31 



Mr. Vento. Let me turn now to the BLM witness, Mr. Penfold. 

 STATEMENT OF MICHAEL PENFOLD 



Mr. Penfold. Mr. Chairman, I am very appreciative of the op- 

 portunity to be here and thank you very much for your comments 

 and constant support for the professional side of the BLM; I have 

 a couple of professional staff people with me. Dr. Jack Williams is 

 our BLM Science Advisor; Dr. Williams had been head of our fish- 

 eries program before taking this new position. He also is the co-au- 

 thor of the American Fishery Society report. Pacific Salmon at the 

 Crossroads, which was a definitive document in illustrating the 

 problem that we are talking about today. 



I also have with me Mr. Ron Kaufman, who is one of our District 

 Managers. He is the District Manager from Eugene, Oregon. Mr. 

 Kaufman has been on the firing line of land management for three 

 decades out in the Pacific Northwest, and I brought him in for the 

 purposes of making him available for any questions that you might 

 have for somebody who has been on that firing line. 



I am going to touch on some of the key and important parts of 

 our testimony. The BLM administers approximately 180,000 miles 

 of streams and a large number of diverse watersheds. A great num- 

 ber of those are in Alaska, and are salmon streams; but also a 

 great number are in Idaho and Oregon. 



We recognize the severity and extent of watershed degradation 

 in the Pacific Northwest, as well as the environmental, social and 

 economic consequences of watershed dysfunction. The July 1992 re- 

 port. Management of Anadromous Salmon and Trout Habitat and 

 Their Status in the Salem District, illustrates the magnitude of the 

 issue on BLM public lands. For instance, the BLM's Salem District 

 in western Oregon manages 28,000 acres of riparian habitat along 

 633 miles of perennial stream. There are 211 miles of streams in 

 16 drainage areas containing anadromous salmon and trout, which 

 support 33 of the 214 stocks at risk as identified by the 1991 Amer- 

 ican Fisheries Society report. Pacific Salmon at the Crossroads. Of 

 the 28,000 acres of riparian habitat in the district, 41 percent are 

 in poor condition, 31 percent we consider fair, and 28 percent opti- 

 mum. Of the 211 stream miles supporting anadromous fishes, 42 

 percent of stream channels are in poor condition, 35 percent fair, 

 and 23 optimum. 



This is not good enough. 



The BLM has been moving in a variety of ways to protect and 

 manage these watersheds and the resources upon which they de- 

 pend. Protection of anadromous fish such as steelhead and salmon 

 has been a driving force behind many of our efforts. These fish are 

 of critical importance to the cultural, economic, and recreational 

 well-being of the Pacific Northwest. The BLM has addressed salm- 

 on habitat management through two plans known as the Anad- 

 romous Fish Habitat Management Strategic Plan on Public Lands 

 and Anadromous Fish Habitat Management Plan for the Columbia 

 and Snake River. These plans, which are component plans for 

 BLM's Fish and Wildlife 200 initiative, outline habitat projects, ac- 

 quisition, and management needs. They are designed to enhance 

 tne productivity of anadromous fish streams on public lands in Or- 

 egon, Washington, and Idaho. Some $2 million in Oregon and 



