504 



Idaho Water Users 

 Tlssociation, Inc. 



PRESIDENT 

 1ST VICE PRESIDENT 

 2ND VICE PRESIDENT 

 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 



Leiand E, Clark 



Vernon E. Case 



Bill Taylor 



Sherl L Chapman 



410 SOUTH ORCHARD. SUITE 144 

 BOISE, IDAHO 83705 

 208-344-6690 — OFFICE 

 208344-2744 — FAX 



nRECTOftS 



LELAND E CLARK 



Asnion Oisirtcl l 

 RONALD CARLSON 



Firth OiStncl 2 

 TERRELL SORENSEN 



American Falls - Oistnci 3 

 CEOL BLAUER 



Burley - District 4 

 ROBERT SCHAER 



Buhl - Dislnct 5 

 CMCK MARSHAU 



CLVDE HUTTON 



GOLDEN KEETCH 



Montpelfer Oistnct 8 

 DON SHENTON 



DubCXS DiSlrKt 9 



RICHARD ONQDA 



Shoshone - District 10 

 VERNON E CASE 



HENRY WEICK 



Boise District 12 

 DENNIS LAMMEY 



Caldwell - Distnct 13 

 HELEN BIVINS 



Payette Distnct 14 

 DON SATCHWELL 



Post Falls Distnct 15 

 HAROLD MOHLMAN 



Rupert Oistnct 16 

 HOWARD CONRAD 



Murtaugh - Detncl 17 



OIRECTOF^AT-LARGE 

 JAMES BRIGHT 

 Muilaugh 



LARRY FALKNER 



Leoislat«e 

 VERNON E CASE 



Resolutions 

 VIRGIL TEMPLE 



Education 

 CHARLES COINER JR 



flOYORR 



CHARLENEORR 



RuraUUrt>an Aftairs 

 DON SATCHWELL 



TESTIMONY OF SHERL L. CHAPMAN 



EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 



IDAHO WATER USERS ASSOCIATION, INC. 



BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES 



U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 



SEPTEMBER 24, 1993 



Mr. Chairman: 



I want to thank you for the opportunity to present this brief 

 testimony before you today on the important issue of recovery of 

 endangered salmon species in Idaho. 



The Idaho Water Users Association, which I represent, is an 

 organization composed of over 180 irrigation districts and canal companies 

 and over 90 agri-businesses, municipalities and other organizations. We 

 are the managers of most of Idaho's storage water and distribute that 

 water to over two million acres of irrigated cropland in our state. As 

 such, we are deeply concerned about water resource issues, particularly 

 salmon recovery, and efforts to utilize Idaho water as a tool in most 

 recovery plans. While Idaho's irrigated agricultural community has always 

 taken the position that it will participate in an equitable and reasonable 

 manner to recover endangered salmon, we expect any recovery plan to be 

 biologically sound, economically feasible and, above all, equitable. 



You have asked today that our testimony focus on efforts by the 

 Northwest Power Planning Council and the Strategy for Salmon that they 

 have developed. There are many areas of this plan that others have more 

 expertise on and because of that 1 will only focus on those areas we feel 

 comfortable about providing you information. 



You have asked whether or not the Council's Strategy for Salmon is a 

 sufficient framework for salmon recovery efforts and what strengths and 

 weaknesses occur in the plan. Again, while we are not experts on much of 

 the plan, we do know that the Council's emphasis on flow augmentation and 

 habitat restoration, particularly in Idaho, is a significant weakness 

 since it appears to be based on faulty or little science and takes 

 advantage of the regions politics. 



Idaho Department of Fish and Game studies indicate that Idaho's 

 anadromous fish spawning and rearing habitat is in good to excellent 

 condition over 87% of the drainage basin. Only 13% of Idaho's spawning 

 and rearing habitat is classified as in poor condition. Even with this 

 classification in place, the Council's plan chooses to focus in many 

 arenas on habitat restoration and preservation to the detriment of Idaho's 

 agricultural community. While the Council has no specific authority to 



