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be initiated to begin restoration. If survival has not improved, further 

 efforts should be directed to solving the poor inner Harbor survival problems 

 before extensive watershed habitat restoration proceeds. Since it will take 

 at least two more years before results of tagging studies can confirm clean-up 

 effectiveness, preliminary habitat restoration projects should be started and 

 evaluated. Once the inner Harbor water quality allows reasonable smolt 

 survival, proven habitat restoration projects can begin throughout the Basin 

 on a larger scale. Selection of habitat restoration projects will be guided 

 by the ongoing habitat survey. 



Hatchery Role 



Hatchery production supports a large share of the catch in several fisheries. 

 However, once habitat problems have been corrected, the hatchery role in 

 fishery restoration should be to augment, rather than replace, natural 

 production. Hatcheries may produce fish poorly adapted for wild survival and 

 can jeopardize the health and attainability of wild runs, so programs must be 

 developed cautiously. Ongoing State and Tribal processes should continue to 

 carefully evaluate all hatchery programs to help understand how they are 

 contributing to fisheries and whether there is negative interaction with wild 

 stocks. Artificial enhancement can and should be utilized wherever it will 

 not harm the integrity of wild stocks. However, emphasizing hatchery 

 production to the detriment of effortB to restore naturally reproducing 

 populations is not an acceptable policy option. 



Public and Interagency Involvement 



Public and interagency cooperation is vital to the success of restoration. 

 This requires the active participation of the tribes and agencies named in the 

 Chehalis Act as the Restoration Plan is implemented. These key entities will 

 identify and explore avenues of cooperation with all interested private 

 organizations and agencies not already involved. The public was invited to a 

 Basin-wide fisheries conference in the fall of 1992 where study findings were 

 presented and suggestions for restoration priorities sought. 



The FWS recommends that the Chehalis Basin Steering Committee, formed under 

 the Chehalis Basin Fishery Restoration Study Act, be continued to provide 

 policy guidance to the restoration proposed in this report. They will guide 

 restoration to ensure each project would restore fish, be cost-effective, meet 

 cost-share requirements, and contain appropriate evaluation components. 



It is also critical that all existing programs designed to protect, restore, 

 and enhance fisheries and their habitat continue to be fully supported and 

 funded. 



RESTORATION OBJECTIVES 



The overall life-span of the restoration project is 20 years, assuming full 

 funding is made available. Some tasks can be completed in one or several years 

 while others will be accomplished gradually over the 20 years. Since all 



