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Rep. Furse re: Hatchery Reform and Habitat Protection, Mumfy and Rhodes Page 2 



reform entails relocating points of hatchery releases, re-designing and re-directing the fish culture 

 technologies, and increasing both the number of species and life history types of salmon that are 

 protected within hatchery programs. In his testimony, Dr. Koenings provided a good overview 

 of how proper supplementation can aid in restoring salmon populations. 



Our Columbia River perspective is different firom that of panel member, Mr. Higgins, of 

 California, in that we do not believe that salmon restoration is possible without reformed hatchery 

 programs to sustain salmon stocks until the their habitats can recover. We know that at least 65 

 populations of salmon have been extirpated from their habitat in the Columbia River basin above 

 Bonneville Dam and another 32 populations have been sharply declining for 15 or more years 

 (CRITFC, 1992). Too many salmon populations have been extirpated over the years when no 

 hatchery programs were put into place to preserve them. Snake River basin coho salmon, upriver 

 chum salmon, and sockeye salmon have been totally lost due to die lack of any hatchery, or other 

 aquaculture, programs to incorporate and preserve their genetic materials. In contrast, Snake 

 River fall Chinook salmon, and spring chinook from above the Hell's Canyon Dam complex have 

 been saved from extirpation by hatchery programs. In the history of the Columbia River basin, 

 wherever hatchery programs have been denied, genetic material from salmon popidations in the 

 area has been irretrievably lost. Thus, our expeiieace dictates that the risks to salmon recovery 

 of neglecting hatcheries are far greater than risks incurred by applying these technologies. 



Our practical experiences, and those of the CRITFC member tribes, in selecting and 

 applying appropriate technologies to salmon recovery are reflected in a large volume of documents 

 which we and other tribal technical employees have produced over the years. These include: 

 Subbasin Plans, Integrated System Plan, Salmon Recovery Proposal for the Columbia Basin, 

 Upper Grande Ronde River Anadromous Fish Habitat Protection and Restoration Plan, numerous 

 analyses of forest management plans. Regional Assessment of Supplementation, Integrated Tribal 

 Production Plan Volume 1: Snake River, Yakima Basin Fisheries Master Plan, the Nez Perce 

 Tribal Hatchery Master Plan, and the Genetic Risk Assessment for the Hood River Basin, among 

 others (for copies of any of these documents, please contact Roberta Stone, Ray Hecocta, or 

 Sandra Petersen, 503-238-0667). As pointed out by a number of panel members, restoration 

 technologies need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis in each watershed; no single hatchery 

 technology could be appropriate for all cases. 



Of course, we strongly agree with all the members of both the Watershed Management and 

 Hatchery Panels that habitat restoration and protection are essential to long-term recovery of 

 salmon and their ecosystems. The CRITFC member tribes, as proprietors of fisheries resources, 

 have a long history of working with all other govenmients and other concerned entities to manage 

 natural resources in a sustainable fashion. In particular, the tribes have identified watershed 

 management as an important tool for salmon recovery. Watersheds are the building blocks of the 

 ecosystem, and the ecosystem must be healed, and kept whole, for the salmon to recover. 



We agree with the panels that the role of the federal govenmient is to unite Columbia basin 

 watershed management plans under principles that permit recovery of the ecosystem at a 

 reasonable pace, while respecting the interests of the stakeholders in each watershed. We caution 

 that recovery of the ecosystem must not, however, continue to be sacrificed to special interests. 



