Will Stelle Jr., NMFS' regional administrator, bore the brunt of the anger and frustration voiced at the hearing. Stelle told the committee a comprehensive approach to salmon restoration will leave no group unscathed. It's a little bit of everything and all of us will have to take responsibility. It is simply a matter of priorities. A key topic of the hearing was the federal government's ability to control water levels on the Columbia and Snake river system.
Critics say it undermines state water rights and charge that the agency is using bogus science.
Bob Hale, a Hermiston farmer, told the committee about a two-year struggle to use existing water rights to irrigate leased farm land. James Anderson, an associate fisheries professor at the University of Washington, said recent studies found no evidence that increasing river and stream flows will significantly increase fish stocks. Jim Baker of the Sierra Club said NMFS has dismally failed to provide even minimum protections for fish. Copyright 1998 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved.