Water, Fish, and Wildlife

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Chapter 12

• Water, Fish, and Wildlife

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Chapter Headings

• Fish and wildlife protection
• Wetlands and wildlife
• Case studies
• Columbia River Basin
• Florida vs. Georgia
• In-stream flows

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Early Fish and Wildlife Protection

• Early laws on fish and wildlife protection dealt
  mainly with hunting and fishing rights
• Laws to protect fish and wildlife began in mid
  1900s
• At that time it was recognized that some species
  were declining rapidly
• Bald eagle, the national symbol, was rarely seen
  except in Alaska

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Fish and Wildlife Protection

• Endangered Species Act (ESA) passed in 1973
• Two categories of species recognized
• Endangered Plants and animals in danger of
  extinction in the foreseeable future throughout
  all or a significant portion of their range
• Threatened Species likely to become endangered
  in the foreseeable future
• Goal is to increase the populations of these
  species
• Includes securing habitat to aid recovery

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Fish and Wildlife Protection

• ESA applies to federal agencies
• No federal action can jeopardize a listed species
  or adversely affect habitat
• Particularly affects COE and USBR water projects
• Also applies to individuals
• Prohibits the taking (killing, harming, or
  harassment) of listed species
• Individuals can sue federal government for
  failure to follow ESA

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Why Save Endangered Species?

• Environmental Important to maintain foodweb of
  plants and animals. Loss of critical elements of
  web (keystone species) could cause total
  disruption of natural environment
• Examples gopher tortoises and cave bats

Keystone arch collapses without the keystone at
the top
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Why Save Endangered Species?

• Economic Plant and animal species such as
  salmon provide economic benefits to businesses
  such as commercial fisheries and tourism
• Medicine Approximately 50 of prescribed
  medicines derived from plant and animal
  substances
• Agriculture Wild strains of crop species are
  gene-pool source for improved varieties with
  greater resistance to disease, drought tolerance,
  and other desirable traits

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Why Save Endangered Species?

• Recreation Ecotourism, such as bird and whale
  watching, is important economically and as a
  quality of life issue
• Religious/spiritual/aesthetic Many feel that
  stewardship of natures resources greatly
  enhances quality of life

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Why Save Endangered Species?

• Some of the greatest biodiversity in North
  America is in southeastern streams
• Mississippi River provided an escape route south
  from glaciers
• Many species ended up in tributaries
• 18 of the top 20 watersheds in continental U.S.
  with greatest number of endangered species are in
  Tennessee, Ohio, Cumberland, and Mobile River
  basins
• http//endangered.fws.gov
• http//www.fws.gov/Athens/endangered.html

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Why Save Endangered Species?

• Endangered species include darters and mussels in
  Georgia
• Mussel mantles are extraordinary example of
  evolution

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Chapter Headings

• Fish and wildlife protection
• Wetlands and wildlife
• Case studies
• Columbia River Basin
• Florida vs. Georgia
• In-stream flows

12
Wetlands and Wildlife

• Estimated that more than 11 of U.S. landmass was
  wetlands before Europeans arrived
• Native Americans valued wetlands and hunting
  beaver was prohibited in many tribes
• Early legislation aimed at draining wetlands
• Swamp Acts of 1849, 1850, and 1860
• Estimated that over 50 of original wetlands have
  been drained

13
Wetlands and Wildlife

• U.S. policy on wetlands changed drastically in
  the 1970s
• Clean Water Act
• Endangered Species Act
• National Environmental Policy Act
• Wetland functions
• Critical habitat for many species
• Filter for pollutants
• Groundwater recharge or discharge areas

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Wetlands and Wildlife

• More than 1/3 of endangered/threatened species
  live only in wetlands
• Nearly ½ of these species use wetlands in some
  stage in their life cycle
• Current U.S. policy for federally funded programs
  is no net loss of wetlands
• Clean Water Act requires permit from COE and EPA
  for development that will impact wetlands

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Chapter Headings

• Fish and wildlife protection
• Wetlands and wildlife
• Case studies
• Columbia River Basin
• Florida vs. Georgia
• In-stream flows

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Columbia River Basin

• Columbia River Basin is North Americas 4th
  largest watershed
• Columbia River and Snake River
• 18 mainstem dams, 10 of these are federal
  irrigation/hydroelectric projects
• 9 operated by COE
• 1 operated by USBR
• Includes Grand Coulee Dam, largest hydroelectric
  producer in North America

