FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wild Game Fish Conservation International Agrees with Findings in Chehalis River Fish Study Olympia, Washington (April 12, 2012) - Wild Game Fish Conservation International (WGFCI) agrees with the findings in the recently published “Chehalis River Flood Storage Dam Fish Population Impact Study”. The Chehalis River Fish Study was commissioned by the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority and funded via the Washington Legislature. Anchor QEA conducted the study and published the report. According to Bruce Treichler, WGFCI co-founder, “the Chehalis River Fish Study finds that the dam and resulting reservoir will cause significant declines of the three salmonid populations studied (winter steelhead, spring chinook salmon and coho salmon) and their uniquely-productive river and stream ecosystems above and below the proposed dam.” Jim Wilcox, WGFCI co-founder, states that “several fish and wildlife species within the Chehalis River basin are listed either as Threatened or Endangered via the US Endangered Species Act. This and the catastrophic impacts of the proposed dam to wild salmonid populations are two of the many reasons to not proceed with plans to construct the Chehalis River dam.” Additionally, the proposed dam sited in the headwaters of the Chehalis River will not protect Interstate 5 or the communities of Centralia and Chehalis, and the Chehalis-Centralia Airport from flooding; thus failing to protect local citizens and businesses from severe storms – the stated purpose of this dam. Effective and practical alternatives supported by Wild Game Fish Conservation International to prevent flood damage throughout the Chehalis River basin include an immediate and permanent curtailment of steep slope logging, in conjunction with reforestation of clearcut forest tracts, and an immediate and permanent curtailment of floodplain development. Continuing to ignore these important, common sense conservation practices will lead to increased flood damage and loss of human life. Wild Game Fish Conservation International and our associates demand the protection of this very special river basin (the largest river basin within Washington State), its citizens and the many valuable environmental, cultural and economic benefits it provides year in and year out.
Contact: James Wilcox Co-founder - Wild Game Fish Conservation International (360) 352-7988