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COLUMBIA RIVER INTER-TRIBAL FISH COMMISSION 



729 N E Oregon. Suite 200. Portland. Oregon 97232 Telephone (S03) 238-0667 



Fax (503) 235-4228 



October 8, 1993 



Honorable Peter DeFazio 

 United States House of Representatives 

 1233 Longworth House Office Building 

 Washington, D.C. 20515-3704 



Dear Representative DeFazio: 



Please find enclosed additional testimony of the Columbia 

 River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission for the record of the Bonneville 

 Power Administration Task Force of the Natural Resources Committee. 



As you may recall, the Commission's testimony delivered on 

 September 24 emphasized the tribes' frustration over the failure of 

 the Regional Act to contribute in any significant measure to 

 recovery of Pacific salmon in the Columbia Basin. This is not only 

 a failure of the United States to implement its promises to secure 

 treaty fisheries; it is also a failure to honor its international 

 obligations under the United States-Canada Pacific Salmon. As 

 stated in a letter dated July 14, 1993 from the Assistant Secretary 

 of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific 

 Affairs to the Pacific Salmon Commission: 



I hereby determine that the United States is in jeopardy 

 of not fulfilling its international obligations under the 

 United States-Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty .... 



The reason for such determination follows: , 



A central ingredient of the Pacific Salmon treaty is the 

 Chinook rebuilding program it established designed to rebuild 

 Chinook stocks on a coast-wide basis by 1998. 



. . . .There has been a general decline in the proportion 

 of stocks that are classified as rebuilding, while the 

 proportion of stocks that are not rebuilding has 

 increased. Furthermore, 29 of the 42 indicator stocks 

 had lower escapements in 1991 than in 1990 and less than 

 half (16 of 36) of the escapement indicator stocks with 

 goals are currently classified as Above Goal, Rebuilding, 

 or Probably Rebuilding. 



