Fish recovery board seeks input on plan

The Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board is seeking public input on proposed amendments to the Lower Columbia Salmon Recover Plan.

The agency is holding public meetings on the plan starting next week. The meeting schedule is

--March 16, Cowlitz Historical Museum, Kelso;

--March 18, Skamania County Annex Conference Room, Stevenson;

--March 22, River Street Meeting Room, Cathlamet; and

--March 24, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Conference Room, Vancouver.

All meetings start at 7 p.m.

Public comments will be accepted through April 9.

The salmon recovery plan was adopted in 2006. The changes come from policy changes and additional information on salmon and steelhead stocks under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The plan and proposed changes are available over the Internet at http://www.lcfrb.gen.wa.us.

Changes to the plan focus on:

--Updated scenarios for several fish populations, including updated assessments for restoration potential;

--Improved analytical framework for assessing population status using scientific advances since the plan was first written;

--Revised habitat analyses;

--An expanded treatment of coho status, objectives and strategies;

--And revised cost estimates, organizational improvements, and so on.

The plan includes sections on lower Columbia tributaries such as Skamokawa Creek, the Elochoman River (212 pages) and the Grays River (98 pages).

The portion referring to the Grays River reflects a fish recovery board position taken in response to opposition to the plan from Grays River Valley residents, said Wahkiakum County Commissioner Blair Brady, who serves on the fish recovery board.

Potential projects are identified, but none are proposed. "They're on the shelf so the plan is a reference tool," he said.