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Departments of Ecology, Fisheries and Wildlife. Earlier this year, Steering 

 Committee membership was expanded by five to include representatives from 

 Grays Harbor, Lewis and Thurston Counties, agricultural interests in the 

 Basin, and the local timber industry. 



With guidance from the Steering Committee, a comprehensive review of 

 existing information was completed to determine the status and trends of 

 Chehalis Basin fishery resources and the development of restoration goals. 

 The review involved compilation and evaluation of available information 

 related to the history of fishery resources, status of existing runs, and habitat 

 problems in the Basin. That review revealed: poor water quality in upper 

 Grays Harbor likely contributed to poor coho smolt survival, at least until 

 1989; wild coho and chum salmon populations have fallen well below levels 

 that once supported large harvests; chinook salmon and steelhead do not 

 consistently use all the available habitat; and dams and other actions including 

 logging, road building, agriculture and urbanization have degraded water 

 quality and eliminated or degraded salmon and steelhead trout habitat. 



Additionally, the Service recently surveyed approximately 1,800 miles of 

 streams in the Chehalis Basin. Over 40,000 incidents of habitat conditions 

 harmful to salmon and steelhead were identified. This information has been 

 incorporated into a computer-based geographic information system to 

 facilitate habitat restoration activities. 



Based on these two studies, the goal for restoration of Chehalis Basin salmon 

 and steelhead trout is: 



