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widespread implementation of water conservation measures is 

 needed throughout California. Leaky irrigation ditches, often in 

 use since before the turn of the century, lead to a tremendous 

 waste of water. If efficiency of water use were increased by 

 implementation of water conservation measures, we could maintain 

 agricultural productivity and regain public trust resources such as 

 fish and water equality. Riparian restoration in agricultural lands 

 is essential if we are to restore salmon and steelhead. Although 

 many times fish are spawned and rear in steep areas above alluvial 

 valleys, they must successfully migrate through these valley 

 reaches if they are to complete their life cycle. Restoring 

 riparian zones only reguires cattle exclosures and tree planting. 

 Federal programs should be made available to farmers and ranchers 

 who willingly participate in such programs. 



The marshes surrounding Upper Klamath Lake must be restored if 

 we are to reverse the condition of the lake and prevent the 

 extinction of its fishes. If water quality problems in the lake are 

 not reversed, the entire Klamath River restoration program is 

 jeopardized. Water conservation measures and riparian restoration 

 on tributaries feeding the lake also must be implemented. 



I am currently helping to put together a model program for the 

 Klamath River basin, using the EPA Reach File, to make information 

 on fisheries and water quality readily available to professionals 

 as well as the interested public. When the Klamath EPA Reach file 

 is complete, fisheries biologists from any agency will be able to 

 access information in minutes before consultations on a land use 

 project that now takes several hours or several days of research. 

 Agencies or individuals will be able to access information on the 

 history and problems in a watershed to better understand potential 

 impacts of a project they are proposing. To succeed in restoring 

 the ecological health of all our water bodies, we must begin to 

 take a more systematic approach to managing and sharing 

 information. 



5) Are there economic benefits to managing rivers on atn ecosystem 

 basis, compared to our current piecemeal approach? 



It is difficult to gauge the worth of preserving self- 

 perpetuating salmon, steelhead and trout stocks. When these fish 

 return to healthy watersheds, they reproduce at no cost to the 

 public. Estimates by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council in 

 1983 showed that 1,225,000 Chinook salmon alone should be produced 

 by natural spawning in the Pacific Northwest. If properly managed, 

 this should lead to a harvestable surplus of twice that number of 

 Chinook salmon annually in perpetuity. Because this economic pulse 

 is sustainable, the value of all Pacific salmon species when one 

 considers direct value of fisheries and tourism related to fishing 

 is immense. Our large river systems suffered tremendous impacts in 

 the past from hydraulic mining yet they were producing tremendous 

 bounties of fish after recovery was allowed. 