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Columbia River Basin

• 5 species of salmon live along the Columbia River
  system
• Chinook (king salmon), coho, chum, sockeye, and
  pink
• Also steelhead trout, shad, smelt, and lamprey
• Steelhead trout same as freshwater rainbow trout
  but spends part of its life at sea
• Unlike salmon they do not die after spawning

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Columbia River Basin

• Salmon life cycle
• Hatch in gravel bottoms of freshwaters streams of
  Columbia River Basin
• Spend up to 2 years maturing in streams which
  provide protective habitat
• Then travel downstream to Pacific where they
  spend 4-5 years following North Pacific currents
• When spawning time arrives travel back up
  Columbia to spawn and die at the same site where
  they were born
• Spawning grounds may be 2,000 miles upstream

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Columbia River Basin

• Salmon evolution (article by Lichatowich1)
• Ancestral salmon were a freshwater species
• About 15 million years ago salmon started making
  short feeding forays into estuaries that were
  rich in food
• Evolved a salt-pump in their gills that allowed
  them to move to full-strength seawater
• Gorged themselves on rich oceanic pastures and
  returned to home waters much larger than
  freshwater species
• Anadromous Fish that hatch in freshwater,
  migrate to ocean to grow and mature and return to
  freshwater to reproduce

1Jim Lichatowich, A Natural History of Pacific
Salmon, 2004
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Columbia River Basin

• Salmon evolution continued (article by
  Lichatowich1)
• Return of salmon each year to Columbian Basin
  represented a huge input of nutrients and energy
  harvested from ocean
• At least 22 species of mammals and birds feed on
  salmon carcasses (brown bears to wrens)
• Nutrients are also taken up by streamside shrubs
  and trees
• Salmon is a keystone species

1Jim Lichatowich, A Natural History of Pacific
Salmon, 2004
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Columbia River Basin

• Over fishing in the late 1800s and early 1900s
  caused serious decline in salmon numbers
• As dams were built on the Columbia these limited
  migration to spawning grounds and return to sea
• Fish ladders used to provide route around dams
  for salmon going upstream
• Barges and tanker trucks used to transport mature
  salmon downstream
• Bypass lines installed for downstream travel
• Limited success

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Columbia River Basin

• Annual salmon runs declined from 6 million to
  9,000 fish in Yakima River
• Grand Coulee Dam completed in 1941
• Too high for fish ladders
• 1,000 miles of spawning grounds in upper Columbia
  lost

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Columbia River Basin

• Fish hatcheries were established to replenish
  wild salmon
• Research showed disadvantages of fish hatcheries
• Fish try to return to hatchery to spawn
• Hatchery fish do not learn how to hide from
  predators
• Genetic diversity important for survival is lost

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Columbia River Basin

• Some groups are advocating breaching dams on the
  lower Columbia
• Hydroelectricty produced by dams played a
  critical role during WWII
• Today there is excess hydroelectric capacity
• Is providing cheap irrigation water to farmers
  worth decline in salmon populations?
• Dam removal projects http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki
  /Dam_removal

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Chapter Headings

• Fish and wildlife protection
• Wetlands and wildlife
• Case studies
• Columbia River Basin
• Florida vs. Georgia
• In-stream flows

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Florida vs. Georgia

• Long running court case over flow in the
  Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) basin
• Only recently has the Endangered Species Act
  become an issue in the conflict
• Three species of mussels and Gulf sturgeon
  endangered according to US Fish and Wildlife
  Service
• Mussels filter water of pollutants and serve as
  food source for raccoons, otters, and muskrats
• Referred to as Phase II
• Phase I is about Atlantas right to withdraw
  water from Lake Lanier

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Florida vs. Georgia
Fat threeridge mussel http//dsc.discovery.com/new
s/2006/06/07/mussels_tra_zoom0.html?categorytrave
lguid20060607153010
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Florida vs. Georgia
Gulf sturgeon http//www.riversofalabama.org/Conec
uh/gulf-sturgeon.gif
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Florida vs. Georgia

• Little is known about water needs of mussels
• In recent court decision on Phase II Judge
  Magnuson ruled that Floridas case is moot
• Because of his earlier ruling on Phase I gave
  Georgia and COE 3 years to get approval from
  Congress for a new operating plan for Lake Lanier

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Chapter Headings

• Fish and wildlife protection
• Wetlands and wildlife
• Case studies
• Columbia River Basin
• Platte River Basin
• Florida vs. Georgia
• In-stream flows

