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page 3 - BPA Testimony 

 Salmon for All 



pulling out of the Summit, but decided to stay when told If harvest was 

 not on the table there could be no agreement for salmon recovery. Our 

 presence was a political necessity not a biological one. 



Other fishermen argued that the recovery plan agreed to compensate the 

 losses of those who went beyond the call of duty to help save the salmon 

 runs. Since "lease" was to be voluntary, they saw It as a business option 

 to be considered. Fishermen have been paying the price for salmon stock 

 deterioration since 1936 and have had three bad fishing years in a row. 

 Many are struggling financially. The temporary business option that 

 "lease" offered was attractive to some, but not beneficial to processors 

 and support industries. 



License leasing was unsuccessful because the Tribal leaders would not 

 guarantee to BPA that fish "leased"" in the lower river would be allowed to 

 pass through upper river Tribal fisheries. We suggested to BPA early in 

 1992 that the Tribes be Included in discussions regarding license leasing 

 since their participation was Instrumental in the success of assisting 

 salmon. BPA chose not to do that, and ultimately the "92 negotiations 

 broke down because Tribal leaders said they were not given adequate time 

 by BPA to explore the options and reach a decision. In "93, Tribal members 

 still did not participate in our meetings, although BPA indicated they were 

 meeting separately with the Tribes. "93 plans also ended abruptly when 

 Tribal leaders would not guarantee fish passage. We have been told that, 

 in part, they were offended because BPA did not treat them with the 

 dignity they felt their sovereign nation status dictated. 



After two and a half years of negotiating, trying to put together one small 

 element of the salmon recovery plan, license leasing and the small 

 compensation that would have accrued to the cooperating fishermen has 

 been set aside and given little hope for future resolution. 



That part of the plan called ""leasebck" should have been called 

 "leaseback/pass through"" so it adequately, and equally, focused attention 

 on the two determinant factors that would lead to success. BPA worked 

 diligently with us, but it appears needed to do more to understand the 

 Tribal perspective and to communicate better with the Tribes. 



