Bob Rees, Northwest Guides & Anglers Association

But the tides are turning.

Yet another energy company, Kinder Morgan, has just today pulled the plug on their plans to use  the Northwest to export Powder River Basin coal on the world market.

This fight, however, is far from over. Of the roughly 150 millions tons of coal proposed to be shipped through the waters of the Northwest, over 80% is still on track for being permitted.

“We won’t rest until all the coal companies quit polluting the waters that our fisheries depend on. Our community depends on salmon jobs and our families depend on healthy seafood. We’re fighting for survival, globally and locally.”
-Bob Rees, President of the Northwest Guides & Anglers Association

Join the fight to protect Northwest fish and wildlife from dangerous coal export proposals.

Michael O’Leary of Portland, Oregon is an Outreach Consultant for National Wildlife Federation working on coal export and renewable energy issues in the Pacific Northwest, where he’s been a political organizer for over 15 years. Michael is a certified cycling instructor and a certifiable bike enthusiast, and can often be found on two wheels, rain or shine.

The decision came after Ambre Energy initially refused to provide key information requested by Oregon’s Department of State Lands (DSL), including the project’s impacts to fish and wildlife. Knowing that DSL would likely deny the permit without this information, Ambre was forced to ask for an extension—pushing back the final decision on the permit by five months.

Dangers to Local Fish and Wildlife

Orcas like this one are at risk from toxic coal pollution. Source: Minette Layne/WikiMedia Commons

In addition to the impacts from toxic pollution to endangered orcas and other imperiled Northwest species, once the coal is exported overseas and burned, it would drive climate change, ocean acidification, mercury deposition, and other crises that affect species like salmon and steelhead, upon which orcas depend.

If approved, the Morrow Pacific project would be the first of five proposed coal export facilities in Oregon and Washington to get a green light. If all of them are built, over 150 million tons or more of coal would be moved by rail, barge, and tanker every year through those states—making it one of the world’s largest coal export regions.

Coal Exports Meet Rising Opposition

Public Opposition to Coal Exports, Seattle. NWF Photo by Michael O’Leary.

Tens of thousands of public comments, packed public hearings, and letters to the editor in local newspapers have turned up the pressure on decision makers by exposing the dangers of coal to the environment and communities. The Morrow Pacific delay is the second since the permit was filed just over a year ago, and just last week, two of the three investors of another proposed coal export terminal at Coos Bay, Oregon announced they are backing out.

Take Action for Northwest Wildlife!

Governor Kitzhaber and his Department of State Lands now have until September 1^st to approve or deny the Morrow Pacific permit. While the governor has recently called on federal officials to do a sweeping review of proposed ports, he’s also coming under heavy pressure from the coal industry. Before a final decision is made, it’s critical that Governor Kitzhaber knows his constituents support him in standing strong against coal export from Oregon’s shores.

There are countless reasons why we must stop coal exports: to sustain the diverse habitats and wildlife of our region, to keep our waters and air clean, to fight climate change—just to name a few.

TAKE ACTION! In the comment box below, tell us why stopping Northwest coal export projects matters to YOU, and we’ll share your messages with the Governor!

Flickr photo by Jerry Oldenettel.

The recent Jaguar sightings come at a time when a few local policy battles could determine the size and scope of the species US habitat. After years of lawsuits and controversey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently issued a plan to recover the endangered species to its historic US terrain. FWS proposed designating 838,232 acres as critical jaguar habitat—covering four stretches of mountains in southeastern Arizona, a section of the Peloncillo Mountains on the Arizona–New Mexico border, and a tiny piece of New Mexico’s San Luis Mountains.

In addition to this ongoing controversy over critical habitat there also exists a potentially frightening roadblock to the Jaguar recovery as well as other species such as the Chiricahua leopard frog. Not too far from where this recent photo was taken is a pending proposal to develop a large scale copper mine. Rosemont, the local subsidiary of a Canadian mining corporation, is requesting permits to dig a mile-wide, half-mile deep pit and dump waste rock and tailings on more than 3,000 acres of National Forest land.

