As human populations 

 increased, so did impacts 

 on salmon habitat. For 

 example, the construction 

 of Grand Coulee and Hells 

 Canyon dams, which have 

 no fish ladders, eliminated 

 about one-third of the 

 available salmon habitat in 

 the basin. Other activities 

 degraded the quality of 

 remaining habitat. 



o, 



L 



ur highest priority 

 for salmon habitat is to 

 maintain its quantity and 

 productivity. We are 

 especially concerned about 

 preserving or restoring 

 streams where salmon and 

 steelhead can spawn naturally. 



One objective of our strategy is to ensure 

 that activities to improve salmon production 

 are coordinated for each watershed. This is 

 not just a planning process. It should be how 

 salmon enhancement is carried out, with all 

 parties' interests — especially the salmon's 

 — considered and integrated into an overall 

 approach. 



and 

 and water 

 managers 

 need to focus 

 their attention 

 on protecting 

 streamside 

 areas. . 



J3 ecause about 40 

 percent of the remaining 

 salmon and steelhead habi- 

 tat in the Columbia Basin 

 is bordered by private land, 

 it is essential that public 

 and private landowners 

 cooperate in comprehen- 

 sive efforts to manage 

 salmon habitat. 



We are encouraged ■ 

 by cooperative habitat 

 improvements being 

 undertaken in partnerships 

 between private individu- 

 als and governments 

 around the basin. These 

 projects not only improve 

 conditions for salmon, but 

 many of them improve 

 agricultural practices and provide educational 

 opportunities, too. Controlling erosion, for 

 example, can make farmland more productive 

 and also improve conditions for salmon by 

 reducing the amount of silt that flows into 

 rivers. We also call on federal and state land 

 and water managers to improve salmon 

 habitat by revising timber, mining and 

 livestock management practices. Land and 

 water managers need to focus their attention 

 on protecting streamside areas. 



-■■•w^- 



1948 



A 20-day flood on the Columbia destroys the 

 community of Vanport, Oregon, and idlls 32 people. 



~r, 



\ 



Vsl^ 



V- 



&;^- 



29 



