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RESTORATION OF WATERSHEDS AND NATURALLY-SPAWNING SALMON 

 POPULATIONS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST 



TESTIMONY OF 



DR. ROBERT J. NAIMAN, DIRECTOR, THE CENTER FOR STREAMSIDE STUDIES 

 UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, SEATTLE, AND 



KEVIN L FETHERSTON. THE CENTER FOR STREAMSIDE STUDIES 

 UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, SEATTLE 



BEFORE THE 



U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND 

 NATURAL RESOURCES. COMMITTEE ON MERCHANT MARINE AND 

 FISHERIES. MARCH 9. 1993 



Mr. Chairman, thank you for inviting us to appear before you and the subcommittee to 

 address issues concerning the management of watersheds and naturally-spawning 

 salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest. 



Healthy watersheds are essential to the social, economic, and ecologic well-being of all 

 who inhabit the Pacific Northwest region. This includes fishermen working our Pacific 

 coastal waters, the growing human population benefiting from locally available clean 

 drinking water and hydroelectric power, and the families who vacation along the beautiful 

 rivers and streams of our National and State Parks. Healthy watersheds are also 

 essential for naturally spawning salmon and the myriad other living creatures that 

 collectively make up the living fabric of our rivers and streams. The social and economic 

 quality of the Pacific Northwest will be greatly diminished if we do not maintain the biotic 

 integrity of our region's rivers and streams. 



The watersheds and rivers of the Pacific Northwest are presently moving toward a level 

 of biotic impoverishment that will be in large part irreversible. Indeed, the fate of the 

 imperiled Pacific salmon, the collective symbol of the Pacific Northwest people, is 

 dependant upon the biotic and physical integrity of the region's watersheds, rivers, and 

 streams. However, this imminent loss is preventable. Prevention will require a new 

 approach to watershed health taken from the ecosystem perspective. In addition, there 

 are no adequate scientific or management infrastructures to deal with the scale of the 

 crisis at hand. We need a new interdisciplinary, inter-agency, and inter-university initiative 

 in the Pacific Northwest where watershed-level issues can be defined and solved. 

 Innovative approaches to watershed and river restoration and management must be 

 developed, tested, and taught to future professional resource stewards of the Pacific 



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