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9 

 recovery plan to be provided to the Secretary that is both 

 scientifically sound and regionally supported. 



NMFS faces a tremendous workload: implementation of the Snake 

 River salmon recovery plan; completion of the status reviews for 

 eight new anadromous populations that have been petitioned for 

 listing and the potential development and implementation of 

 recovery plans; and completion of a large number of consultations 

 and permits. We have increased our staff, but that is a 

 temporary solution. We need to focus more on an ecosystem 

 approach; one that aids several species at once and will preclude 

 further listings. The President's Forest Ecosystem Management 

 Plan is an example of the correct approach. 



The coastwide initiative is similar to the President's plan in 

 that it focuses on an ecosystem approach to habitat protection 

 and restoration. It is intended to be a Federal/non-Federal 

 partnership aimed at precluding the listing of individual species 

 under the Endangered Species Act. The coastwide initiative has 

 been mostly a state effort to date. NMFS has encouraged the 

 coastwide initiative and is working cooperatively with the U.S. 

 Fish and Wildlife Service in support of its continued development 

 in a way that involves states, tribes and the private sector. It 

 is critical that efforts such as these be implemented. 

 Recovering listed species and restoring habitat can be very 

 expensive; it is far more cost effective and scientifically valid 



