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In trying to mitigatively "fix" stream habitat after 

 destructive logging, roading and grazing, public land agencies 

 have gotten into trouble — applying aspirin while continuing to do 

 what causes the underlying cancer. Stream habitat certainly can 

 be restored. In small, gently-flowing creeks of the East, of the 

 Midwest, and of western mountain valleys, it is relatively easy 

 and inexpensive. But on steep, high-force streams of the Pacific 

 Northwest, doing it right requires substantial investment of 

 resources, something which agencies have too seldom seen fit to 

 spend. 



This is not to say that stream habitat restoration should 

 not be done in on the Pacific Northwest's streams. There has 

 been huge damage, and our land management agencies and others 

 should spend the funds needed for healing. And the basic 

 approach should be more one of healing than fixing. The self- 

 healing powers of Nature are tremendous. The main thing is to 

 put Nature in position to exert that power. 



To enable healing, the first step is to remove the disease. 

 This means halting or reducing the human activities that are 

 causing the damage. Once that is done, the actions of water, 

 soil and vegetation in shaping stream channels often will do much 

 to bring back productivity for salmon. It is a principle of 

 salmonid stream habitat management that the greatest gains are 

 achieved by alleviating human influences on the worst-abused 



