ECOSYSTEMS 



Tl^e^'re more complex ti^anyouil^mk 



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ature is so complex. Nearly every element in a natural ecosystem plays a part in the endurance 

 of that system. Krjock one element out of its place, and there is a biological shuffle arnong all the 

 other elements, ft has been said that "ecosystems are not only more complex than we think, they are 

 more complex than we can think." 



River systems are no exception. The same river may flow through deserts and rain forests, ft may 

 stem from a lake on the side of a mountain, but cross marshes and pour into an ocean. 



The complexity of our river systems has been magnified many times by the necessity to make 

 rivers serve society. In today's world, rivers glide through, and even under, cities and towns. They 

 are both the source of drinking water and the conduit for sewage disposal. Industries drain wastes into 

 them and children dive in for a swim. We demand much of our rivers, and we have taken much from 

 them. Most of the time we have failed to comprehend how intricate and, in some ways, how delicate 

 our rivers are. 



In the watershed of the Columbia R\\eT, people have become the most critical element. Through- 

 out most of the river's drainage, people have built up a society and altered the ecosystem. Now people 

 must improve the ecosystem that remains. 



The problem is, we don't know how to re- weave the fabric of a natural system. And the whole 

 cloth of the Columbia Basin has been cut and shaped to suit the growth of this region. 



Our Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program recognizes that more than a third of the 

 region's native habitat has been lost to development. Our goal is to ensure that we salvage what we 

 can of that habitat and protect it. 



We have looked carefully at the life cycles of the fish and wildlife we address and have developed a 

 set of actions to improve conditions at every stage of those life cycles. We stress coordination to 

 increase the benefits of individual actions and reduce the likelihood of redundancy. Most importantly, 

 we approach this work with the attitude that it is a learning experience. We can best educate ourselves 

 and improve our basin by proceeding and, at the same time, monitoring our progress. We call on 

 program implementors to think of themselves as weavers of ecosystems. 



1792 



"When we were over the bar, we found this to 

 be a large river of fresh water up which we 

 steered. ..Vast numbers of natives came 

 alongside." 



—Log of Captain Robert Gray's ship, 

 the Columbia Rediviva, for May 11 