The draft Environmental Impact Statement  lists 27 imperiled plants and animals that would be directly harmed by the mine, including the jaguar. It says that the proposed action would directly destroy more than 6,000 acres of wildlife habitat and negatively affect another 90,000 acres. It describes significantly elevated levels of air and water pollutants associated with the mine, including greenhouse gases, and it states that groundwater impacts would dry up 84 springs and diminish or eliminate the flow of important perennial streams.

In addition to these issues highlighted by the Forest Service draft EIS,  EPA and DEQ have also issued concerns including:  Serious impacts to drinking water to local residents, potential violations to Arizona aquifer water quality standards as well as issues with 11 Indian Tribes. The mine site is alleged to contain up to 80 cultural sites, including burial sites, that must be considered and mitigated according to the National Historic Preservation Act.

Utah mine similar to Rosemont Mine proposed in Arizona- photo Earthworks

In this dry arid environment where water is arguably more precious than any metal, Rosemont Copper is proposing to dump untreated mining waste on 10–15 miles of streams and desert springs.

If you care about clean water and responsible energy development, and if you care about helping the endangered species such as the jaguar recover, please speak up today and ask the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers to prevent mining companies such as Rosemont Copper from endangering our fish, wildlife, and communities with industrial pollution.

Let’s give wildlife a fighting chance!

Speak up to protect jaguars, grizzlies, and many more wildlife from toxic mine pollution.

February 4, 2013 correction: This post was updated to better reflect the historic reasons for the decline of jaguars in North America, and to provide a broader view of the environmental and cultural impacts of the proposed mine. It was also changed to correctly attribute the recent jaguar photograph.

Efforts to stop more coal from falling into the Georgia Strait are underway after a massive tanker crashed through a coal exporter’s conveyor belt at Roberts Bank in Delta early Friday.

The 180,000 tonne Cape Apricot – a ship too large to traverse the Panama Canal – destroyed more than 100 metres of the belt leading to Westshore Terminals’ largest loading berth at 1 a.m., dumping about 30 tonnes (one third of a rail car) of coal sitting on the belt into the water.

“You’re not expecting a ship to ram through your coal way,” Westshore spokesman Ray Dykes said Sunday. “It’s like when a car goes through a restaurant window – it’s like we own the restaurant.”

Westshore Terminals, just across the border in Vancouver, is the biggest coal port on the West coast. You can see a photo here (I’m trying to get permission to include it in this blog) where the freighter sheared right through a long conveyor belt that stretches from the dock to the shore. The coal spilling into the water is visible even from several hundred feet above…drifting down-current toward who knows where. The toxins in the coal will pollute the water and harm wildlife, not to mention causing a massive headache for the port authorities.

Citizens rallied Thursday night in opposition to the Morrow Pacific coal terminal project (Photo: Columbia Riverkeeper)

Tanker accidents are another heavy risk of exporting coal, alongside train wrecks, pollution, wildlife impacts, and dozens of other problems. And if the coal industry gets its way, we’re talking about a LOT of tanker traffic in a pretty small space — it takes more than a couple of boats to transport 150 million tons of coal each year, and that means more accidents, more collisions, and more coal spills.

Becky McIntire and I co-authored this blog.

Bats

Did you know Washington is home to sixteen of the world’s 900+ species of bats? While most commonly associated with comic book superheroes or blood-sucking vampires, bats are actually a critical part of Washington’s ecosystems. They dine on hundreds of insects a night in the summer, controlling pest populations and providing fertilizer and seed dispersal for our forests and other ecosystems. Check them out on batcams, here and here.

A female Townsend’s big-eared bat, Corynorhinus townsendii. Photo: J. N. Stuart

Myth: Bats only live in caves – or attics!

Fact: Bats make their homes in hollow trees and snags as well as caves. You can also put up bat houses.

Myth: Bats are flying rodents.

Fact: Bats are mammals! And they are more similar to humans than they are to rodents such as mice.

Myth: While bats on the East Coast are in trouble from White-Nose Syndrome, Pacific Northwest bats are doing just fine.

Fact: Nine of Washington’s bat species are listed as state Species of Special Concern or as Federal Candidate Category 2 species, which means we lack enough information to list them under the Endangered Species Act even though listing may be appropriate. The Townsend’s Big-eared bat, for example, is one of the rarest bats in Puget Sound. According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, whole colonies of these cave-dependent species have disappeared after human disturbance.

