SALMON RESTORATION IN THE COLUMBIA 

 RIVER BASIN 



FRroAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1993 



House of Representatives, 

 Task Force on Bonneville Power Administration, 



Committee on Natural Resources, 



Washington, DC. 

 The task force met, pursuant to call, at 8 a.m. in the Gold Room, 

 Idaho State House, Boise, Idaho, Hon. Peter DeFazio (chairman of 

 the task force) presiding. 



Mr. DeFazio. I welcome everyone here today. Since in good part 

 we are here because of my colleague, Mr. LaRocco, who insisted 

 that his concerns and the concerns of his State and district should 

 be heard at the source from the people, we are in Idaho. So I am 

 going to defer to him for his opening statement, then I will make 

 mine, and then we will move on with the hearing. 



STATEMENT OF HON. LARRY LaROCCO 



Mr. LaRocco. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Peter, let 

 me welcome you to Idaho and let me welcome you to Boise, our 

 great State welcomes you with open arms. Just a couple of weeks 

 ago, our colleagues Collin Peterson and Charlie Rose were sitting 

 at this very dais here; we had a hearing on forest health, an issue 

 of grave concerns to my constituents. And I am very pleased that 

 you have brought the BPA Task Force here to Idaho to Usten to 

 our concerns about fish, about salmon. 



I have a few opening remarks but I am going to be extremely 

 brief because i know that we have a lot of witnesses and only one 

 day to hear from them. 



First of all, let me thank my colleague from Oregon, Peter 

 DeFazio, again for taking on the difficult responsibility of oversight 

 of the Bonneville Power Administration and for holding this task 

 force hearing on endangered salmon in Idaho. 



It is important that we hold this hearing on the endangered 

 salmon runs in Idaho because Idahoans have the most to lose from 

 the extinction of these magnificent fish, as well as the most to gain 

 if we can bring these fish back. 



From the spawning creeks and pools of the Sawtooth Mountains, 

 through the Snake and Columbia Rivers to the Pacific Ocean and 

 back, the sockeye and chinook salmon runs, possibly more than any 

 other single resource, capture the true spirit of the Northwest. 



Unfortunately, we are letting this spirit — this heritage — slip 

 away from us. 



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