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TO: Menkbers 



Subcomfflitt.ee on Envirorunent and Nattiral Resources 



FROM: Subcommittee Staff 



DATE: March 4, 1993 



SUBJECT: Hearing on Watershed Management and Fish Hatchery 

 Practices in the Pacific Northwest 



On Tuesday, March 9, at 10:00AM, the Subcommittee on Environment 

 and Natural Resources will conduct a hearing on watershed habitat 

 restoration and the role of hatcheries in the restoration of fish 

 populations in the Pacific Northwest. Witnesses will include 

 representatives from the University of Washington, the University 

 of Minnesota, The Pacific Rivers Council, the Alaska Department 

 of Fish and Game, and private consultants. 



This hearing is the first in a series on the management and 

 restoration of the nation's rivers. There will be two panels, 

 the first of which will focus on the scientific consensus on 

 whether watershed management will be a useful tool in the 

 restoration of riverine ecosystems and fish populations. The 

 second panel will focus on the role that hatcheries will play in 

 the restoration of fish populations in the Pacific Northwest. 

 The hearing is not intended to reconunend measures for compliance 

 with the Endangered Species Act as it relates to spotted owls, 

 the Timber Summit, or endangered salmon. 



BACKGROUND 



Most Of the nation's rivers have been e)qperiencing a general 

 decline in their health. One of the best indicators of the 

 decline m ecosystem health is population reduction in river 

 dependent organisms. In the Pacific Northwest (Washington, 

 Oregon, northern California, and Idaho) salmon populations have 

 been the focus of the decline in the health river ecosystems. 

 According to the American Fisheries Society, over 100 salmonid 

 populations are extinct with over 210 additional salmonid 

 populations currently at risk of extinction. While the salmon 

 draw much of the attention, many biologists believe that the 

 decline in the numbers of salmon is indicative of a general 



