Public meeting April 16 Cowlitz County Expo

[bbarnes]

Meeting starts at 7 pm April 16 plan to be there.Topics WSU update on hoof rot fish recovery on toutle river Army corps about raising sediment dam and wildlife congress conception.Anyone who's concerned with the current situation with fish and wildlife needs to be there public comment will also be part of this meeting.

[HntnFsh]

Thanks for the heads up. First Ive heard of it. I'll do my best to be there.

[ELKBURGER]

Thanks for the heads up. First Ive heard of it. I'll do my best to be there.

I am going to put this on my calendar too. Its been a while since they've had a meeting about this. I think I met you there a few years back??

[fireweed]

I got the notice too, and what bothered me the most was the blurb about closing the Green River fish hatchery.  Say it ain't so.  Just a list of bad news: raising the spillway on the dam (again), hoof rot update, building a road for drilling at Spirit Lake (but not letting anyone walk the road once its done). 

[HntnFsh]

I got the notice too, and what bothered me the most was the blurb about closing the Green River fish hatchery.  Say it ain't so.  Just a list of bad news: raising the spillway on the dam (again), hoof rot update, building a road for drilling at Spirit Lake (but not letting anyone walk the road once its done).

I think that has been their reasoning behind making the Green and Elochoman gene bank rivers. They picked rivers with hatcheries on them so they could justify closing the hatcheries and save money at the same time. Had nothing to do with preserving wild fish or they wouldn't dedicated more rivers than necessary and 1 of the should have been the Coweeman.

[bbarnes]

We need the expo flooded with sportman and concerned citizens.Please tell all your friends and family to attend ,post it on Instagram and face book as well.The only way change will come is if your voice is heard.

[fireweed]

Not that much new news at the meeting.
1) they are NOT closing the Green River Hatchery--at least that was good news.
2) Same old story with the USFS, but the new monument manager did not sign the "drilling order" and wants more study.  (Basically the environmentalist and scientists threw a fit)
3) The WDFW will start the EIS process to study moving wolves on May 1
4) the US Army Corps of Engineers is going to raise the spillway on the dam twice more, for another 23 feet, then build structures on the sediment plain to hold more sand.  They will do no mitigation beyond fixing the fish trap.

Here's why: Back in 1980's when they were considering building the dam, the Reagan administration said that they would not fund a "fish and wildlife Christmas tree".  In other words no mitigation.  So what the Corps did was enter into a partnership with the county, state and dike districts that these "local" partners were in charge of mitigation.  They said sure (wink, wink, nod, nod) now give use federal money.  Of course, the end result was a huge dam, with no mitigation for the damage it caused, and no plan to restore the land behind the dam. 
5) There is an effort to change the composition of Wildlife commission to one person per county and per tribe, creating three committees for more direct link between local areas and commission.