485 



PANEL CONSISTING OF MARVIN L. PLENERT, DIRECTOR, RE- 

 GION 1, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE; SHERL L. CHAP- 

 MAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, IDAHO WATER USERS ASSO- 

 CIATION, INC.; JOE STEGNER, STEGNER GRAIN AND FEED; 

 KENNETH R. PEDDE, ASSISTANT REGIONAL DIRECTOR, PA- 

 CIFIC NORTHWEST REGION, BUREAU OF RECLAMATION; 

 AND KAREN GARRISON, NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE 

 COUNCIL 



Mr. DeFazio. Let us proceed here, last panel. We get through 

 this, and everybody can go have lunch. We will just start. Mr. 

 Plenert, you are up. I notice that we are missing one person, but 

 I assume she is here today someplace and just perhaps out of the 

 room. 



STATEMENT OF MARVIN L. PLENERT 



Mr. Plenert. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. DeFazio. Mr. Plenert's agency was one of the agencies that 

 was unable to provide the testimony ahead of time. And I will cer- 

 tainly be commxinicating with the highest authorities I can find in 

 these agencies in the ^ture to see that the people who actually 

 write the testimony and do the work are allowed to get it here on 

 a timely basis. 



Mr. Plenert. I will accept the public flogging for higher-level 

 tinkering. 



Mr. DeFazio. All right. 



Mr. Plenert. Mr. Chairman, Congressman LaRocco, thank you 

 for inviting me to testify before the Bonneville Power Administra- 

 tion Task Force. 



In the time allowed, I would like to highlight my response to the 

 questions you asked in your letter of invitation, and I would re- 

 quest that the full statement appear in the official record. 



The recovery of salmon and steelhead stocks in the Columbia 

 River basin is one of the most complex and challenging fish and 

 wildlife resource issues facing the Nation today. Dam construction, 

 modifications to the river basin's hydrology, loss of fish and wildlife 

 habitat and the other human-induced impacts, have all contributed 

 to the decline and brought the ecosystem to a point where several 

 fish and wildlife populations, including salmon, are at risk of ex- 

 tinction. In fact, the Snake River Coho is already extinct. 



This hearing by the task force will be helpful in focusing national 

 attention on this issue and in the accelerating recovery and re- 

 building efforts. Substantive and timely actions are required. 



In order to have an effective recovery and rebuilding program for 

 salmon in the Columbia River basin, cooperation among all of the 

 agencies and the many users of the system is needed. In fact, co- 

 operation is mandatory. 



The Northwest Power Planning Council has done a good job co- 

 ordinating the recovery and rebuilding efforts for salmon through- 

 out the fish and wilcUife program and the development of their 

 Strategy for Salmon. The major strengths of the Strategy for Salm- 

 on is its basin-wide approach to addressing impacts on the salmon 

 at every stage in their life cycle for all activities that impact salm- 

 on. 