You can help bats! By providing habitat with trees, snags, and bat houses, minimizing pesticide use, avoiding roosting bats, supporting bat research, practicing responsible bat watching, and much more, you can help sustain our beautiful and essential bat populations.

Most of this information is drawn from a wonderful website: www.batsnorthwest.org.

Owls

Owls have held a mysterious appeal for humans for thousands of years, appearing in myths, legends and superstitions, often as harbingers of death or as symbols of wisdom.  Maybe we find owls fascinating because of their large eyes, silent flight, nocturnal habits and their disconcerting

Threatened northern spotted owl, Strix occidentalis caurina, with young. Photo: Jim Thrailkill/USFWS

Myth: Owls can turn their heads around in a full 360 degree circle.

 Fact: Most sources agree that an owl can turn its head just 3/4 or 270 degrees around, which is still impressive.

Myth: Those tufts are ears.

 Fact: Nope, the ears are located on the side of the head, just like in people.  However, the ears may be uneven, allowing the birds to locate prey by triangulating with sound when  vision isn’t enough.  The tufts are thought to be useful in camouflaging the bird as well as expressing aggression.

Lamprey

If you need a costume idea for next year, consider lamprey! The lamprey is a culturally-important species for many Pacific Northwest Tribes, who harvest the fish for subsistence, ceremonial, and medicinal purposes. All three species have been suggested for listing as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Despite their importance, myths persist about their feeding and habitat preferences.

Although mating pairs of lamprey typically construct their redds, or nest, together, this is a single female Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentata). Photo: USFWS Pacific (courtesy of Jeremy Monroe)

Myth: Lamprey live only in fresh water.

Fact: Four lamprey species are native to the Columbia Basin and two of them – Pacific and river lamprey – are anadromous, meaning they live in both fresh and saltwater. The other two, Western brook and Pacific brook lamprey, are freshwater species. All lamprey play an important role in the freshwater stream ecosystem, recycling nutrients by filtering microscopic plants and animals from the bottom sediments.

 Myth: Lamprey are parasites.

Fact: Pacific and river lamprey are parasitic, but only in the ocean phase of their life cycle. They are also food for sharks and sea lions! Western brook and Pacific brook lamprey are not parasites. 

Spiders

From horror movies with giant spiders to the fear of spiders known as arachnophobia, spiders are among the most feared and misunderstood creatures common to the Pacific Northwest. In truth, spiders are quite important for managing pests and generally avoid contact with us.

Myth: Daddy-longlegs venom is fatal to humans, but fortunately their fangs are too small to bite us.

Fact: Only one of the three groups called daddy-longlegs – the Pholcid spiders – has venom and there is no evidenceit is fatal. Also, what many term daddy-longlegs are actually crane

Is this Tegenaria gigantea, the giant house spider? It’s hard to tell without a microscope and other tools. Photo: Becky McIntire

flies or harvestmen, neither of which have venom.

Myth: Spiders found in or near drains came up through the pipes.

Fact: It seems spiders actually get stuck on the smooth surfaces common to sinks and tubs after they have come down from a wall or ceiling.

Myth: Spiders are easy to identify, for example by their markings.

Fact: Spiders are identified by their structure and a microscope is often needed to do so.

And for those of you who think spider webs are small, check out this blog to see an enormous spider web! Most of these mythbusting facts are drawn from an extensive website on Spider Myths, authored by the Burke Museum’s Curator of Arachnids Rod Crawford.

Snakes

Snakes are fascinating. I devoured every book and Discovery channel show I could find on them as a child. I learned that yes, snakes shed their skin, but no, they do not roll into a big “O” and roll away from you. I’ve even had the opportunity to hold a garter snake and feel the muscles of an albino python around my neck. My love and curiosity about snakes remains today. Here are some other cool myths and facts about snakes in the Pacific Northwest.

Common garter snakes (Thamnophus sirtalis) are quite common in the Pacific Northwest. Photo: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Myth: Garter snakes swallow their young to protect them from danger.

Fact: There is no evidence that garter snakes, or any of the other snakes common to the Pacific Northwest, swallow their young. Garter snakes do, however, give birth to live young. And this winter, you are unlikely to see many snakes because most species will be hibernating.

