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STATEMENT OF RICHARD N. SMITH, ACTING DI RECTO R, U.S. FISH AND 

 WILDUFE SERVICE, BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES 

 MANAGEMENT AND THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL 

 RESOURCES, HOUSE COMMITTEE ON MERCHANT MARINE AND FTSHERDZS, 

 CONCERNING CHEHALIS BASIN, WASHINGTON, FISHERY RESOURCE 

 RESTORATION 



July 14, 1993 



Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to present our views on restoring 

 the once-abundant salmon and steelhead trout runs of the Chehalis River and 

 other streams draining into Grays Harbor on the Washington coast. The Fish 

 and Wildlife Service is directly involved in this restoration effort. We 

 believe the approach used for the Chehalis Basin could be applicable to the 

 successful restoration of many other depleted West Coast anadromous fish 

 populations. 



The Chehalis River Basin Fishery Resources Study and Restoration Act of 

 1990 (Public Law 101-452) encompasses the entire Grays Harbor drainage. 

 The Act required the Director of the Service to prepare a comprehensive 

 study of the fishery resources of the Chehalis Basin. A report was to be 

 submitted to the Congress identifying goals and recommending actions for 

 restoring those fish stocks. I am pleased to announce that the report was 

 recently approved and shortly will be submitted to the Congress in fulfillment 

 of the Act. 



A Steering Committee was organized in 1991 to plan and coordinate activities 

 of the Service and other cooperators. Initially it consisted of two members 

 of the Chehalis River Basin Fisheries Task Force representing the public and 

 one representative each from the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis, 

 Quinault Indian Nation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Washington 



