8 



lost. How would we respond as a society if our agricultural produc- 

 tivity declined by over 90 percent? 



All watersheds, however, cannot be preserved in pristine condi- 

 tion. The important thing is to buffer human influences on a signif- 

 icant proportion of those watershed areas to protect both the land- 

 scape and the waterscape. 



Human actions damage salmon populations and the biological in- 

 tegrity more generally through their alteration of one or more of 

 five factors: food sources for the aquatic food web, water quality, 

 habitat structure, flow regime, and biotic interaction such as preda- 

 tion. Table two in my written testimony provides examples specific 

 to the Pacific Northwest for each of these. 



Because riparian areas serve as buffer zones between the terres- 

 trial and aquatic components of regional landscapes, they are an 

 important first line of defense. But the cumulative effect of activi- 

 ties in upland areas can overwhelm the effectiveness of riparian 

 buffer strips. Thus, riparian areas should not be oversold as cures 

 for depressed fish populations. In fact, we should be cautious of any 

 quick fix solutions. Clean water and hatcheries have been the rally- 

 ing cries of the past. Habitat, riparian corridor protection, barging 

 of juvenile salmon, and bounties on squawfish are today's rallying 

 cries. AH are tools, but none will resolve the current resource 

 crisis. Too frequently these solutions have developed to correct 

 symptoms rather than problems. These examples of best manage- 

 ment practices like the BMP's defined by soil conservationists must 

 be combined to provide comprehensive location-specific best man- 

 agement systems. 



Existing management regimes are not adequate to prevent fur- 

 ther degradation of watersheds and fish runs. For example, the 

 Clean Water Act has not been adequate because it has been imple- 

 mented as if crystal clear distilled water flowing down concrete 

 channels is the goal of the Act. 



The Endangered Species Act provides an emergency room for 

 treatment of critical patients [listed species] without providing a 

 hospital or preventative care program to avoid listings. Simply put, 

 existing government programs are too narrowly conceived and im- 

 plemented, a problem that in the long run increases costs and exac- 

 erbates environmental damage. We need a broad societal policy 

 that protects ecological integrity or health and avoids biotic impov- 

 erishment, a progressive erosion of earth's capacity to support 

 living systems including human society. 



Perhaps the most important barrier to this approach is the lack 

 of societal literacy about the connections among resources and the 

 dependence of human society on those resources. We act as if our 

 ability to alter carrying capacity through technological innovation 

 is unlimited. New policy goals and management objectives that in- 

 tegrate biological, social, cultural, and economic realities are 

 needed. 



The management techniques, indeed, have been available for 

 years, but they have not been used in an integrative way. Compre- 

 hensive watershed restoration programs are needed. Special care, 

 in my view, should be exercised to ensure that success is not meas- 

 ured in terms such as number of construction projects, permits 

 issued, or hatchery fish released. Recently developed procedures 