Myth: Snakes are slimy.

Fact: Snakeskin is actually dry and relatively smooth. Amphibians such as frogs and salamanders, on the other hand, have moist skin to allow water and other nutrients to pass through.

Myth: Constrictor species like pythons and boas are only found in tropical climates.

Fact: Washington is home to the rubber boa, a 14-30 inch long relative of the world’s largest snakes! It is not often seen, but may be found damp wooded areas, camouflaged by its olive-green or red to brown skin.

Keep up to date on all our work at the Pacific Regional Center office in Seattle: follow us on Twitter (@nwfpacific) and like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/nwfpacific).

1. If not the West, coal companies will go elsewhere

While the coal export market is definitely complex and difficult to understand, there is one part that is relatively straightforward: if the supply of coal export pathways in the West is too costly, coal companies will take their demand for these pathways elsewhere. Coal companies are already exploring their options in Mexico and the U.S. Gulf Coast:

“The West Coast is geographically better located than the Gulf coast for exports to Asia, but it has encountered stiff opposition by the environmental groups for port expansions. As a result, coal companies are forced to use the Gulf coast for export activities.” [Kinder Morgan Energy Partners] has been proactive in developing coal handling facilities and terminals in the Gulf coast. – Forbes  Magazine, Trefis Team

No matter where the coal companies try to take their exports, the harmful impacts will follow. This leads me to #2.

2. We know the legacy and reality of coal mining—it’s bad for people, wildlife and the environment

Tens of thousands flocked to the U.S. coal industry in the 19^th and 20^th century and thousands remain in the industry today. Nearly two hundred years of intense coal mining has left a legacy most are familiar with:

• Significant health risks including cancer and respiratory disease
• The growing idea that the health risks of coal mining outweigh the economic benefits
• Fish and wildlife habitat destroyed by mountain-top removal and strip mining
• Birds, fish, animals, and humans poisoned by long-term exposure to mercury contamination

Since we are now aware of the many risks of coal mining and burning, I’d like to fight it wherever it tries to go and leave a new coal legacy to my future children. This leads me to #3.

The Legacy of Coal Mining: strip mining operations at the Navajo mine (left and right) destroy habitat and impact our communities (middle). Credits: Terry Eiler (middle right), Lyntha Scott Eiler (remaining)

3. Stopping the export of U.S. coal is the latest fight in a wider effort to reduce fossil fuel consumption and increase the use of alternative and renewable energies.

Efforts to reduce fossil fuel consumption include driving less, conserving energy, and reducing consumption of goods and services. Efforts to reduce fossil fuel consumption also include campaigns to stop tar sands and the Keystone XL pipeline, natural gas fracking, and oil shale. A wealth of alternative and renewable energies that safeguard people and wildlife are available. Stopping the export of U.S. coal is simply the latest in a long list of ways we can work to reduce fossil fuel consumption and increase the use of alternative and renewable energies, which leads to #4.

Wind energy is just one of many alternative and renewable energies available to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Credit: Imagefusionstudio

4. It’s our responsibility as a nation to address the fossil fuel emissions that have gotten us into the climate change mess in the first place.

The U.S.’s significant historic and current emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, largely from fossil fuels, have gotten us into the climate change mess we are in. As a long-time global economic leader and industrial innovator, the United States is both well-equipped and ethically responsible for showing leadership and innovation to reduce fossil fuel consumption and tackle climate change. And this brings me to #5.

5. We should not risk our health and the wild places we cherish to support exports that will only return mercury and greenhouse gas emissions to our communities.

We don’t need the contaminated food, water, and air that more coal exports will bring. Instead, we should fight the coal export battle, as well as other dirty energy battles. At the same time, we should export the alternative and renewable energies that will help put the globe on a healthy track to a sustainable tomorrow.

For all these reasons, it’s time to stand up and fight!

Keep track of our efforts to stop coal export in its tracks: like us on our regional and Power Past Coal Coalition Facebook pages, and follow us on Twitter.

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber is pushing for a new approach to restoring salmon to Northwestern rivers and streams. Photo by U.S. FWS.

