43 



Mr. Vento. Thank you for summarizing your comments and for 

 your thoughtful and kind remarks. 



We have two additional witnesses. We have a lot of agencies 

 working on these problems, obviously, that influence land use, so 

 we are pleased to welcome Dr. Michael Tillman, the Acting Direc- 

 tor of the Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 

 Service, NOAA. 



STATEMENT OF MICHAEL TILLMAN 



Dr. Tillman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



I greatly appreciate the opportunity to provide the views of the 

 Department of Commerce regarding watershed and fish habitat 

 degradation on public lands and national forests. I will cover the 

 agency's activities addressing this important issue. 



As you requested, I will quickly summarize my testimony. 



The Department has statutory responsibilities which authorize 

 it, acting through the National Marine Fisheries Service, to protect, 

 mitigate, and enhance anadromous fishery resources for the benefit 

 of commercial and recreational fishing industries and tribal fish- 

 eries of the United States. 



The National Marine Fisheries Service has Federal conservation 

 and management responsibilities for marine, estuarine, and anad- 

 romous fishery resources under various laws, including the Na- 

 tional Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act, the Fish and 

 Wildlife Coordination Act, the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and 

 Management Act, and the Endangered Species Act. 



Now, as in the past, Pacific coast salmon and steelhead resources 

 provide a significant economic, subsistence, cultural, and rec- 

 reational benefit to the people of the Pacific Northwest. Many of 

 these stocks are now at risk. 



The reasons for the declines vary by stock. For some, habitat 

 degradation is a serious problem. However, maintaining suitable 

 spawning and rearing habitat is vital to all of them. 



Past land use practices have resulted in the degradation of many 

 miles of streams that provided anadromous fish habitat. Much of 

 the remaining habitat important for anadromous fish production is 

 now on public lands. 



Our Northwest Regional Office is currently conducting section 7 

 consultations in four major sectors that may or are likely to affect 

 adversely the three salmon stocks in the Pacific Northwest that are 

 currently listed under the Endangered Species Act. These four sec- 

 tors, referred to as the four H's, are: hydropower, harvesting, habi- 

 tat, and hatcheries. 



These four sectors are an integral part of the economic and social 

 structure of the Pacific Northwest. Therefore, it is essential that 

 the Fisheries Service work with the Federal agencies responsible 

 for managing the actions that comprise the four H's in an efficient 

 and effective manner. 



With respect to the habitat sector specifically, we are working 

 closely with the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Man- 

 agement. Actions from both these agencies include grazing, mining, 

 road construction, recreation, fishery enhancement, timber sales, 

 and salvage sales. Unless proper safeguards are taken as part of 

 their planning and implementation, these actions have the poten- 



