90 



Testimony of Bob Doppelt 



Executive Director, Pacific Rivers Council 



before the House Subcommittee On Natural Resources, 



Forests and Public Lands 



March 11, 1993 



The degradation of The Pacific Northwesfs nvenne ecosystems and the extraction of sabnon and other forms of 

 nverrae-npanan biodiversity have reached alarming levels. Not one nver system m the region has been spared. 

 Fisheries, healthy water quahty and quantity produced by watershed ecosystems, and entire aquatic food chains are at 

 risk. 



For the past two years the Pacific Rivers Council has been involved with a major project to assess the capability of the 

 region' s (and nation's) nvenne system and biodiversity conservation stiategies and pohcies to address this cnsis. The 

 project has mvolved over 35 top scientists, economists and commumty development specialists nationwide. We conclude 

 that the regions existing pohcies have failed. Entirely new stiategies and pohcies must be estabhshed quickly to stave 

 off the impending collapse of many nvenne systems and to prevent wholesale biological extinctions. 



THE EXTENT OF THE CRISIS: To realize the breadth of the problems one must first have a template of healthy 

 ecosystems and biodiversity. Healthy nver ecosystems in the Northwest are characterized by a number of factors 

 mcludmg: 1) Water quahty, 2) Water quantity, 3) Channel Charactenstics: , 4) Riparian Vegetation, 5) The condition 

 of the stream is a function of the characteristics of the entire watershed. 



By the same token, healthy biodiversity requires a wide diversity and abundance of species and orgamsms, not just the 

 presence of few key species. 



However, whether measured by the health of riverine species, or by physical parameters, the current statiis of the Pacific 

 Northwest's nverine ecosystems and fisheries is one of wides-pread degradation. 



Loss of Fish Species: At least 106 populations of West Coast sahnomds (sabnon, titiut, steelhead and char) have been 

 dnven to extinction and over 210 salmon populations are currently at nsk of extinction accordmg to the Amencan 

 Fishenes Society. The Sacramento River winter chmook sahnon, and the sockeye and fall, sprmg. and summer chmook 

 sahnon of the Snake River basin are among the Pacific Northwest fishes hsted as protected species under the Endangered 

 Species Act. Petitions have been filed for sturgeon, bull trout, Columbia River coho sahnon, llhnois River wmter 

 steelhead, and other fishes, whose hsting could have widespread consequences for the region. Hundreds of other 

 freshwater and anadromous fishes probably qualify for, and couJd receive, federal protection in the near future. 



However, more than just sabnon are at nsk. The endangered salmon are just symbolic of a range of nvenne and nparian 

 biodiversity lo.sses occumng across the Pacific Northwest. For example, at least 1 32 species of npanan associated 

 animals, includmg 3 birds, 4 mammals, 12 amphibians, 45 moUusks, 34 anthropods and over 700 out of 1100 native 

 fishes (estuarme, resident etc) on 348 streams were found to be at risk of extinction within the range of the Northern 

 Spotted Owl from the Cascade Mts. to the ocean (Northern SpoUed Owl recovery Plan, Appendix D). Sunilar patterns 

 and levels of depletion can be found m arid and semi-and biomes throughout the region. 



The economic and social impacts of degraded nvenne systems and lost fishenes and biodiversity are severe. Just a few 

 examples are necessary to depict the impacts. Since 1910, aimual salmon and steelhead runs of the Columbia nver 

 system have dechned from approximately 10-16 miUion to 2-2.5 million. Yet, the fishery still produces over $1 billion a 

 year m mcome and supports 60,0(X)jobs regionwide (usmg 1988 figures). How many jobs and ecomraiic benefits could a 

 healthy fishery produce'.' Further, dimimshed and polluted water supphes produced by the regions watersheds are 

 affecting irrigation and municipal water suppbes and threaten pubbc health. 



