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resources. 



29. At page 5 of your testimony, you point to the NMFS buffer 

 strip policy as necessary to prevent sedimentation. But 

 isn't it true that the key to protecting against 

 sedimentation is maintaining an adequate ground cover and 

 proper road standards? So if an adequate ground cover and 

 streambank integrity are maintained, timber harvesting can 

 occur within the 100-foot riparian zone without undue stream 

 sedimentation? 



Buffer zones are extremely important in protecting stream 



banks from physical disturbance, and in maintaining 



vegetation with live root systems to keep the stream banks 



from collapsing. Erosion, sedimentation and loss of 



undercut banks from inadequately protected stream banks are 



a major source of habitat loss. Root systems from an 



individual tree may extend 30 feet and are responsible for 



the stability of the riparian zone. It is unrealistic to 



think that the ground cover and stream bank integrity could 



be maintained within the 100-foot riparian zone if logging 



were allowed in the zone. 



30. Are any studies available, or has research been conducted, 

 that show current management practices have decreased fish 

 runs and tons of fish caught? 



It would be nearly impossible to evaluate current logging 



practices by assessing changes in fish abundance. The life 



cycle of some species such as coho salmon may be as long as 



5 years and the abundance of returning adults for several 



complete life cycles before and after logging would be 



required (30 - 50 years) . In addition the natural 



variability in abundance of fish populations would preclude 



detecting a change unless it were catastrophic. There are 



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