147 



Mr, Vento. Yes. They will be put in the committee record or in 

 the file. We will have some of the longer documents; and then if 

 we choose to reprint, we won't have to reprint the documents. 



I will not be able to return, but Congressman DeFazio has agreed 

 to come back at about 2:00 p.m., I think it will be, to hear the last 

 panel. That's the best I can do. I regret that we cannot pay more 

 attention to questions, but I may submit written questions to the 

 panelists that are here. 



We have to go vote now. Thank you for your work in these areas, 

 gentlemen. 



[Whereupon, at 1:14 p.m., the subcommittee recessed, to recon- 

 vene at 2:00 p.m., the same day.] 



PANEL CONSISTING OF THOMAS J. CASSIDY, GENERAL COUN- 

 SEL, AMERICAN RIVERS, WASHINGTON, DC; THANE TIENSEN, 

 SALMON FOR ALL, PORTLAND OR; RAY J. WHITE, PH.D., 

 WASHINGTON CHAPTER, TROUT UNLIMITED, EDMONDS, WA; 

 AND GEORGE ICE, PH.D., FOREST HYDROLOGIST, NATIONAL 

 COUNCIL OF THE PAPER INDUSTRY FOR AIR AND STREAM 

 IMPROVEMENT, PHILOMOUTH, OR 



STATEMENT OF THOMAS J. CASSIDY 



Mr. DeFazio [presiding]. Just go in the order that we have. 



Again, although I haven't yet had an opportunity to read your 

 testimony, I will read it. So I would ask you to summarize the most 

 cogent points within a five-minute maximum. 



Mr. Cassidy. 



Mr. Cassidy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



American Rivers has been intensively involved in the land mam- 

 agement planning efforts of both the Forest Service and the Bureau 

 of Land Management since 1986. Our efforts have focused on the 

 planning for scenic and wild rivers. 



However, in the response to the precipitous decline of aquatic 

 ecosystems in the Northwest and across the Nation, we have ex- 

 panded our mission to include programs to ensure the health of 

 aquatic ecosystems. 



Earlier in the hearing Mr. Vento and Mr. Dicks addressed the 

 decline of the salmon and the Columbia Basin alone, and the 

 Northwest, generally addressing that even though the salmon runs 

 are disappearing at alarming rates, they support 60,000 jobs and 

 net the regional economy as much as $1 billion annually. 



I think that the hearing we are participating in today is very sig- 

 nificant because we have representatives of the land management 

 agencies addressing the critical need of restoring salmon habitats 

 across the Federal lands in the Northwest. It is certainly our view 

 that the Clinton administration and the Congress must assert lead- 

 ership and develop a set of coordinated strategies that will address 

 and correct the causes of the salmon's slide into extinction. 



There has to be a national recognition of the importance of pre- 

 serving salmon and the regional economies that depend upon them. 

 The management of salmon habitat on Federal lands is one critical 

 issue. 



I would just refer to part of my written testimony, which is the 

 management of the Federal dams and federally licensed dams 



