A, 



.t our request, the Corps of Engineers 

 carried out a test drawdown of Lower Gran- 

 ite and Little Goose reservoirs in March 

 1992. That test indicated that Lower Snake 

 River dams could be modified to accommo- 

 date the physical and structural impacts of 

 drawdowns. The next step for drawdown 

 tQSting is to assess the biological effects on - 

 salmon. The Corps is working with other , 

 agencies to devise a biological test. 



Our fish and wildlife program also calls 

 for water management measures that will 

 yield at least an additional million acre-feet 

 of water each year for salmon. Other mea- 

 sures, such as more water storage in 

 reservoirs, could yield additional water. 



It is the intent of the Council to have the 

 Snake River drawdown strategy and these 

 other measures implemented unless they are 

 shown to be structurally or economically in- 

 feasible, biologically imprudent or 

 inconsistent with the Northwest Power Act. 

 These measures will be in addition to or 

 complement measures already initiated to 

 achieve rebuilding targets. 



We will review and re-evaluate fish-barg- 

 ing and flow-augmentation measures upon 

 receipt of the final reservoir drawdown plans. 

 Once we have evaluated all of these mea- 

 sures, we will develop the best strategy to 

 meet the biological goals and objectives of , 

 this program. 



s, 



' tate \vater agencies are also working to 

 find ways to ensure that flows will be ad- 

 equate to protect fish. We call for water 

 availability studies, establishment of mini- 

 mum streamflow levels, a halt to new water 

 appropriations that could harm salmon and 

 acquisition of existing water rights on a "will- 

 ing-seller" basis to''improve river flows. 



Fix dams and water diversions ' 



One of the most effective actions to im- 

 prove the survival of young salmon is to 

 guide them away from turbines and water di- 

 versions. The reason is simple: fish can die or 

 be stunned if they are drawn through the tur- 

 bines at dams, and they can become lost and 

 die if they swim down water diversion chan- 

 nels. Screens and bypass channels are the 

 answer to this problem. 



Without screens, each Columbia and 

 Snake river dam can kill between 10 percent 

 and 30 percent of the young salmon that pass 

 through the turbines. 



Twelve years ago, in our first fish and 

 wildlife prograni, we called for screens and 

 bypass channels at all Columbia and Snake 

 river dams that didn't have them already. 



1902 



Reclamation Act authorizes federal aid to settle land and develop 

 farms. By 1910, irrigated acreage in ttie basin increased fourfold. 



i"^ 



,A_. JB^. 



v^.> 



n -"liiiiiTfjii/rrtrijcf"' 



1908 - • ' 



"Ttie salmon fisheries of the Columbia River are now but a fraction of 

 what they were 25 years ago. " 



—President Theodore Roosevelt, arguing for 

 Congressional fishing regulations on the Columbia 



21 



