Sen. Craig's fall may benefit salmon

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Sen. Craig's fall may benefit salmon
By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press Writer
53 minutes ago


WASHINGTON - The surprising fall of Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, removes a longtime obstacle to efforts by Democrats and environmentalists to promote salmon recovery on Northwest rivers.

Craig, who was removed from leadership posts on the Senate Appropriations and Energy committees after a sex scandal, is known as one the most powerful voices in Congress on behalf of the timber and power industries. Environmentalists have fought him for years on issues from endangered salmon to public land grazing.

Now Senate Democrats, exercising their slim majority, have waded into two contentious issues — both related to Snake River salmon.

First, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada asked federal regulators to require passage for salmon and steelhead for relicensing of the Hells Canyon Complex, a series of dams on the Snake River between Oregon and Idaho.

Reid says the passage would allow salmon to return to their historical spawning grounds in northern Nevada, where the shimmering fish used to run thick nearly a century ago.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070929/ap_on_go_co/salmon_democrats;_ylt=A0WTUekNEf5GLFEByR2yFz4D

---

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[Judi Lynn]

1. Four photos for anyone curious about the Hell's Canyon Complex:

The Hells Canyon Complex (HCC) is a series of three dams owned and operated by Idaho Power Company. The three dams brace the steep sides of Hells Canyon on the border of Idaho and Oregon. Carved by the power of the Snake River, Hells Canyon is one of the most rugged and spectacular ecosystems in the West. It is the deepest river canyon in North America and provides important habitat for numerous fish...
(snip)

http://www.restorehellscanyon.org/rivercanyon.asp

http://cms.pridedepot.com.nyud.net:8090/images/HP070620_Larry-Craig.png http://files.turbosquid.com.nyud.net:8090/Preview/Content_on_3_7_2003_14_25_44/CATAPULT.JPGE11A0BE2-A84E-4792-870A26BBCD5316FE.jpgLarge.jpg

Send Larry Craig home in a hurry!

[rodeodance]

4. Thanks,

[april]

11. Thank u for posting this

[Carrieyazel]

27. The Craigster may be hanging around a bit longer.

[Carrieyazel]

28. I once knew a guy named Craig Larry. His name reversed.

[Carrieyazel]

29. Larry Craig. Why is it that just saying it makes you chuckle.

[Carrieyazel]

30. Larry Craig didn't do anything illegal in that toilet stall did he?

[Carrieyazel]

32. I know this thread is dead, but Larry Craig is a funny guy.

[Carrieyazel]

33. Larry Craig should be able to defend himself

[Carrieyazel]

34. Larry Craig rules. The toilets.

[Carrieyazel]

35. Larry Craig.

[Carrieyazel]

36. Lawrence Craigster

[Carrieyazel]

37. Larry Fitzgerald Craig

[Carrieyazel]

38. Larry Craig is being railroaded by his fellow Repunklicans

[Carrieyazel]

39. Larry Lare Lawr

[Carrieyazel]

40. I am Craig

[Carrieyazel]

42. Hey Lare, what's going on.

[Carrieyazel]

43. Larry Jackson Craig

[Carrieyazel]

44. larry criaggggggggg

[trusty elf]

2. OK, who's going to come up with the punch line for this?

It's still a bit too early for me to be witty.

[rpannier]

5. I'll leave that us to DUer Salmonenchantedevening

it sounds like it would be up his/her alley...er...stream

[Vanje]

24. Senator Craig takes good care of fishes

He absolutely LOVES trouser trout

[Judi Lynn]

3. Larry's "stance" on repairing our environment:

~snip~
Since 1999, Senator Larry Craig has earned a string of zeros from the League of Conservation Voters based on his execrable environmental voting record. In 2002, to smite his home state’s mighty but salmonless Salmon River, Senator Zero attached a rider undercutting salmon recovery efforts. An abject failure at toilet stall flirting, Craig is a true champion of habitat destruction. According the Columbia and Snake Rivers Campaign, exactly three—3--sockeye salmon returned to Redfish Lake in Central Idaho in 2006.