Please add your support today with a message to decision-makers. Tell the Administration to Act Now to Save Columbia-Snake River Salmon!

With thirteen salmon and steelhead populations—and thousands of salmon-related jobs—at risk, twenty years of litigation over failed federal salmon plans, and more than $10 billion spent, the governor is proposing a different path forward. He is advocating a stakeholder-driven process to develop a plan that restores salmon and steelhead, creates jobs, invests in regional communities, and reduces the persistent uncertainty facing many businesses in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.

A Stakeholder-Driven Process Might be Salmon’s Best Hope

Governor Kitzhaber thinks that the establishment of an inclusive stakeholder process may be the best way to craft a comprehensive, long-term salmon plan that works for both salmon and people. And he is asking other elected leaders in the Northwest and in Washington, D.C., to join him in making it a reality.

The governor published an op-ed on Sept 22nd in which he said, “By gathering the parties around a table, and working in good faith to reach common ground on a fisheries plan that is supported by sound science, we can come to the 2014 [court-ordered] deadline with a historic agreement that ends the 20-year chapter of salmon wars in the Columbia basin, an agreement that protects fish while maintaining our supply of clean and affordable energy.

While Governor Kitzhaber’s recent push is highly visible, he is not alone in seeking a new path forward. Tens of thousands of citizens, more than a thousand businesses, and scores of state and federal lawmakers have expressed similar support for a new approach that brings together the affected interests in the region to work together on an effective, science-based plan that restores Columbia Basin salmon and invests in Northwest communities and the economy.

Learn more about this “solutions table” for Columbia-Snake salmon.

Restoration Plans Mired in the Political Muck

For many years, efforts to restore salmon to this important watershed have proven both elusive and contentious. National Wildlife Federation initiated litigation in the early 1990s, following the listing of Snake River sockeye salmon under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Since then, twelve additional stocks of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Basin have been listed as threatened or endangered, and four of five federal plans developed by the federal government have been rejected as inadequate by the courts, most recently in 2011.

Commercial, sport, and tribal fishing communities and outdoor retail companies have been hit particularly hard by constrained fisheries and limited recreational opportunities and the loss of jobs and income caused by salmon population declines. Recovering salmon and steelhead to healthy, harvestable populations will restore thousands of jobs in the region’s salmon economy that have been lost in the last several decades. The development of an effective, science-based plan that has the support of the region’s leaders and stakeholders will increase certainty and help Northwest businesses and communities plan successfully for the future.

The question of whether to remove the lower Snake River dams in order to protect an irreplaceable Northwest icon has long been at the center of the debate on restoring salmon. Hundreds of fisheries biologists, including the Western Division of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), and dozens of studies have concluded that the removal of the lower Snake River dams in eastern Washington must be part of any effective Columbia Basin restoration plan. Today, all remaining stocks in the Snake River—sockeye, steelhead, fall Chinook, and spring-summer Chinook—are listed under the ESA.

The Impacts of Climate Change also Hamper Recovery

Steadily rising water temperatures in the Columbia and Snake Rivers as a result of a warming climate and dam-restricted flow are increasing the scrutiny of these dams. Water temperatures in the lower Snake and lower Columbia exceeded 70 degrees for much of this summer—frequently violating Clean Water Act standards and harming salmon and steelhead migrating to and from the ocean.

A free-flowing lower Snake River would significantly lower water temperatures in both the Snake and Columbia rivers, and reconnect Snake River fish to pristine habitat in the mountains of central Idaho, in places like the Salmon River and Redfish Lake. Many of these high elevation refuges—though largely inaccessible for salmon today—are being called the Noah’s Ark for salmon in a world of climate change. Many of these areas remain cold and snowy for much of the year, and thus provide salmon the cold, clear water that they depend upon.

Restoring wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers remains an essential job and shared goal for the people of the Northwest and the nation. These fish represent critical threads in the Northwest’s economic, ecological, and cultural fabric: feeding ecosystems and people, sustaining jobs and ways of life.

With so much at stake, salmon and fishing advocates enthusiastically welcome Governor Kitzhaber’s call for a new approach, for a coming together of both allies and adversaries, to begin repairing what is broken in the Columbia Basin, in a manner that works for both salmon and people.