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In-stream Flows

• Rivers for Life Managing Water for People and
  Nature
• Published in 2003
• Sandra Postel and Brian Richter
• Most of our rivers no longer have natural flow
• Maintaining environmentally-friendly flow more
  than guaranteeing a minimum flow
• Australia and South Africa leaders in this area
  or science
• Also called enviromental flows and ecosystems
  services

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Flood stage in Murray-Darling Basin Australia,
December, 2003
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In-stream Flows

• Process for determining desired flows
• Assemble scientists with knowledge about
  individual species
• Determine what are the key high and low flow
  needs of each species
• Guiding principle getting close to natural flow
  will be best
• Develop a plan
• Use adaptive management in implementing plan
• Monitor to see if its working if not modify
  plan

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Chapter Summary

• Endangered Species Act passed in 1972
• Destruction of habitat is the main cause of
  extinction
• Wetlands are critical habitat
• Salmon are threatened in Columbia River
• Georgia vs Florida court case involves 3
  endangered species
• In-stream flows more than a minimum flow

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Postscript

• Boulder CO update
• http//www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/us/boulder-seeks
  -to-take-power-from-the-power-company.html?_r1hp
  w

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Additional Topics

• Klamath project
• Platte River basin
• Everglades project
• Snail darter vs. Tellico Dam

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Klamath Project

• In 1905 Congress authorized USBR to develop
  Klamath Project
• Delivers irrigation water to dry lands in
  southern Oregon for agriculture
• Area in rain shadow of Cascade Mountains (12-14
  in)
• 210,000 acres of irrigated alfalfa, barley, oats,
  wheat, potatoes, and sugar beets

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Klamath Project

• In 2001 a severe drought occurred
• USBR announced due to ESA it would have to limit
  irrigation water to users for the benefit of
  endangered salmon and other species
• Federal officials stated that ESA took precedence
  over long-standing irrigation policy in the area
• Caused outrage among water users
• USBR put guards and surveillance cameras at
  irrigation headgates
• Crops lost due to lack of water

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Klamath Project

• Drought continued in 2002
• USBR lowered the minimum required flow to allow
  diversion of water to irrigation users
• Near record low flows in river resulted
• Above average populations of salmon entered the
  river to travel upstream and spawn
• September there was a fish kill 34,000 adult
  salmon and steelhead
• Attributed to crowding of fish and elevated
  temperatures which made fish susceptible to
  disease

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October, 2009
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Additional Topics

• Klamath project
• Platte River basin
• Everglades project
• Snail darter vs. Tellico Dam

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Platte River Basin

• Platte River is a mile wide and an inch deep
• Braided river with numerous channels and sand
  bars
• Due in part to high flows from snow melt in the
  Rockies
• Ideal habitat for endangered birds migrating to
  and from Canada

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Platte River Basin

• Sandhill Crane
• Each year 80 of species converge on 150-mile
  section of Platte River during migration
• Also hundreds of thousands of ducks and geese

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Platte River Basin

• Whooping crane
• Approximately 400 birds are left
• Shallow water with good visibility of approaching
  prey is ideal feeding ground

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Platte River Basin

• Many cities along Front Range of Rockies get
  their water from reservoirs on National Forest
  land in the headwaters of the South Platte River
• Greeley, Fort Collins, Boulder, and Denver
• In late 1980s cities filed with U. S. Forest
  Service for renewal of 30-yr permits
• NEPA (passed in 1970) required Environmental
  Impact Statement

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Platte River Basin

• USFS concluded that reservoirs reduced flow and
  affected habitat of endangered migratory birds in
  the Platte River Basin
• Permits would not be renewed without a
  one-for-one replacement of water diversions
• For every acre-foot of water stored in CO, one
  acre-foot of water would have to be released to
  critical habitat in central NE

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Platte River Basin

• Cities protested
• Years of negotiations followed
• 1997 agreement was signed between governors of
  CO, WY, and NE and U.S. Department of Interior
• Plan designed to restore critical habitat
• Once this is done, limited water development will
  be allowed upstream

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Platte River Basin

• Elements of plan
• Increase flow in critical habitat area by 130,000
  to 150,000 acre-ft in the next 10 yr
• Reserve storage in two reservoirs to be used to
  maintain flow during critical periods
• Ultimately, 417,000 acre-ft of additional flow
  will be available for environmental flows

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Additional Topics

• Klamath project
• Platte River basin
• Everglades project
• Snail darter vs. Tellico Dam

