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Chairman Studds, Members of the Committee, my name is Al Wright. I am the Executive 

 Director of the Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee (PNUCC). PNUCC is 

 a non-profit association of public and private electric utilities and direct service industries 

 in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and N^ontana. We represent the three major Bonneville 

 Power Administration customer groups on regional power and environmental issues. I 

 appreciate the opportunity to express our views on the final recommendations of the 

 Snake River Salmon Recovery Team. 



There are only two legitimate recovery plans on the table for recovering endangered 

 salmon stocks. One is the Northwest Power Planning Counclls's 1994 Fish and Wildlife 

 Program, developed under the auspices of the Northwest Power Act. The second is the 

 Snake River Salmon Recovery Team's Final Recommendation to the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service (NMFS) completed in May 1994. This Recovery Plan was developed by 

 seven credible scientists appointed by NMFS under the Endangered Species Act. 



We believe that both plans have merit. From the beginning of the Recovery Team's work, 

 PNUCC has been willing to support a plan developed by seven objective scientists. We 

 were willing to give it a chance to work and endorsed the plan before we even saw it 

 because we believe that a plan based on sound biology Is our only chance of saving the 

 salmon. That position remains unchanged. We believe the Recovery Team's 

 recommendations are grounded In science and will lead to recovery of the stocks. 



No plan, however, will recover the salmon stocks overnight There are simply no 

 overnight fixes. It will take time. One of the most Important things the region needs now 



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