Craig by no means limited his attack on nature to his beclouded Idaho. Over and over he voted to undermine habitat health from Hawaii to Maine and up to Alaska. To counteract those zeroes from nature lovers, guess which industry sponsor filled Craig’s campaign coffers? (No, not just Charmin, please.) The right answer is--surprise--oil and gas.

For oil ‘n’ gas, Larry was the boy who couldn’t say no; he voted YES on defunding renewable and solar energy, YES to allow off-shore drilling for oil ‘n’ gas; YES to allow oil ‘n’ gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

This consenting adult, however, didn’t just play footsie with “yes.” Craig groped for the “no” lever to vote NO on monitoring oil ‘n’ gas smokestacks for mercury pollution, NO on ending discussion of fuel efficiency standards, NO on adding 100,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2010, NO on considering global warming in federal project planning, NO on desert protection in the Mojave.

Craig joined a right-wing circle jerk to reject more than $19 billion in environmental funding through 2010, his hand tipping a 49-48 vote. His sticky fingers defunded programs for conserving public lands and wildlife, oceans, coasts, water and farmland. It doesn’t get more basic or destructive than that, nothing less than Craig’s outright attack on the very elements of nature that sustain our national health.
(snip/...)

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_lee_patt_070924_larry_craig_s_true_c.htm

[Orsino]

6. So he's fish food.

Or dog meat. Or something.

[tanyev]

7. Yay! What's good for the country is good for the salmon.

[Turbineguy]

8. In that case

I wish more republican lawmakers would take his stance.

[AlCzervik]

9. Bush was right! "People and fish can coexist peacefully" if just took the removal of Larry Craig.

[LisaL]

10. Excellent news.

[tyne]

12. No

It's not excellent news.

These pictures and this river is where I spend my summers boating and fishing. If Craigs plan(a good plan) is threatened....he'll be able to run AND win in NOV '08. Their plan will basically ruin my city and the salmon won't be helped a bit.

[tabasco]

22. Hahahaha! I think it's hilarious that republicans would vote

for a guy looking to give blowjobs in a mens restroom just because the corporate masters tell them to.

What a bunch of spineless, gutless, gullible clowns!

[Judi Lynn]

13. As this is the DEMOCRATIC Underground, it's easy to imagine a lot of people here

are concerned about the DEMOCRATIC position on this issue, rather than the personal enjoyment of a PUBLIC resource a certain element finds important for its own pleasure. Here's more on the subject:

Senator Reid Requests Salmon Passage at Hells Canyon Dams
WASHINGTON and RENO, Nev., Sep. 17 /PRNewswire/ --

Nevada Conservationists and Businesses Hail Senator's Leadership on Key Salmon Recovery Issue

WASHINGTON and RENO, Nev., Sept. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to require fish passage at the Hells Canyon Complex on the Snake River as a condition of renewing the dams' federal operating license. The Idaho Power Company is currently seeking to renew its license for the three dams along the Idaho-Oregon border, which today block salmon from returning to the upper reaches of the Snake River Basin and effectively wiped out the historic salmon runs that once graced northeast Nevada rivers. The Senate Majority Leader's request, made via a letter to FERC, was echoed by federal, state and tribal fisheries biologists.

Salmon advocates hailed Senator Reid's action as a major step toward protecting and restoring salmon and steelhead in the Snake River Basin.

"We applaud Senator Reid for taking a stand on this key Western issue," said Andy Mitchell, Nevada-based representative of outdoor clothing and gear supplier Patagonia. "He is asking the right question: why is Idaho Power getting a free pass on fish passage at these dams? We want those fish back home in Nevada where they belong. Senator Reid's action shows that he is truly concerned about the environment and our region's fish and wildlife."

Spanning six western states (Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho, California, Washington, and Oregon), the Columbia-Snake River Basin was once home to the world's most prolific salmon runs. Dams, habitat destruction and poor water management on the Snake River have caused wild salmon and steelhead populations to decline dramatically. These fish, which once ranged as far south as Nevada's Owyhee and Bruneau rivers and sustained tribal communities, remain legendary to Nevada sportsmen and anglers today.

