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agencies in the Columbia Basin are in consensus on the use of spill 

 as a valid tool. As you're well aware, it's hard to get that diverse 

 group to agree on anything, and yet on this issue, there is consen- 

 sus. This group has really only one common agenda that ties them 

 together and that's to bring adult salmon back to their regions. 



Mr. Chairman, you have the pleasure of knowing firsthand that 

 salmon and steelhead represent a tremendous heritage for the citi- 

 zens of the Northwest. Snake River salmon once thrived by spawn- 

 ing far inland in Idaho's mountainous headwaters and sending 

 their progeny to the ocean on the wave of natural snowmelt each 

 spring. This journey has been altered dramatically by dams and 

 reservoirs located between Idaho and the ocean. This broken link 

 in the salmon's ecosystem must be repaired for recovery to occur. 

 Managed spill at mainstem dams on the lower Snake and Colum- 

 bia Rivers is one of the best, most practical tools to repair this bro- 

 ken link, 



A carefully managed spill program is essential, first, because it 

 is the best way available to get smolts past the dams and second, 

 it is the best way to spread the risk between smolts transported 

 in barges and those allowed to migrate in the river. A good ques- 

 tion might be why not just transport all the smolts and not worry 

 about the river? Quite frankly, we've been trying to do that for 15 

 years and the decline to extinction continues. If the bottom line is 

 to try to turn the comer, doesn't it make sense to not put all our 

 eggs in the transportation basket and allow for some in-river mi- 

 gration? 



I'd also like to point out that even under full transportation as 

 it currently exists, it is impossible to transport all the fish. So, for 

 that component that is in the river, we must do everything we can 

 to make that river environment as friendly as possible to them. 



As you mentioned. Senator, there are three ways for these in- 

 river, migrating smolts to pass the concrete. There is little dispute 

 that managed spill provides the safest route for them to get past 

 the dams and that going through the turbines is the worse route. 

 Spill at mainstem dams is our best tool available to minimize this 

 turbine route. I'd like to stress also that managing spill to reduce 

 the turbine passage of these smolts requires no flow augmentation 

 from upstream storage reservoirs. It simply reapportions existing 

 water flowing past the dam. 



Spill at mainstem dams is a management tool with known bene- 

 fits, risks and applications. These benefits and risks are not 

 fraught with uncertainty requiring extensive research prior to im- 

 plementation. Spill is not driven by bad science. In fact, the sci- 

 entific basis for spill was recognized recently by a Federal Energy 

 Regulatory Commission judge who rejected smolt transportation in 

 favor of spill and in-river migration associated with two mid-Co- 

 lumbia River dams. 



Just because spill has a scientific basis does not preclude the 

 need for rigorous monitoring and evaluation. Adaptive manage- 

 ment requires continued critical analysis of the spill program in 

 order to maximize benefits, minimize risks and test our assump- 

 tions. The NMFS spill policy embraces this need effectively. 



Gas bubble trauma in fish associated with spill is a risk taken 

 very seriously. Fortunately, this risk can be effectively managed. 



