gram. This had as its objective the 

 maximum development of popiihi- 

 tions of sahnon in the streams trib- 

 utary to the lower Columbia River. 

 Under this program, log dams and 

 debris were removed from streams, 

 and natural waterfalls were blasted 

 or laddered to permit free access for 

 salmon to all possible spawning- 

 areas. A large number of hatch- 

 eries are producing fingerling sal- 

 mon that are stocked into barren 

 streams or used to develop as rap- 

 idly as possible the maximum popu- 

 lations of salmon in all suitable 

 streams. Most of the dams to be 

 constructed will include fish-pas- 

 sage facilities to permit the mainte- 

 nance of at least a part of the upper- 

 river runs of salmon. As a result 



of these activities, it is anticipated 

 that a substantial portion of the 

 average (1940-49) sport-connner- 

 cial-Indian catch of 31 million 

 pounds of salmon a year attributa- 

 ble to production from the Colum- 

 bia River Basin can be maintained. 

 Irrigation developments have 

 most consistently been destroyers of 

 }()ung salmon. On their migration 

 lowarcl the ocean, large numbers of 

 (he young fish using any major 

 downstream How enter irrigation 

 ditches and merely provide fertilizer 

 for the farm fields. During the 

 ])ast 20 years, primarily in the Co- 

 lumbia River watershed but also in 

 other streams of the Pacific coast, 

 the Fish and Wildlife Service and 

 the fisherv aaencies of Washington, 



20 



