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< March/April 2000
	ECO
Eco News Wire

Idaho's Bear Faces Relicensing

Until four years ago, Idaho's Bear River, a classic narrow gorge featuring columnar basalt with ledge drops, hadn't run for almost a decade, its water diverted to a small hydro plant. Although paddlers have enjoyed it for the past few years, the Bear River might soon become a bare river once again.

Electric utility PacifiCorp recently submitted applications for its Bear River hydroelectric projects (Soda, Grace/Cove and Oneida) to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), kicking off a new round in the relicensing of these projects. "FERC has the job of evaluating the applications, determining what conditions should be in the new licenses, and issuing new licenses," says Liz Paul of Idaho Rivers United. "The first order of business is to read the applications and determine if PacifiCorp provided adequate information."

Idaho Rivers feels it hasn't. "They don't provide enough mitigation for the projects' impacts to fisheries, recreation, wildlife and botanical resources," says Paul. "They should've identified all the impacts of their projects and measures to reduce negative impacts."

- For more information, contact Idaho Rivers United at (208) 343-7481, www.idahorivers.org.

River Network and River Watch Network Merge

Portland, Ore.'s River Network and Montpelier, Vt.'s River Watch Network, long comrades in the fight to save rivers, officially joined forces in October and will now operate as one organization. The group will retain the name River Network and will be based in Portland with field offices in Montpelier, Washington, D.C., and Helena, Mont.

"Both organizations existed to help groups at the local level," says

Don Elder, Director of Watershed Programs for the new organization.

"And this merger will enable us to provide better help in four major

areas: organizational development, watershed assessment, river protection programs and networking." Ken Margolis will serve as director of the new organization, leading a staff of 34 with an annual operating budget of $3.3 million.

Elder says support from paddlers and the paddlesports industry has been increasingly helpful. "The great news is that there are more and more paddlers getting involved in river conservation," says Elder. "And the really great news is that they are not alone."

- tb

Marin County Jet-Ski Ban

Almost half of the San Francisco Bay area shoreline is now a jet ski-free zone, thanks to a total ban enacted Oct. 26 in Marin County, Calif. The county Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of the ban to protect Bay wildlife, including harbor seals, California least terns, brown pelicans and peregrine falcons. Jet skis were already limited, though not banned, in the Golden Gate National Recreational Area and Point Reyes National Seashore. County Supervisor John Kress pushed for the all-out ban after learning of the jet skis' devastating impact on wildlife habitat. "They churn up the water, and a lot of the bay areas are very shallow, delicate habitat," Kress says. A typical jet ski engine only burns about 75 percent of its fuel; the rest is ejected into the water with the exhaust. The California State Air Resources Board calculates that a seven-hour ride on a 100-horsepower jet ski creates as much air pollution as driving 100,000 miles in a 1998 model automobile. The personal watercraft industry is considering a court challenge. "People always threaten litigation whenever an ordinance is enacted that they don't like," Kress says. "We're on solid legal ground." In 1998 the Washington Supreme Court upheld a similar prohibition in San Juan County Washington.

- Jeff Moag