Quotations

«For the past 20 years, the Fish Passage Center has provided the Northwest with reliable data in a timely manner. Today's decision is the result of a terribly flawed process that started from a false, predetermined conclusion ? that the Fish Passage Center needed to be replaced.»

«Today's decision is the result of a terribly flawed process that started from a false, predetermined conclusion - that the Fish Passage Center needed to be replaced. [Jan. 25], a White House official spoke to the region about sharing responsibility in rebuilding salmon runs and argued that hydroelectric impacts had been addressed. Today a federal agency, BPA, shuts down an established, efficient science center and shifts the work to an assemblage of less experienced and unproven entities virtually guaranteeing that the regional collaborative effort will suffer, perhaps flat out fail. Actions speak louder than words.»

«This raises huge questions about the authorities of States and Tribes to access the best scientific data and manage a regional resource. Congress was clear 26 years ago when it passed the Northwest Power Act laying out the roles and responsibilities of tribes and federal and state fishery agencies. If this stands, it says that any member of Congress, behind closed doors, can undo a decades-long effort with words hidden in a legislative report.»

«In both instances, these issues represent the sovereignty of tribal government. It would threaten a vital revenue stream. Passage of this bill is an action that seems both premature and unnecessary.»