You can add your voice by taking action today: Tell the Administration to Act Now to Save Columbia-Snake River Salmon!

On a clear, summer day, downtown Seattle appears etched into the skyline (left), but Central Washington wildfires muddle the view today (right). Credits: Cierra Hunziker, Patricia Tillmann.

Wenatchee wildfires have near- and far-reaching effects

As reported on KUOW’s Weekday this morning, grassland and timber wildfires near Wenatchee have raised the Haze Index to a 6 in the area (listen to 1:00 to 11:33). The reduced air quality is a problem for sensitive populations such as those with respiratory conditions, as well as firefighters who are getting “kettle cough” from the smoke. Even in Seattle, Janet Pierce, Spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), suggested sensitive populations should be cautious about the air quality and check the news for updates (current air quality is also available from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency).

Air quality is not the only issue facing those in the Wenatchee area. Many are worried about losing their homes and not receiving the proper notice to evacuate. Ms. Pierce assured listeners this morning that the Sherriff’s office is knocking on doors to notify those needing to evacuate. She also educated listeners about the three-level notification system used by DNR. It is a “Ready, Set, Go” system, where Level I means “Get Ready” and Level III means “Go.”

While I am reassured by the availability of warning systems throughout Washington State, I remain worried about the apparent increases in our region’s susceptibility to wildfire due to fire suppression, pests, and climate change.

Fire suppression, pests, and climate change exacerbate wildfire

Fire is a natural and necessary process in Washington’s forests, but forests in the Wenatchee area remain prone to excessively large or hot fires due to a history of fire suppression, pest management decisions, and other activities. Fire suppression allows dry underbrush, dead trees, and branches to build up on the forest floor, providing more than adequate fuel for fires and increasing the probability of fires that are larger and hotter than they were in the past. Climate change projections for Washington, specifically projections of increased summer temperature and decreased summer precipitation (relative to 1916-2006), indicate:

 “Regional area burned is likely to double or even triple by the end of the 2040s, although Washington ecosystems have different sensitivities to climate and thus different responses to climatic change” (University of Washington Climate Impacts Group [CIG], 2009).

Pests such as insects are also a natural part of forests, but the increasing presence of invasive species such as spruce budworm and pine bark beetle can leave a large number of dead trees. As noted in a recently released study by The Nature Conservancy, these trees are quick to ignite in a fire, which can further exacerbate fire severity. With climate change, the vulnerability of Washington’s trees to mountain pine beetle outbreak is projected to increase, especially for pines and trees at higher elevations (see CIG study). In fact, Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark issued Forest Health Hazard Warnings in response to declining forest conditions in several eastern Washington counties.

The risks of wildfire can be addressed with effective and proactive management

I know wildfire is a natural process and I appreciate its vital role in healthy forest and grassland ecosystems. But I also understand it puts homes and people at risk and that climate change, in combination with forest and pest management decisions, is projected to increase that risk. Fortunately, scientists and managers are working hard to come up with effective, proactive management strategies to help forest and grassland ecosystems, as well as the people and wildlife in those systems, adapt to a changing climate. Learn more at the CIG page and the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange.

And be sure to visit our Facebook page or Twitter account (@nwfpacific) to let us know what you think about the blog!

Disaster Assistance Bill’s Cuts to Conservation Are Short-Sighted

August 1 – The House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on a bill to provide disaster relief to ranchers who have been hit hard by the drought. Unfortunately, the bill is paid for entirely by cuts to conservation programs.

Julie Sibbing, director of agriculture and forestry at the National Wildlife Federation, said today:

“Although it is critically important that those ranchers who have been affected by the devastating drought get the disaster assistance that they need, this bill offsets the aid through steep, disproportionate cuts to the conservation title. We need Congress to act now to provide aid to ranchers in need, but this should not be a choice between robbing Peter and paying Paul.

U.S. Coal Industry Export Plans Carries Heavy Risk for Northwest Communities and Nation

July 31 – A new National Wildlife Federation report concludes that a massive buildup of U.S. coal exports through the Pacific Northwest would threaten public health and cause serious environmental degradation to the region’s natural resources. As coal continues to decline as a source of power in the U.S., the report warns that the industry’s plan to expand markets abroad will harm fisheries, endanger communities, and increase global warming pollution. Because of a decline in demand in the U.S. for coal, this fight over port expansion in Washington and Oregon will determine the immediate future of the coal industry in the United States.

