Columbia River Fisheries Program 



The Columbia River Fisheries Program is a 

 cooperative venture in which the Federal Government 

 and the States of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho are 

 working together to achieve a common goal- -that of 

 perpetuating the salmon and steelhead runs despite 

 accelerated development of the waters of the Colum- 

 bia for power, navigation, flood control, and irri- 

 gation. 



The Program, which started in 1949, is roughly- 

 divided into three parts: 



1. Utilization of all possible natural spawning 

 grounds by stream development and construction 

 of fishways to permit salmon to run in side streams 

 not hitherto so used; 



2. Construction and operation of hatcheries to 

 augment natural spawning; and 



3. Installation of screens and other facilities to 

 prevent the loss of downstream migrants at irriga- 

 tion outlets or power intakes. 



All construction costs are paid from Federal funds 

 and most of the operational costs will be paid from 

 Federal funds for the next few years. 



Fishery Loan Fund 



By establishing a loan fund to help fishermen, the 

 Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 met one of the most 

 urgent needs of the commercial fishing industry. The 

 broad objective of the loan fund is to give financial aid 

 to the industry to bring about a general upgrading of 

 both fishing boats and gear for more efficient and 

 profitable fishing operation. 



The Act authorized $10 million to provide the 

 initial capital for a revolving fund from which the loans 

 would be made. The loans are granted for not more 

 than 10 years and are subject to a 5-percent interest 

 rate. In P. L. 85-888, the Congress increased the fund 

 to $20 million and $13 million have been appropriated 

 for fiscal year I960. 



Loans are made for financing and refinancing oper- 

 ations, maintenance, replacement, repair, and equip- 

 ment of fishing gear and vessels, and for research 

 into the basic problems of the fisheries. 



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