11 



I support a watershed approach to restoring rivers, and I think 

 Bob Doppelt will detail this because I support the Pacific Rivers 

 Council strategy. It is science based, and it is very similar in the 

 strategy the Klamath River Plan, which I helped to author. But we 

 need refuge preserves. Overcutting on private lands has been cata- 

 strophic. We have fragmented forests on public lands from impru- 

 dent past activity. If we do not preserve forest preserve areas to 

 save the fish as well as the spotted owl, we won't have the gene 

 resources to restore these fish. 



I believe on private land we have a major challenge. We have got 

 tens of thousands of miles of logging roads in northwestern Califor- 

 nia, and they need to be put to bed. And the Soil Conservation 

 Service should play a key role in the water conservation and the 

 restoring of the riparian zones on private land as well as in upland 

 restoration. 



And you are concerned with the debt right now and what portion 

 of that we will leave to future generations. I would suggest that 

 you examine Pacific salmon, and if we leave a deficit both economi- 

 cally and culturally to future generations, it is in perpetuity. And I 

 think that the public supports the restoration of these fish, and I 

 think the time is right for leadership. 



[The prepared statement of Mr. Higgins can be found at the end 



of the hearing.] t. ^ t-. 



Mr. Studds. Thank you very much, sir. Finally, Mr. Bob Doppelt, 

 Executive Director of the Pacific Rivers Council from Eugene, 

 Oregon. Mr. Doppelt. 



STATEMENT OF BOB DOPPELT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PACIFIC 

 RIVERS COUNCIL, EUGENE, OREGON 



Mr. Doppelt. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The degradation of the 

 Pacific Northwest and, indeed, America's river systems and the ex- 

 tinction of salmon and other forms of riverine and riparian biodi- 

 versity have, as we have heard today, reached alarming levels. 

 Fisheries, health water quality, and quantity produced by water- 

 shed ecosystems and entire aquatic food chains are at risk through- 

 out our region and, indeed, nationwide. 



For the past two years, our organization has been involved with 

 a major project to assess the capability of the Pacific Northwest, 

 policies and strategies to restore watersheds and riverine ecosys- 

 tems, and, indeed, we have assessed the nation's river policies capa- 

 bilities. We have produced a report that details our assessments, 

 what we found, and what I will talk about today is basically the 

 regions and nation's watersheds restoration strategies and policies 

 have failed and are inadequate and that we believe entirely new 

 strategies and entirely new policies are needed to both quickly 

 stave off the impending collapse of many riverine systems and to 

 prevent widespread wholesale biological extinctions. 



I want to make seven key points in my testimony if I may. First, 

 especially in the Pacific Northwest, it is important to understand 

 that the endangered salmon are just symbolic of a range of river 

 ecosystem and biodiversity losses occurring across the region. The 

 crisis is not just with salmon but within entire river ecosystems 

 and the entire range of riverine and riparian biodiversity. 



