the beloved salmon do return and, once again, feed us and give us 

 that great resource in the Northwest. 



Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for this opportunity. 



Mr. Manton. Mr. Hamburg. 



Mr. Hamburg. No opening statement. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. Manton. There seem to be no other members here willing to 

 make an opening statement, so we will start with panel two. Con- 

 gressman Dicks who was to be our first witness, has not yet ar- 

 rived. 



So if I could call up Dick Smith, Acting Director, U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service, accompanied by Bill Shake, Assistant Regional Di- 

 rector of Fisheries; David Youckton, Vice Chairman of the Chehalis 

 Tribe, Diane Ellison, Chairman, Chehalis River Fisheries Tasks 

 Force; and Steve Moyer, Director of Government Affairs, Trout Un- 

 limited. 



Perhaps Mr. Smith can lead off. 



STATEMENTS OF DICK SMITH, ACTING DIRECTOR, U.S. FISH AND 

 WILDLIFE SERVICE, ACCOMPANIED BY BILL SHAKE, ASSIST- 

 ANT REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF FISHERIES; DAVID YOUCKTON, 

 VICE CHAIRMAN, CHEHALIS TRIBE, ACCOMPANIED BY C.S. 

 SODHI, PH.D., DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RE- 

 SOURCES, OAKVILLE, WASHINGTON, AND CONFEDERATED 

 TRIBES OF THE CHEHALIS RESERVATION; DIANE ELLISON, 

 CHAIRMAN, CHEHALIS RIVER FISHERIES TASK FORCE; STEVE 

 MOYER, DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, TROUT UNLIM- 

 ITED 



STATEMENT OF DICK SMITH, ACTING DIRECTOR, U.S. FISH AND 

 WILDLIFE SERVICE 



Mr. Smith. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am Richard Smith, 

 Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, and I appreciate this op- 

 portunity to present our views on restoring the once abundant 

 salmon and steelhead trout runs of the Chehalis River and other 

 streams that enter into Grays Harbor on the Washington coast. 



The Fish and Wildlife Service is directly involved in this restora- 

 tion effort. We believe that the approach used for the Chehalis 

 Basin can be used successfully to restore river basins where other 

 West Coast anadromous fish populations have been depleted. 



The Chehalis River Basin Fishery Resources Study and Restora- 

 tion Act of 1990 encompasses the entire Grays Harbor Washington 

 drainage. The Act requires that the Director of the Fish and Wild- 

 life Service prepare a comprehensive study of the fishery resources 

 of the basin, and a report will soon be submitted to the Congress 

 identifying goals and recommending actions for restoring these fish 

 stocks. I think you may have a copy of the draft before you right 

 now. 



A steering committee was organized in 1991 to plan and coordi- 

 nate activities of the Service with the other cooperators in the 

 area. Initially, the steering committee 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, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 



