Salmon on the menu

The Legislature today faces perhaps the most important decision of this session. While it’s a stretch to say that L.D. 2504, An Act to Enhance the Conservation of Atlantic Salmon, is the last chance to save the imperiled species, its approval may be Maine’s last chance to retain some measure of control over a nearly inevitable endangered-species listing.

Thanks to the diligence of its sponsor, Rep. Eddie Dugay of Cherryfield, a commendable level of bipartisan cooperation by legislative leaders and strong support by Gov. King, this bill is on the fast-track to enactment — the two-week notice for a public hearing has been waived, as has the requirement that the funding pass the Appropriations Committee.

While such steps are extraordinary, so are the circumstances. The federal officials who will make the final decision on an Endangered Species Act listing will be in Machias on Jan. 29, just five days from now, for a public hearing that will do much to shape that decision. It is vital that Maine have in hand strong legislation to improve its conservation efforts and the money to back it up.

Lawmakers may honestly and understandably disagree on whether an ESA listing is necessary or unwarranted, the debate on genetics and the true cause of the Atlantic salmon decline will continue. But, with the state conservation plan about to be superceded by federal directives, lawmakers can agree that decisive action even at this late hour can make the difference between a designation as endangered or the less-restrictive threatened status. It can do much to guide the development of implementation rules that improve salmon habitat without devastating the Downeast economy. It certainly can help prevent a fast-track ESA listing that would leave Maine virtually powerless.

The bill calls for funding of $810,594 — not a major amount of money in the context of a $250-million surplus, but an amount that could be subject to legislative nitpicking. Given the already dim view federal officials have of Maine’s follow-through on the 2-year-old state plan, and the careful evaluation of needs that has gone into this proposal, such carping would be unwise and unnecessary. The funding of two new state biologist positions may raise concerns about expanding the state payroll, but these positions are vital if Maine is to back up the claims it should hope it can make about habitat improvement. Most important is the $350,000 that will go to the local watershed councils. These volunteers have done much to identify sources of habitat degradation — bank erosion and siltation sources in particular — but they now need the money to fix them.

This Atlantic salmon saga continues to spin off an increasingly complex web of subplots — the original ESA listing proposal’s conversion to a state plan, the five-year state plan’s premature end, the impact open-ocean fishing practices in other nations have upon eight small Maine rivers, science’s evolving definition of what constitutes a species. Those issues belong to Congress, the courts, the laboratories. All that matters in the State House today is LD 2504 and the commitment it keeps.