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Everglades Project

• Everglades is the largest freshwater wetland in
  the world
• Slow-moving river 50-miles wide flowing from Lake
  Okeechobee region to southern tip of Florida
• Over 50 of original wetlands have been lost to
  drainage
• Everglades National Park protects 20 of area

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Everglades Project

• Everglades is home to 14 endangered or threatened
  species
• Includes wood stork and Florida panther

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Everglades Project

• Extensive system of canals installed to drain
  Everglades Agricultural Area in 1930s
• Just to the north of the Everglades
• Agricultural Area now dominated by sugar cane
  corporations
• Phosphorus and nitrogen in runoff from sugar cane
  fields causing eutrophication in Everglades
• Drainage canals have altered and reduced natural
  flows through Everglades

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Everglades Project

• In 1994 Everglades Forever Act was passed
• Partnership between federal government and
  Florida
• Established artificial wetlands (stormwater
  treatment areas) between sugar cane fields and
  Everglades to reduce nutrient concentrations
• In 1996 Florida voters defeated proposed tax of 1
  cent/pound of sugar
• Funds would have been used to expand conservation
  measures in Everglades

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Everglades Project

• In 2000, Congress authorized federal payment of
  50 of 10.9 billion estimated to restore
  Everglades
• Florida legislature passed legislation to fund
  more than 2 billion of cost

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Additional Topics

• Klamath project
• Platte River basin
• Everglades project
• Snail darter vs. Tellico Dam

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Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam
Conflict described in Marc Reisners Cadillac
Dessert and Chapter 12 of textbook
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Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• Jimmy Carters first experience with dams was as
  Governor in Georgia
• Carter had a degree in engineering from U.S.
  Naval Academy
• Dam was proposed on Flint River at Sprewell Bluff
  by COE
• Now a state park http//gastateparks.org/find?loc
  ationid66
• Carter read COE plan
• Wrote blistering 18-page letter to COE accusing
  it of computational manipulation
• The COE lied to me he told friends
• Vetoed plans for the dam

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Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• Shortly after election as President in 1976
  Carter reviewed federal program to manage water
  resources
• 19 new water projects were proposed by USBR and
  COE
• Concluded There is no coherent water resources
  management policy
• Later Carter vetoed a bill to fund the projects

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Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• Tennessee Valley Authority
• Created during the Great Depression by President
  Franklin Roosevelt
• A corporation clothed with the power of
  government but possessed of the flexibility and
  initiative of a private enterprise
• First attempt at watershed approach to planning
• Goal was to aid development in poor rural areas
  by providing cheap electricity, fertilizers, etc.
• Did this by developing hydroelectric dams
• www.tva.gov/sites/sites_ie2.htm

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Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• TVA started out with a good approach but then
  outgrew its mission
• in Reisners view
• By 1970s much of the electric power was being
  generated by coal-powered plants
• Strip mining coal was destroying the land
• Much of the area was still poverty-stricken
• Coal-powered plants were contributing to acid
  rain problems in the northeast

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Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• Tellico Dam had been proposed by TVA in 1960s
• Dam would not produce hydropower
• Would raise the level in the Little Tennessee
  River so that extra water could be run through a
  canal to an existing hydroelectric dam
• Would produce relatively insignificant additional
  power
• No flood control benefit
• Little recreational benefit (many other
  reservoirs in surrounding area)
• Approved for construction in 1969

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Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• Endangered Species Act passed in 1973
• In 1973, professor of zoology from University of
  Tennessee discovered snail darter in Little
  Tennessee River
• 1975 USFW classified snail darter as an
  endangered species
• Court ordered dam construction halted
• Decision upheld by Supreme Court in 1978

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Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• Congress began considering amendments to ESA that
  would allow construction of Tellico Dam
• Passed a law that set up a Cabinet-level
  committee that would resolve any case where ESA
  stopped construction of a dam
• Composed of Secretaries of Interior, Agriculture,
  Army, EPA and others
• Called the God Squad

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Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• In 1978 God Squad reviewed case
• Unanimously decided against dam construction
• Based decision on economics, not environmental
  impact
• Cost-benefit analysis was faulty and did not
  justify construction

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Snail Darter vs. Tellico Dam

• June 1979 Congress approved a little-noticed
  amendment to House appropriations bill
• Exempted Tellico Dam from ESA
• Congress approved appropriations bill
• Carter could veto bill
• Needed Congressional support for treaty that
  would return Panama Canal to Panama
• Couldnt afford to alienate key congressmen
• Tellico Dam was completed in 1980
• 1984 USFW downgraded snail darter from endangered
  to threatened