River. Including approaches, it was half a mile long. The bridge consisted of a Pratt through truss (the truss -- the steel framework -- was cross-braced above and below traffic). The top and bottom chords of the truss were sloped. It was a cantilever bridge, one in which the center spans extend out from their end-supports. At center, the bridge cleared the water by 70 feet, allowing large ships to navigate beneath it.

The 1927 Vantage Bridge was the first bridge in Washington that workers constructed by working in pressurized caissons sunk 70 feet under the riverbed. The workers entered the caissons through air locks. The pressure within the caissons was so great that some of the workers became seriously ill from its effects.

The Vantage Bridge was one of four cantilever bridges constructed across the Columbia during the 1920s. It carried the Sunset Highway, a mostly gravel road which was at the time the state’s main east-west thoroughfare. Eventually the Sunset Highway was completely paved, greatly increasing speed and safety and decreasing wear and tear on the early automobiles that traveled it.

The Vantage Bridge served motorists until 1962, when a higher bridge was constructed over the reservoir created by the Wanapum Dam, which began operation in 1964. The old Vantage Bridge was put into storage. In 1968 it was rebuilt to cross the Snake River at Lyons Ferry and it is now the oldest extant steel cantilever bridge in the state.