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Interesting to hear Bruce Suzomoto defending NOAA's plan. His own background as a scientist is in fish farming and hatcheries.  He's also worked for a public utility and for Bonneville.  He was brought onboard NOAA's ark by his former boss at Bonneville, Bob Lohn, who was appointed to the position by Bush's Commerce Secretary Don Evans.

Under Lohn's direction, NOAA took in more than $80 million for salmon science and recovery from the Bonneville Power Administration. Another huge chunk of NOAA's budget comes from the Army Corps of Engineers.

 Under a law called the Economy Act,  feds are required to contract with other agencies if it is more efficient or cheaper to do so, but the huge sums of cash BPA doles out for science allows them to exercise undue influence  over research,  including the science that went into this biological opinion.

As a measure of the BPA's influence in the region, it's also worth pointing out that the job of director NOAA-Fisheries' Northwest Region, the position formerly held by Lohn,  is the only one of the agency's six regions around the country that is a political appointment. Team Obama hasn't figured out yet who will replace Lohn. Bet you a January power bill that it'll be someone more like Suzumoto and less like Mike Carrier.

posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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