• Federal and otlier legal mandates 

 and obligations for fish protec- 

 tion, mitigation, and enhance- 

 ment must be fully addressed. 



V\ ild Salmon Refuges 



Where the critical habitat is 

 largely intact, artificial production 

 is not currently occurring, and the 

 fish population has good potential, 

 then no artificial production should 

 be used. Those populations and 

 their associated spawning and early 

 rearing habitat should be preserved 

 and protected. 



Harvest Hatcheries 



Hatcheries intended solely to pro- 

 duce fish for harvest may be used 

 to create a replacement for the 

 lost or diminished harvest. The 

 hatchery must be located and oper- 

 ated in a manner that does not lead 

 to adverse efTects on other stocks 

 through excessive straying or exces- 

 sive take of weak stocks in a mixed- 

 stock fishery. 



Restoration 



Except for wild salmon refuges or 

 areas where the habitat is blocked or 

 eliminated, supplementation of nat- 

 ural runs with artificially produced 

 tish may be used tor the puipose of 

 rebuilding the natural runs, although 

 the decision of whether to employ 

 supplementation for this puipose is 

 one that should be made locally, as 

 part of the subbasin plan. The object 

 of such supplementation is to restore 

 and maintain healthy fish popula- 

 tions, with sufficient genetic and 

 life history diversity to ensure that 

 eventually, after appropriate habitat 

 impro\ements. they will become 

 self-sustaunng. 



Experimental Approach 



In recognition of the risk and 

 uncertainty associated with artilicial 

 production, each artificial produc- 

 tit)n activity must be approached 

 experimentally with a plan detailing 

 the purpose and method of opera- 



tion, the relationship to other ele- 

 ments of the subbasin plan, includ- 

 ing associated habitat and other proj- 

 ects within the subbasin plan, spe- 

 cific measurable objectives for the 

 activity, and a regular cycle of evalu- 

 ation and reporting of results. This 

 approach v\ ill allow the region to 

 address the remaining uncertainties 

 on a case-by-case basis and quickly 

 make adjustments in artificial pro- 

 duction activities where warranted. 



Initial Review 



Over the next three years, evei'y 

 artificial production program and 

 facility in the basin, federal and non- 

 federal, should undergo a review to 

 detemiine its consistency with these 

 strategies, scientific principles, and 

 policies. These evaluations will be 

 a prerequisite for seeking continued 

 funding and/or adopting a subbasin 

 plan into the program in the next 

 phase of the amendment process. 

 These evaluations must be guided 

 in part by basin, province level and 

 subbasin level visions, goals and 

 objectives, and by overarching poli- 

 cies for artificial production based 

 on the policies stated earlier. 



Annual Reporting and Five-year 

 Re>ie\v 



After five years, the Council, other 

 regional decision-makers and Con- 

 gress should assess whether existing 

 review, funding and planning pro- 

 cesses are successful in implement- 

 ing needed refomis in artificial pro- 

 duction practices. In the interim, 

 the entities responsible for artificial 

 production programs should issue 

 annual reports on their progress in 

 achieving the policies and standards 

 called for in the Artificial Production 

 Review. The Council will act as 

 a clearinghouse to obtain, compile, 

 and distribute these annual reports 

 for review by decision-makers and 

 the public. 



.Artificial Production Committee 



In order tt) achieve a regional per- 

 j spective and a unified approach to 

 artificial production reform, an advi- 

 sory committee [o the Council will 

 be created. The advisory committee 

 will be tasked with reporting quar- 

 terly on implementation of artificial 

 I production reforms across the basin 

 in a consistent, coordinated and cfTi- 

 j cienl manner. A small team of 

 agency personnel, independent sci- 

 entists, and representatives of non- 

 governmental organizations will be 

 assigned to watch over and coordi- 

 nate the refomi effort. One early 

 task for the committee will be to fur- 

 ther define the approach, work plan 

 and decision points for evaluating 

 the purpose of all the artificial pro- 

 duction programs and facilities over 

 the next three years. 



5. Harvest 



Primary strategy: Assure that sub- 

 basin plans are consistent with 

 harvest management practices and 

 increase opportunities for harvest 

 I wherever feasible. 



The Council makes no claim to 

 regulatoi7 authority over harvest of 

 fish and wildlife. It recognizes and 

 affinns the fish and wildlife manag- 

 ers" legal jurisdiction and tribal trust 

 and treaty rights. 



However, there is little point in 

 recommending funding for imple- 

 mentation of a subbasin plan when 



Fast Fact 



■ I he Uirgcsl ijiajor tributary 

 ■to the Columhici River Basin 

 is the Snake River which is 

 more than 1 .000 miles loii''. 



Jl^ 



2000 COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN FlSH AND WILDLIFE PR 



23 