"Old-time anglers tell stories about these huge Snake River salmon coming into the northern part of Nevada, all the way down into northern Elko County," said Larry Johnson, president of the Coalition for Nevada's Wildlife and an avid fisherman. "I never had the privilege myself, but with any luck -- and Senator Reid's leadership -- future generations may be able to experience these majestic fish once again in Nevada. If that dream comes true, it will be because of the foresight and leadership we've seen on this issue from Senator Reid."

Idaho Power's federal permit to operate the Hells Canyon Complex, constructed without fish passage, is currently up for review by FERC. Although fish passage is often mandated as a condition of re-licensing and was indeed contemplated for this three-dam complex when it was built, FERC, in its final Environmental Impact Statement (a precursor to the federal permit), dismissed recommendations by the State of Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Shoshone-Paiute Tribe and conservation groups to require it at Hells Canyon.

Between 1991-1994, Snake River sockeye, spring/summer chinook, and fall chinook -- all blocked from migration by the Hells Canyon dams -- were federally listed under the Endangered Species Act.

In his letter to FERC, Senator Reid strongly urged the Commission to require fish passage at the dams, calling it a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Senator Reid wrote that to allow this license to be renewed without salmon passage "would be a terrible failure and would deny Nevadans access to this incredible native species for many generations to come."

"Congratulations to Sen. Reid for recognizing these fish as an important part of our state's wild heritage," said Nevada angler and State Assemblyman David Bobzien. "If the fish come back, people from all over will once again be booking fishing trips up to those beautiful rivers in Northern Nevada."

http://news.corporate.findlaw.com/prnewswire/20070917/17sep20071401.html

[Pachamama]

14. Mother nature works in mysterious ways....

:eyes:

[ingac70]

15. It's IDAHO. They'll just replace Craig with another scumbag....

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but his replacement, and anyone voted in that seat in the future will probably be just as bad. I wouldn't break out the fireworks just yet.

[tyne]

16. They won't

have to "replace" Craig. If Reid pushes this, Craig will run again and win. A "replacement" for Craig will not have the clout Craig does.

[IDemo]

18. Nope. Craig wouldn't win here again

But an even worse repug very likely would -> http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2007/aug/31/meet_the_new_hypocrite

[tyne]

19. yes he would

win again in Idaho if Reid pushes this.

[IDemo]

20. Sorry. I've lived here for 35 years and have an excellent understanding of the politics

and of the mindset of the electorate. Craig could not win an election for dog catcher here after his debacle.

[ingac70]

23. clout, smout....

How they vote is ultimately what matters.

Anyone who takes his spot will be just like him (except maybe the bathroom cruising!).

[DeepModem Mom]

17. K&R

[tyne]

21. well

i've lived here for 46 six years and know the mindest of voters on this issue. Dems in Idaho even agree with Craig on this issue.

[tabasco]

25. If their "mindset" is to vote for a guy looking to give blowjobs

to strangers in a public mens room, they deserve to be the laughingstock of the Nation.

"Mind - set" = "Brain - wash."

Too bad republicans can't think for themselves!

[tyne]

26. You're missing the point

Idahoans wouldn't care if there was videotape (and they had watched it) of Craig actually having sex with a guy as long as Craig could stop the proposed Salmon recovery plan. IOW, Craig could run on that one issue...and win. All would be forgiven.

[Sukie1941]

31. Dam on my section of Rogue River in So Oregon

Savage Rapids Dam, built two miles from where I live on the Rogue River, is in early stages of being removed. New modern irrigation system is being built in its place which won't restrict water or fish movement. This dam was built in 1920's and has been in contention for decades, including a long time coming in starting its dismantling.

I am delighted even though our dock will be high and dry. I think the majority of dams don't need to be built. The Corps of Engineers continues building one dam after another, just to have something to look forward to, I suppose.

[michaelwb]

41. The question is

The question is who stands to benefit, which establishes the motive.

The Salmon clearly stand the benefit, thus the Salmon "framed" Senator Craig.

Next question...

;-)