i 



217 



[T]here is a relationship between flow, water velocity, fish 

 travel time and survival such that increasing water velocity 

 increases the survival of salmon and steelhead from the 

 onset of active downstreeun migration to adult spawner. 



Improvement In the level and frequency of favorable mainstem 

 migration conditions for juvenile salmonids will improve 

 fish condition, increase migration rate, reduce exposure to 

 predators, and improve timing and fitness at entry to the 

 sea. 



As a result, survival to adult recruitment will improve to 

 levels that, together with full implementation of other 

 measures in this program, will sustain recovery and 

 rebuilding of salmon populations. 



With respect to fish barging, the Independent Peer Review 

 Teaun convened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently 

 concluded: "Transportation alone, as presently conceived and 

 implemented, is unlikely to halt or prevent the continued decline 

 and extirpation of listed species of salmon in the Snake River 

 Basin." Similarly, the Recovery Team concedes that the program 

 "has not prevented declines in survival rates or numbers of 

 returning adults," but "may have kept the declines from being 

 worse . " 



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