14 



and probably the State governments are the ones that should con- 

 tribute the dollar resources. So my best estimate right now is in 

 the neighborhood of a million dollars per year. 



Mr. Manton. Mr. Youckton, what do you see as the tribal role in 

 the restoration? 



Mr. Youckton. If I may allow Dr. Sodhi to sit with me and help 

 answer some of these questions, if that is all right with the panel? 



Mr. Manton. Do you want to come forward, Doctor? 



Mr. Sodhi. Mr. Chairman, I am the Director for the Department 

 of Natural Resources. The tribe already has a program with the 

 State on which we work on the escapement and allocation of the 

 fish we catch on the Chehalis River. So we are taking care of that 

 part. 



It is twofold. We are looking at two ways. We are looking at res- 

 toration on the basis of habitat restoration and also the fish resto- 

 ration on the basis of hatchery, on the basis of having more escape- 

 ment, having more fish to go so that it can spawn. 



The tribe presently has no hatchery. The tribe, Chehalis Tribe, is 

 at the end of the line so we are left with the responsibility of esca- 

 pement. And this year, in 1993, we just got an allocation of only 

 150 spring chinook. We have 50 fishermen on the reservation. We 

 caught only 127 fish because we started seeing depletion in the 

 runs and, therefore, let the other fish escape. 



The tribe can work and is working with the State and would like 

 to work also with the U.S. Fisheries and Wildlife on this project. 



Mr. Manton. Thank you, Dr. Sodhi. 



Well, I think we have a few more minutes before we have to go 

 to the Floor to vote. Mrs. Unsoeld, do you have any questions you 

 would like to ask at this time? 



Mrs. Unsoeld. Appreciate that, Mr. Chairman. 



I would like to ask Mr. Smith — but I do want to thank the folks 

 that have come out from the West Coast and for the kind of coop- 

 eration and community support that you have been able to demon- 

 strate, the working together has really been rewarding for me to 

 observe. 



But, Mr. Smith, the act seeks a basin or ecosystem-wide approach 

 to addressing the causes of the fisheries' decline in the Chehalis 

 River Basin. It attempts to bring everybody to the same table, 

 three State agencies, two tribal governments, the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, as well as local community representatives. 



Now, given the responsibility of the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service under the ESA for salmon, shouldn't they be included in 

 the task force? 



Mr. Smith. I didn't arrange the task force. My initial reaction 

 would be yes. 



Mrs. Unsoeld. And the report identifies and, Mr. Moyer has 

 pointed to the problem, but the report identifies the Canadian 

 Coastal Salmon Sport and Patrol Fisheries as intercepting, "large 

 numbers of chinook and coho bound for the Chehalis Basin," and 

 that this remains a major influence on terminal run size. And 

 citing from pages 26 and 30 of the report, "British Columbia fisher- 

 ies caught 68.9 percent of the Chehalis Fall chinook and 82.7 per- 

 cent of the Chehalis coho." 



