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Columbia River salmon and steelhead stoclcs have declined to less than 10 

 percent of historic levels. More than half of the fish currently returning 

 to the Columbia River are of hatchery origin. Salmon and steelhead trout 

 production in northern California has declined from 10 million adult fish 

 to fewer than 2 million. In addition, all major coastal and Puget Sound 

 stocks have declined by 10 to 95 percent. Logging, grazing, and mining on 

 public and private lands have played a historical role in creating each of 

 these resource crises. 



Mr. Chairman, the Service and other resource management agencies are not 

 advocating the cessation of logging, grazing, or mining in the Pacific 

 Northwest. We are strong fish and wildlife advocates by mandate, but we 

 also recognize the need to create a balance in the management of this 

 Nation's natural resources. We all know of proven methods to minimize and 

 mitigate many land management impacts to salmon and steelhead fopulations. 

 We all are helping to develop new mitigation and compensation methods. And 

 we all know that in some cases, the best management practice is to simply 

 preserve natural habitat conditions. But the key is to start managing 

 entire watersheds through cooperative partnerships so that undocumented 

 cumulative impacts do not finally show up with the extinction of a fish 

 stock. 



It's time to stop viewing watersheds as short term sources of revenue. 

 Logging, mining and grazing can continue to produce societal benefits on a 

 long-term basis using environmentally sensitive methods. But we must also 

 develop and implement management goals that recognize that fishing, 

 bunting, and other forms of recreation are legitimate and significant 

 revenue and job generators. Finally, We need to retain or restore the 

 ecological functions of watersheds that can provide millions of dollars 

 worth of benefits related to flood protection, water quality protection, 

 and groundwater recharge. 



