Comment on APRE report 2003-17

AFR Mark Walker Director of Public Affairs Northwest Power and Conservation Council 851 SW Sixth Avenue, Suite 1100 Portland, Oregon 97204-1348 Dear Mr. Walker: We have reviewed the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s (Council) Artificial Production Review and Evaluation (APRE) Draft Basin-Level Report and Appendices, the APRE province and subbasin-level reports, APRE summaries, the APRE HGMPs (Hatchery and Genetic Management Plans), and the results of the APRE Questionnaire and offer the following comments. In general, because the Draft Basin-Level Report does not relate the data collected in this process to ongoing fishery management agency hatchery review and reform processes, it does not present an accurate and complete review of hatchery reform efforts in the Columbia River basin. Some of our specific concerns were brought to the attention of several of the Council members and staff during the Subbasin Planning Regional Coordination Group meeting on November 6, 2003. The opportunity to discuss our concerns with Council members and the staff working on the APRE and in another meeting with your staff and the contractors were very helpful in our review. Our concerns with the draft APRE can be broken down into the following major areas: 1) The APRE generated HGMPs for Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) hatchery programs contain errors and data gaps that are difficult to interpret and may be misinterpreted if the ...