Kulongoski offers up net for fish losses

Gov. Ted Kulongoski promised Oregon fishing communities that the state will provide them further assistance to cope with the closure of salmon fishing along the seacoast, and said he favors removal of four hydroelectricity dams on the Klamath River that block fish passage.

NEWPORT — Gov. Ted Kulongoski promised fishing communities Friday that the state will provide them further assistance to cope with the closure of salmon fishing along the seacoast.

“The state of Oregon can provide a safety net,’’ the governor told a crowd gathered for a “salmon summit” in Newport. “We can ensure that no one will fall through the cracks during this difficult time.’’

The governor has pushed for a number of assistance measures. He declared a state of emergency for coastal communities. He sent a letter to President Bush on Friday asking for a federal disaster declaration, which would trigger federal financial assistance.

He has also urged a federal economic assessment to pave the way for congressional action and other federal assistance.

Kulongoski directed one state agency to request more than $2 million from the Legislative Emergency Board to bring temporary jobs in the form of watershed restoration work and salmon research.

Tim Wood, of the state Parks and Recreation Department, reported he expects there will be “12 to 20 opportunities” for summertime employment in his department as rangers, temporary hires and perhaps some permanent jobs, and displaced fishers would be given preference for them.

Meanwhile, Roy Elicker, director of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, noted there is still fishing available on the Oregon coast, and his department is working with the Oregon Tourism Commission to get the word out across the state and country.

“We delivered a full recreational season,” he said, referring to what ODFW was able to get from the Pacific Fisheries Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Without, that, he said, the impacts of the commercial closure would have multiplied.

Several fishers also urged the governor to work with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to use the Klamath Basin compact or other mechanisms to repair that basin’s salmon runs. Kulongoski said he favors removal of four hydroelectricity dams on the Klamath River that block fish passage, but he recognizes the possibility they could be retrofitted with fish passage devices.

On the net: To view a copy of the executive order, see

http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/docs/executive_orders/eo0609.pdf.

Information for this article contributed by Newport News-Times reporter Joel Gallob.