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4 

 provided full opportunity to participate in the process. The plan addresses every 

 important aspect of the life cycle of the salmon. 



The plan recognizes that the critical issue we face is the survival of juvenile 

 salmon and steelhead as they attempt to migrate through the system of federal 

 mainstem dams and slackwater reservoirs to the ocean. We must improve juvenile 

 survival. 



All other investments to protect habitat, improve management of hatcheries and 

 impose further constraints on harvest will be wasted if the mainstem survival issue is 

 not successfully addressed. The salmon cannot withstand the present man-caused 

 mortality rates. This legendary species will continue their slide to extinction. 



The chief weakness of the Strategy is the protracted period agencies claim is 

 required to implement long-term measures to improve the migration habitat of the 

 salmon. The region needs to take immediate steps in order to reduce the lead time for 

 implementing drawdowns and other long-term measures. We believe modification of 

 the Lower Granite Dam to permit a one-pool drawdown is a critical first step toward a 

 longer term drawdown program. 



It is essential that we take immediate steps to reverse the radical transformation 

 of the migration corridor from a river to a chain of slackwater lakes. 



The Power Council's Strategy endorses demonstration of a drawdown strategy 

 to restore the migration habitat. The drawdown approach is not without its impacts on 

 river users or costs to modify the fish passage facilities at the dams. The council also 

 recognizes that impacts on river users must be accounted for and compensated. 



Status-quo opposition to the drawdown approach often cites the "unproven" 

 nature of modifying these federal projects and operating them differently. Considering 

 the success of barging of salmon, and the species' present status, Idaho suggests that 

 the drawdown approach compares rather favorably to the disproven management of 

 present day. 



EFFICIENCY OF WATER USE 



Of special interest to Idaho are the parts of the Strategy for Salmon that deal 

 with water management, specifically water conservation and regulation of water 



