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Pacific Salmon Commission. 



The Fish and wildlife Service continues to play a significant role 

 in the protection of endangered species. At the reguest of the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) , the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service guided the preparation of a biological assessment of 

 proposed in-river fisheries for 1992 by working through the 

 scientific advisory arm of the Federal court-ordered Columbia River 

 Fishery Management Plan. We also designed a comprehensive 

 biological assessment for Section 7 consultations with NMFS on 1993 

 operations of all Service hatcheries in the Columbia River Basin. 



Fishery scientists have warned for years that habitat degradation, 

 overharvest, poor hatchery practices, incompatible hydropower 

 operations, and water diversion would lead to the decline of 

 Pacific salmonids. Last year, those warnings were heard when 

 Congress passed what we may someday come to consider one of the 

 Nation's most significant changes in public water policy. I am 

 referring, of course, to the Central Valley Project Improvement 

 Act. 



The Act prescribes and directs major changes in the operation of 

 the federal Central Valley Project (CVP) for the protection, 

 restoration, and enhancement of fish and wildlife resources and 

 associated habitats. The Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau 

 of Reclamation have established a coordinating office in Sacramento 

 and are jointly implementing requirements of the Act divided along 

 the lines of each agency's expertise. We are assisting Reclamation 

 with preparation of a programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, 

 laying the groundwork for the plan to double natural anadromous 

 fish populations, and coordinating with involved State agencies so 

 that when the funding is received beginning with Fiscal Year 1994, 

 critical timeframes specified by the Act can be met. 



When it comes to water policy reform in the Northwest, much can be 

 learned from the years of struggle in California to equitably 

 resolve these same problems. The Central Valley Project 

 Improvement Act recognizes the changing economics of water and 

 acknowledges the value of water in meeting environmental needs. 

 Implementation of this Act should set the standard and provide a 



