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'^.ULi^l^' NORTHWEST POWER PLANNING COUNCIL l,™ ^^JI^'an 



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Testimony of the Northwest Power Planning Council 



Before the 



Bonneville Power Administration Task Force 



Committee on Natural Resources 



United States House of Representatives 



Boise, Idaho 

 September 24, 1993 



Good nioming Chairman DeFazio, and members of the Task Force. My name is Stan 

 Grace, and I am Chairman of the Northwest Power Plaiming Council. 



Thank you for the opportunity to present the Council's views on the recovery of 

 salmon stocks in the Columbia River Basin and, particularly, whether appropriate measures 

 are being proposed and undertaken to protect, mitigate and enhance salmon populations 

 affected by the development and operation of hydroelectric facilities on the Columbia River 

 and its tributaries. 



The Council, the Northwest Power Act and the Strategy for Salmon 



Ever since the Northwest Power Act was passed in 1980, the Columbia River Basin's 

 fish and wildlife have been the subject of increasing attention, not just from groups that are 

 dependent on the river or its fish, but from the public at large. Since the Northwest Power 

 Planning Council approved its first Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program in 

 1982, significant efforts and money have been directed toward protecting and rebuilding 

 salmon and steelhead populations. Some promising increases were seen in the mid-1980s, 

 but disappointing declines were again evident in the early 1990s. Our efforts have not been 

 enough to rescue some species. Some of the region's salmon and steelhead runs have been 

 declining at alarming rates. 



