10 



Chairman Studds. Thank you very much. Finally, the other half 

 of this city's representation in Congress, although not a member of 

 our committee, a very close friend and colleague, Congressman Ron 

 Wyden. 



STATEMENT OF THE HON. RON WYDEN, A U.S. REPRESENTATIVE 



FROM OREGON 



Mr. Wyden. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much, and thank you 

 particularly for the opportunity to testify. I have to be elsewhere 

 this morning, but I am going to look at the full record after the 

 hearing is over and appreciate the chance to testify. 



I don't want to turn this into a bouquet tossing contest, but we 

 are very much appreciative in the Northwest of your leadership, 

 particularly last session, the tremendous work that you did on the 

 taxol legislation that simply would not have happened without 

 your work, and we are especially pleased that Congresswoman 

 Furse is on the committee. 



After the whiting decision came down, she told me that one of 

 her priorities would be to get this committee to Portland to listen 

 and to hear firsthand from Oregonians, and once again she has de- 

 livered, and we are very appreciative. I also want to thank my col- 

 league across the river who brings real meaning to the idea of 

 hands across the water. We have had a team in this delegation 

 across the river with Oregon and Washington, and like Congress- 

 woman Furse I want Jolene Unsoeld to know that we recognize 

 that she is a national influence on fishing issues, and we are appre- 

 ciative. 



Mr. Chairman, I just make a couple of quick points and ask 

 unanimous consent that my statement be entered into the record. 

 Let me say that for many Oregonians preserving our salmon runs 

 ranks just behind concern for the first born. We believe that health 

 of our salmon is an important barometer of our society's health, 

 and losing salmon means that our ecosystem is in trouble, and we 

 are simply tired of playing Russian roulette with this very special 

 treasure. 



I think you noted in your statement that there are lots of factors 

 that are driving all this fish killing. Our newspaper, the Oregoni- 

 an, recently pointed out that some of those factors are dams, irriga- 

 tion ditches, poor hatchery management, declining habitat, and 

 overfishing in the river, but what I thought I might do for just a 

 moment or two is focus on one of those issues which I think is a 

 microcosm of our problem in the area of policy with respect to fish- 

 eries, and that issue is the matter of fish hatcheries. 



Now, with respect to this issue, at the very best governmental 

 fish hatchery policies are often poorly coordinated and simply con- 

 tradictory. An example of one such policy is exemplified by the fact 

 that some hatcheries produce coho which return to the river at the 

 same time as the endangered Snake River fall chinook. Unknow- 

 ingly, recreational and commercial fishermen catch the endangered 

 fall chinook while they fish for the coho. 



Another example would be that some hatcheries release steel- 

 head trout in large numbers at a time when they go out to prey on 

 the endangered chinook smolt. The third example of the question- 