“Sending more coal to Asia carries almost no benefits for the U.S., but we pay the price,” said Felice Stadler, Director of Energy Campaigns at the National Wildlife Federation.  “Degraded fisheries, damaged communities, medical costs, harms to wildlife, and a continued burning of high carbon fuel will cost us dearly for decades.”

And here are highlights from NWF in the News:

• UPI: NWF: Risk of coal exports outweigh gains
• The Columbian: Report adds to debate over coal exports
• The Oregonian: Coal export foes to request National Academy of Sciences review
• KPLU: New voices in debate over Northwest coal export terminals
• E&E News: NWF warns against increased exports (subscription required)
• Farm Futures: Disaster Assistance Presses On Alone
• TV and Radio: Frank Szollosi and Beth Wallace teamed up  to handle interviews to support the Enbridge pipeline safety report.  They made news on 7 radio stations in Michigan and Wisconsin, plus 2 stations in British Columbia wanted to know about the dangers of their pipelines.    Both Beth and Frank where invited on the air for a long interview on WGVU-TV in Grand Rapids.   The report was also covered by WXMI in Grand Rapids.

For more, visit www.nwf.org/News

photo by Nic Callero

• Port St. Helens, Oregon - Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, in partnership with Pacific Transloading, plan a facility to export up to 30 million tons of coal.
• Port of Morrow, Oregon - Ambre Energy plans an expansion, a transfer station to off-load coal from rail cars and take them down the Columbia River to St. Helens, to handle 8 million tons of coal a year.
• Coos Bay, Oregon - Port of Coos Bay officials have disclosed they are in “discussions” with coal companies, a plan known as “Project Mainstay.”
• Longview, Washington - The Millennium Bulk Logistics Longview Terminal on the Columbia River Estuary could balloon into a “mega-terminal,” the largest West Coast export facility in the nation, to ship up to 60 million tons of coal a year.
• Cherry Point, Washington - The Gateway Pacific Terminal, proposed by Peabody Energy and SSA Marine, could ship up to 48 million tons of coal per year. Peabody Energy is the country’s largest coal company.
• Gray’s Harbor, Washington - An expansion of the Port of Grays Harbor near the Gray’s Harbor National Wildlife Refuge could threaten one of the largest staging areas for migrating birds in the lower 48.

photo by Nic Callero

The new report makes a strong case that these port proposals will have a negative impact on fish and wildlife and that the Army Corps of Engineers should conduct a programmatic EIS on all projects to gather hard science on potential fish impacts.

Some of these concerns include:

• In the lone biological assessment prepared for any of these proposals to date, numerous ill effects were cataloged for the Morrow Pacific project in Boardman. For example, “The proposed construction at the Port of Morrow will involve piling installation using vibratory and impact hammers, which produce sound levels above the thresholds for fish disturbance and injury.
  

  (Photo: Paulv2c/flickr.com)

• The report cites studies from British Columbia in watersheds supporting similar salmon species indicate that coal dust can have negative impacts on fish. A study of juvenile Chinook in British Columbia found that exposure to the hydrocarbons found in coal dust increased the expression of certain genes that play “crucial roles in cellular metabolism,” one of which can convert cancer causing substances found in coal dust hydrocarbons into active carcinogens.
• In the marine sediments adjacent to the Westshore Terminals coal facility on Roberts Bank, British Columbia, the concentration of coal residues doubled between 1977 and 1999- the concern is that sediments with high levels of coal will become devoid of the oxygen that bottom dwelling plants and animals need to breathe.

The report, “The True Cost of Coal” represents some of the very first vocal concerns from the sportsmen community regarding the proposed coal export terminals.

The Association of NW Steelheaders is one of Oregon and Washington’s most well respected sportsmen voices with a mission dedicated to enhancing and protecting fisheries and their habitats for today and into the future.

Urge the Army Corps of Engineers to thoroughly review the risks to Northwest fish and wildlife from proposed coal export terminals.