I would add, Mr. Chairman, in regard to the Olympic Peninsula, 

 that one of the challenges that we face in providing for a com- 

 prehensive response to damaged watersheds, is that the peninsula 

 nas multiple owners so that a river may begin in the mountains 

 in the Olympic National Park, then route through lands managed 

 by the State's Department of Natural Resources and private sector 

 entities that own forests up to the Straits of Juan de Fuca or the 

 Pacific Ocean, including a number of our Indian tribes. 



To get at the problem, I endorse an approach which focuses res- 

 toration efforts on public lands, but which encourages cooperation 

 with land managers while providing incentives that allow private 

 sector participation. This is what I feel is truly needed on the 

 Olympic Peninsula that provides a response to watershed restora- 

 tion. This is a perfect test case in the Northwest to demonstrate 

 streambed rehabilitation. 



A major benefit for the Northwest region in initiating and imple- 

 menting a comprehensive strategy for streambed rehabilitation and 

 watershed restoration is that salmon habitat will be better pro- 

 tected and stored. 



As I know this committee is fully aware of, we face a critical situ- 

 ation in the region with depleting wild salmon populations, and 

 this requires an aggressive and effective response. There are com- 

 plex and difUcult to quantify reasons for the decline in salmon runs 

 in the region. There is no one source of the problem, no one contrib- 

 utor. More importantly, there is no rational value in playing the 

 blame game, as we have done on Superfund. Who did it is not the 

 problem that we face. What do we do about the problem and how 

 do we get started? These are the critical questions and where the 

 real focus should be. 



One of the really positive aspects about taking action in the re- 

 gion is that watershed restoration efforts help prevent additional 

 endangered listings of salmon species. If we can prevent this by 

 taking appropriate action, it should be a goal that is pursued with- 

 out delay. And by the way, such a conservation plan would allow 

 the agencies, if they are in place to say, this is a credible plan, this 

 is the best we can do; and not feel constrained to list additional 

 species. 



One other additional aspect that I endorse is focusing first on 

 protecting the healthiest salmon habitat. This is a position that the 

 Pacific Rivers Council will present today. But what is most signifi- 

 cant about what they will say is that this conclusion is one that 

 has undergone scientific peer review, and the science seems to 

 argue for a focus on the healthiest habitat. This would have the ef- 

 fect of applying a tourniquet to the problem. We do not need a 

 Band-Aid approach to the problem. We need innovative solutions 

 that work for the long term. And this is where I hope that the 

 agencies, the resource agencies — Forest Service, BLM, Fish and 

 Wildlife Service — will consult with people who have been out there 

 in the field, who have done this already, rather than trying to cre- 

 ate their own programs kind of in a vacuum, because I am fearful 

 that what we will get out of that, say, Band-Aid approach is not 

 what we need. 



Yesterday, President Clinton announced plans to convene a for- 

 estry conference in the Northwest region on April 2 with the Vice 



