209 



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P.O. Box 1349 • Hoopa, California 9SS46 • (916) S2S-4211 '^^?'''^_^'^'"K^T.T?J^^ 



Dale Risling, Sr. 



Chairman 



TESTIMONY OF PLINY MC COVEY, SR.. VICE-CHAIRMAN, 



HOOPA VALLEY Tribe OF CALIFORNIA, 



on H.R. 1906, 



A Bill to Amend the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, 



Before the 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 



WATER AND POWER RESOURCES SUBCOMMITTEE 



July 20, 1995 



Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, I am Pliny McCovey, Sr., Vice- 

 Chairman of the Hoopa Valley Tribe. I am testifying today on behalf of the Hoopa Valley 

 Tribe and the Klamath River Inter-Tribal Fish and Water Commission. The Commission 

 w/as formed on January 6, 1995, by the Hoopa Valley, Yurok, Karuk and Klamath Tribes 

 to preserve the natural resources of the-Klamath-Trinity River Basin eco-system for the 

 spiritual and physical well-being of our nearly 10,000 enrolled members. 



1. Introduction 



My testimony is divided into two parts. The first addresses H.R. 1906's policy 

 implicatiofTS and impacts on the fishery resources of the Trinity River and the Tribes' 

 property rights relative to those resources. The second part discusses technical issues 

 raised by the amendments. My oral testimony addresses the former, and I request that 

 my printed testimony, which includes discussion of the technical issues, be included in the 

 Record of this hearing. 



We strongly oppose H.R. 1906 because of the adverse effects it would have on 

 fish and wildlife populations throughout California. We particularly oppose section 6(b)(6) 

 of H.R. 1906 because that provision would use delay and duplicative, bureaucratic 

 procedures to politicize and effectively repeal the Trinity River provision of the Central 

 Valley Project Improvement Act, section 3406(b)(23). 



2. Background 



The Trinity River is the only source of Central Valley Project (CVP) water that 

 originates outside the Central Valley watershed. In its natural state, the Trinity River is 

 a tributary of the Klamath River; its waters rise in the Coast Range and flow through the 

 Hoopa Valley and Yurok Reservations before discharging into the Pacific Ocean. The 

 average annual yield of the Trinity River is approximately 1.2 million acre feet (A.F.) of 

 water. Since time immemorial, our Tribal cultures, economies, religions and communities 

 have been integrally related to the once-abundant waters and fisheries of the Klamath- 

 Trinity Basin. Our existing reservations were established in recognition of our reliance on 

 and rights to those resources. 



