Video of harming green sturgeon may cause changes

The San Francisco ChronicleBy Tom StienstraJuly 1, 2012Videos on YouTube that show a group of outlaw fishermen harming a protected green sturgeon they caught will probably lead to a $7.50 fishing fee and a new set of regulations.The videos show a group, night fishing from a boat, land a large protected green sturgeon, use a snare that can harm it, then mishandle the fish on the boat, keep it out Read More…

Research details impacts of low-elevation irrigation diversion dams…

The Columbia Basin BulletinJune 29, 2012Increased flows, lower temperatures and “outright removal of barriers” like irrigation diversion dams would dramatically increase the passage and, thereby, the survival of Pacific lamprey in the Umatilla River, according to a paper published in June in the North American Journal of Fisheries Management. The article – “Low-Elevation Dams are Read More…

New Central Valley flood protection plan backs trees on levees

The Sacramento BeeBy Matt WeiserJune 30, 2012A new flood protection plan approved Friday for California's Central Valley takes a firm stand against a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers policy that could require trees and shrubs to be stripped from levees in the region.The new Central Valley Flood Protection Plan calls for improvements over several decades that are estimated to cost $17 billion. It Read More…

Record June rainfall forces big spill releases at Libby Dam

The Columbia Basin BulletinJune 29, 2012The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has ramped up flows from Libby Dam even higher to prevent Lake Koocanusa from reaching full pool, but the higher flows continue to cause flooding at Bonners Ferry, Idaho. The dam has been releasing water at powerhouse capacity of 25,000 cubic per second, but flows from its spillway and sluice gates were increased from Read More…

Central Valley flood protection plan approved

The Sacramento BeeBy Matt WeiserJune 29, 2012A new flood protection plan approved Friday for California's Central Valley takes a firm stand against rules by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that could require all trees and shrubs to be stripped from levees in the region.The new Central Valley Flood Protection Plan will guide regional flood-safety improvements for the forseeable future and must be Read More…

High bacteria levels in WA waters, not found in OR, ID

OPBJune 28, 2012Environmental regulators have detected high levels of fecal coliform in one of the Northwest’s most important areas for growing food.Fecal coliform can come from sources like sewer connections and livestock manure that washes into streams. The bacteria have become a yearly occurrence in 13 water bodies in central Washington’s Yakima Valley. In farmland, it’s made worse by Read More…

Cambodian villagers protest controversial Laos dam

ReutersBy Prak Chan ThulJune 29, 2012Cambodian villagers demonstrated on Friday against a controversial Lao hydropower dam that activists say is being built in defiance of an agreement to assess its potentially damaging impact on millions of people first.About 200 villagers whose livelihoods depend on the Mekong River urged a halt to the Thai-led construction of the $3.5 billion Xayaburi dam, Read More…

Xayaburi Dam construction defies moratorium

The Asia SentinelJune 29, 2012Despite the opposition of three governments and an array of environmentalists and public service groups from across the planet, the Xayaburi Dam, deep inside the mountains of northern Laos on the lower Mekong River, appears to be almost unstoppable. The Thai energy company Ch. Karnchang is said to be pressing ahead with the dam, to be built to supply electricity to Read More…

Reports about further environmental damage along the Mekong River

Travel Daily NewsBy Luc CitrinotJune 29, 2012NGO International Rivers reported in its yesterday edition that controversial construction work goes unabated along the Mekong River with possible irremediable damage for the environment and the ecosystem. And this time the blame is put on Thailand and not on China. The latter is already in the midst of polemics due to a dam construction in the Upper Read More…

Controversial quota system results in fewer fish being discarded at…

The Seattle TimesBy Hal BerntonJune 30, 2012On a blustery afternoon off the Southwest Washington coast, skipper Kevin Dunn hauls up a net from the ocean bottom and dumps a pungent potpourri of black cod, Dover sole, rockfish and other sea life onto the deck.Two deckhands sort, store and ice more than 3,000 pounds of fish that will be brought back to a shoreside processor. Meanwhile, a biologist Read More…