Reflecting on 30 years: Tom Kovalicky, IRU Board Advisor
By Tom Kovalicky, IRU Board Advisor
I joined the IRU Board in 1991 at the invitation of IRU board member Keith Stonebroker, a former Idaho Fish & Game Commissioner. Just prior to this event, I gave the first keynote address at IRU’s annual meeting.
I was recently retired from the Nez Perce National Forest as the Forest Supervisor from 1982-1991. It’s a National Forest that is home to about 15% of the Columbia River System Chinook and steelhead spawning habitat.
I was eager to share my knowledge from my Nez Perce National Forest and Nez Perce Tribe experiences protecting the watersheds from excessive and careless logging and road building. The Forest Management Team changed the extractive resource models to new holistic approaches that favored water quality and adramous habitat.
IRU allowed me to share that experience first hand.
I found the board to be a dynamic experience because of the commitment its members bring to the table. It crosses many boundaries and is eager to support local action agendas that stop the degradation of fish habitat and recreation reaches. Naturally, we had more waterways to cover than we had money or time, but that never stopped IRU and its membership from getting involved.
Our charter was to keep Idaho’s salmon, steelhead, and Bull Trout populations intact and expanding to reach traditional returning populations once again. Basing our stance on decades of science on salmon recovery, we became and remain the foremost cheerleader for the removal of the four Lower Snake River dams. While it is the necessary action for restoring salmon populations, it is not an easy stance to take because of the stacked political agendas we have to negotiate. It also requires that we attract more vocal memberships with political savvy and locate adequate operating funds.
Despite these daily challenges, IRU has proceeded at full speed and helped mitigate both habitat and recreational situations so that the resources and stewardship principles remain intact. Our track record is excellent.
If we want to keep our native Chinook, silver, sockeye salmon, steelhead, and bull trout a continuing legacy, the four Lower Snake River dams need to be removed with considerations and collaborations. That proposal is on the table for implementation.
Henry David Thoreau wrote “Who hears the fishes when they cry?” Let’s go down to the riverbank and try to listen.