of the target population' is low because 

 of sunival problems elsewhere in its life 

 cycle, the area may become a candiciate 

 for certain types of artiticia! protluction. 



The table on the previous page 

 illustrates possible applications of 

 this approach to strategies within this 

 program. 



Intact habitat: Where the habitat 

 for a target population is largely 

 intact, then the biological objectives 

 for that habitat will be to preserve the 

 habitat and restore the population of 

 the target species up to the sustain- 

 able capacity of the habitat. 



When the biological potential of 

 a target population is high, biological 

 risk should be avoided and restoration 

 should be by means of natural spawn- 

 ing and rearing. When the biological 

 potential of the target population is 

 Hmited by external factors, such as 

 the presence of mainstem dams or 

 other factors, supplementation is a 

 possible policy choice to augment 

 natural capacity and productivity, in a 

 limited fashion that ensures that the 

 majority of production will be the 

 result of natural spawning. 



Restorable habitat: Where the 

 habitat for a target population is 

 absent or severely diminished, but 

 can be restored through conventional 

 techniques and approaches, then the 

 biological objective for that habitat 

 will be to restore the habitat with the 

 degree of restoration depending on 

 the biological potential of the target 

 population. Where the target popula- 

 tion has high biological potential, the 

 objective will be to restore the habitat 

 to intact condition, and restore the 

 population up to the sustainable 

 capacity of the habitat. In this sit- 

 uation, if the target population had 

 been severely reduced or eliminated 

 as a result of the habitat deteriora- 

 tion, the use of artificial production 



'Target species" or "target population" 

 means a species or population singled out 

 for attention because of its harvest sig- 

 nificance or cultural value, or because it 

 represents a significant group of ecologi- 

 cal functions in a particular habitat type. 



"This progrann relies 



heavily on protection of, 



and improvements 



to, inland habitat as 



the most effective means 



of restoring and 



sustaining fish and 



wildlife populations." 



in an interim way is a possible policy 

 choice to hasten rebuilding of natu- 

 rally spawning populations after res- 

 toration of the habitat. 



Where the target population has 

 low biological potential — for exam- 

 ple, when downstream rearing con- 

 ditions severely limit the survival of 

 juveniles from a given spawning area 

 — the objective will be to restore 

 the habitat to intact condition and 

 consider sustained but limited supple- 

 mentation as a possible policy choice. 



Compromised habitat: Where the 

 habitat for a target population is 

 absent or substantially diminished and 

 cannot reasonably be fully restored, 

 then the biological objective for that 

 habitat will depend on the biological 

 potential of the target species. 



Where the target species has high 

 biological potential, the objective will 

 be to restore the habitat up to the point 

 that the sustainable capacity of the 

 habitat is no longer a significant limit- 

 ing factor for that population. The 

 objective also is to restore the popula- 

 tion of the target species up to the sus- 

 tainable capacity of the restored habi- 

 tat. Sustained supplementation in a 

 limited fashion is a possible policy 

 choice in this instance. 



Where the target species has low 

 biological potential, the objective 

 will be to restore the habitat up to the 

 point that the sustainable capacity of 

 that habitat is no longer a significant 

 limiting factor for that population. In 

 this instance, a possible policy choice 



is expanded artificial production that 

 utilizes the natural selection capabili- 

 ties of the natural habitat to maintain 

 fitness of both natural and artificial 

 production. 



Eliminated habitat: Where habi- 

 tat for a target population is irre\ers- 

 ibly altered or blocked, and therefore 

 there are no opportunities to rebuild 

 the target population by impro\ ing 

 its opportunities for growth and sur- 

 vival in other parts of its life history, 

 then the biological objective will 

 be to provide a substitute, in the 

 case of wildlife, where the habitat 

 is inundated, substitute habitat would 

 include setting aside and protecting 

 land elsewhere that is home to a simi- 

 lar ecological community. For fish, 

 substitution would include an alter- 

 native source of harvest (such as a 

 hatchery stock) or a substitution of a 

 resident fish species as a replacement 

 for an anadromous species. 



3. Habitat Strategies 



Primary strategy: Identify the cur- 

 rent condition and biological poten- 

 tial of the habitat, and then protect 

 or restore it to the extent described 

 in the biological objectives. 



This program relies heavily on 

 protection of, and improvements to, 

 inland habitat as the most effective 

 means of restoring and sustaining fish 

 and wildlife populations. Howe\er. 

 it also recognizes that depending on 

 the condition of the habitat and the 

 target species, certain categories of 

 mitigation investments are likely to 

 be more effective than others. Thus, 

 an important function t)f this strategy 

 is to direct investments to their most 

 productive applications. 



Changes in the hydrosystem are 

 unlikely within the next few years 

 to fully mitigate impacts to fish and 

 wildlife. However, the Northwest 

 Power Act allows olT-site mitigation 

 for fish and wildlife populations 

 afTectcd by the hydrosystem. 

 Because some of the greatest opportu- 

 nities for improvement lie outside the 

 innnediate area of the hydrosystem 

 in the tributaries and subbasins olTthe 



20 



lA RIVER Basin Fish and Wildlife Program 



