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TESTIMONY OF PETER B. MOYLE 

 DNIVERSITY OP CALIFORlilA, DAVIS 



In support of the Headwaters Forest Act (H.R. 2866) 



The Headwaters Forest Act will protect about 44,000 acres of forest 

 in Humboldt County, California, which include the headwaters of the 

 Ellc River, Salmon Creek, and Yager Creek. In this testimony, I will 

 address the importemce of these creeks for the spawning of 

 emadromous (sea-mn) fishes, especially coho salmon. 



QualAficatjgns. I am Professor of Fisheries Biology at the 

 University of California, Davis, where I have been on the faculty 

 since 1972. For five years, I was Chair of the Department of 

 Wildlife and Fisheries Biology. I am author of over 110 

 publications, mostly dealing with the biology and ecology of 

 California's freshwater, anadromous^ and estuarine fishes. Among my 

 publications are four books and three book-length monographs, 

 including Inland Fishes q£_ California (a major reference work) and 

 two widely used textbooks in fish biology. My fisheries team 

 recently completed (for the California Department of Fish and 

 Game) a four year study of the fishes of the Eel River drainage 

 (which includes Yager Creek) and, under contract with the National 

 Marine Service, a stream-by-stream analysis of the status of coho 

 salmon in California. A peer-reviewed paper based on the coho 

 study has been accepted for publication in the North American 

 Joi^Tpal ^ Fisheries Management . published by the American 

 Fisheries Society. 



Status of anadromous fish . My research has shown that all species 

 of anadromous fish in California are in serious decline including 

 fall, spring and winter run Chinook salmon, coho salmon, summer and 

 winter steelhead, coastal cutthroat trout, eulachon (candlef ish) , 

 longrfin smelt, green sturgeon, and Pacific lamprey. While many 

 factors have been working together to create these declines, in 

 coastal drainages the single biggest cause has been the 

 deterioration of %ratersheds, resulting in the reduction of spavming 

 and rearing habitat for anadromous fishes. An important contributer 

 to watershed deterioration has been logging and road-building on 

 steep slopes in headwater areas because sediment produced in these 

 areas affects the entire drainage below the headwaters. The 

 Headwaters Forest Act is aimed at protecting a key region 

 containing some of the most critical parts of three drainages 

 importajit to anadromous fishes, it is not a coincidence that the 

 drainages in this eurea with intact headwater forests still contain 

 significant populations of at least five species of anadromous 

 fishes: coho salmon, chinook salmon, cutthroat trout, steelhead, 

 and Pacific leusprey. In this testimony, I will confine my remarks 

 to coho salmon because this is the species in most serious decline 

 and seemingly the most dependent of the five species on mature 

 (late Buccessional) forests. 



