13 



to allow to trample the spawning and rearing habitat in the tribu- 



Water withdrawals must be limited to the amount available 

 above what the salmon need to thrive. The tribal recovery plan will 

 address these and many other areas that we believe management 

 should be putting in perspective. 



We speak of Bonneville Power Administration's account and their 

 efforts in the past and we note that over $1 billion has been spent 

 for fish and wildlife under the regional act. There appears to be lit- 

 tle benefit in return for their efforts. 



When we speak in these terms, we wonder exactly where those 

 particular efforts can be demonstrated to prove any benefit. How 

 does the tribal recovery plan propose to deal with harvest? We be- 

 lieve that once that recovery plan's potential and the proposed ac- 

 tions have been met, the abundance of salmon and the support of 

 the salmon will provide for healthy fisheries. 



Madam Chair, I am prepared to answer any questions. Thank 

 you for this opportunity. 



[Statement of Levi Holt can be found at the end of the hearing. 



Ms. Unsoeld. Thank you, Mr. Holt. The next panelist is Mr. 

 Rollie Schmitten, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA. 

 RoUie. 



STATEMENT OF ROLLIE SCHMITTEN, ASSISTANT ADMINIS- 

 TRATOR FOR FISHERIES, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOS- 

 PHERIC ADMINISTRATION 



Mr. Schmitten. Chairwoman Unsoeld and members of the Sub- 

 committee, I am Rollie Schmitten, the Assistant Administrator for 

 Fisheries of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

 within the Department of Commerce. 



I am pleased to be here this morning to discuss the recovery of 

 salmon stocks in the Pacific Northwest that are listed as both 

 threatened and endangered under the Endangered Species Act. 



Foremost I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the 

 hard work and literally hundreds of hours of effort of the Snake 

 River Salmon Recovery Team. The Team has addressed many of 

 the difficult issues since it was formed in 1991 and I can commend 

 them on the recommendations that they have developed and sub- 

 mitted to the Fisheries Service. 



I would like to make three points today. First, the Snake River 

 recovery plan is a part of a larger effort to conserve and rebuild 

 all salmon stocks. We support the efforts to address the situation 

 comprehensively through the development of both basin-wide and 

 regional plans. 



For example, we are an active participant in the President's 

 Northwest Forest Plan, for Federal forest lands, as well as the 

 pacfish initiative developed by the Forest Service and the Bureau 

 of Land Management. Both of these are guided in part by an 

 aquatic conservation strategy that will protect salmon habitat. It is 

 through these types of ecosystem approaches that we feel the great- 

 est long-term benefits can be attained. 



Second, given the variable biological and physical conditions in 

 recent years, it is necessary to adopt actions which will affect other 



