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Agency documents were compared for their treatment of five factors. 

 These factors include: 



1. definitions of key genetic terms and stock categories; 



2. genetic goals of hatchery programs; 



3. hatchery broodstock and rearing guidelines; 



4. indirect genetic impacts of hatchery fish; and 



5. genetics research and monitoring. 



Comparisons of Agency Documents 



Foremost protection of genetic resources in naturally reproducing 

 populations appears to be the intent of all agencies. Most agencies h^ve a 

 written statement of such a goal. Achievement of this goal, however, is 

 greatly threatened by the tremendous variability among agencies in 

 thoroughness and quality of their treatment of the five factors listed 

 above. Conserving genetic resources of both naturally reproducing and 

 hatchery stocks is highly dependent on proper handling of these factors. 

 Yet no agency has considered them all in its written policies and guidelines 

 (Table 1). Factors which are considered are treated with different degrees 

 of completeness. A number of specific policies or guidelines may be 

 inconsistent with the goal of conserving genetic resources in fish stocks. 

 The body of this report presents a case-by-case examination of each factor 

 in the suite of documents for each agency. 



Recommendations for Improvement of Agency Policies and 

 Guidelines 



General recommendations are made for the five factors affecting 

 conservation of genetic resources in salmon and steelhead stocks. A 

 common theme of these recommendations is the paramount need for 

 greater consistency in approaches of different agencies. Recommendations 

 are summarized below. 



Definitions of Key Concepts 



A. Append definitions of genetic resources that are affected by 



management actions to all written policies and guidelines regarding 

 salmon and steelhead hatchery production in the Columbia Basin. 

 Specifically address polygenic variation for life history traits because 

 long-term perpetuation of fish stocks is largely dependent on 

 maintenance of this type of genetic variation. 



