200 



CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY 

 P.O.Box l^flttete'cA. 95*71 



Pitkin Lily 

 Ulium pitkhumt 



Rep. Dan Hamburg 



11& Cannon Building 



U.S. House of Representatives 



Washingthon, D.G. 20515 



July 17, 199^ 



Dear Representative Hamburg, 



We are writing in support of the Russian River Fisheries and 

 River Restoration Act HR ^f08. The California Native Plant Society 

 believes the Russian River is an inoredibly important resouroe and 

 we should do all we can to protect it. 



Riparian habitats all over California are in serious trouble 

 and the Russian River is no exception. Signs of degradation are 

 apparent all along the river, but perhaps the most obvious is the 

 oollapse of a once famous native fishery. 



There are many issues that effect the health of a river, A 

 conoern of our group is the native plant oommunuity which flanks 

 the river. Healthy and intact riparian woodlands are vital to a 

 healthy river. The riparian plant community stabilizes rlverbanks, 

 controls soil erosion, provides soils that absorb rainfall and 

 recharge groundwater and provides abundant food and cover for a 

 great variety of wildlife. 



BirdB, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, and fish 

 depend on the river for survival and of course we do too. The 

 river provides drinking water, irrigation for agriculture, many 



