can be improved. So we are here in your territory to listen to your 

 views and sparing you the arduous trip to Washington. 



So without further ado, I will yield back the balance of my time 

 and look forward to hearing testimony on both salmon stock resto- 

 ration, as well as the reauthorization of the Magnuson Act. 



Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Chairman Studds. If I look a little befuddled, it is because nor- 

 mally at this time I alternate between recognizing Democratic 

 Members of Congress on my right and Republicans on my left. This 

 is quite refreshing. I will turn next to one of the stalwarts of our 

 committee, Congresswoman Jolene Unsoeld of Washington State. 



STATEMENT OF THE HON. JOLENE UNSOELD, A U.S. 

 REPRESENTATIVE FROM WASHINGTON 



Mrs. Unsoeld. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is with enormous 

 enthusiasm that I welcome this committee here because it is not 

 only that we have enjoyed a tremendously good working relation- 

 ship between the Oregon and the Washington delegation, that river 

 has not been a barrier but rather simply a means of transportation 

 across which our ideas come, but for the first time we have repre- 

 sentation from both States on this committee, and perhaps more 

 than any other committee in the Congress, the economic and envi- 

 ronmental well-being of the Pacific Northwest are inexorably inter- 

 twined with this committee. 



So it is very, very fitting, and I particularly welcome the two 

 chairmen of the full committee and the subcommittee that deals 

 with many of our issues. Certainly some of the best reasons to live 

 in this region are surrounding us. I don't know whether you saw 

 Mount Hood this morning, but we do have magnificent mountains, 

 and our vibrant waters, our forests, our fish, our wildlife; but as 

 evident from headlines appearing almost daily in newspapers, we 

 have often taken these resources for granted. 



Examples include, as has already been mentioned, our once- 

 mighty salmon runs and the watersheds from which they are 

 spawned. Both are showing signs of neglect and are suffering from 

 decades of mismanagement. 



Our first panel of witnesses this morning has been invited to tell 

 us how we have responded. Is it more of the traditional species-by- 

 species Endangered Species Act approach that threatens to over- 

 whelm the region or do we have in place an integrated region-wide 

 plan to rebuild weak runs and ensure sustainable management 

 into the future? 



The second panel will give us an opportunity to discuss more 

 broadly other fisheries issues involved in the reauthorization of the 

 Magnuson Act. I should say the Magnuson-Studds act. 



Chairman Studds. It depends on whether it is working or not. 



Mrs. Unsoeld. Perhaps nowhere has the success of that Act been 

 more evident than here in the Northwest. "Americanization" of 

 the North Pacific bottom fisheries has pumped billions of dollars 

 into our economy, created thousands of jobs, and helped make our 

 fishing industry among the most modern and productive in the 

 world. 



