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for increased survival. One University of Washington researcher 

 says the flows and spills will decrease survival. 



The appropriate source of relief from high salmon cost recovery 

 is a biologically sound, cost-effective recovery plan, not more dollars 

 from river users. 



The best way to ensure that this will occur is to require account- 

 ability on the part of Federal agencies. That accountability will 

 only come if Federal agencies are responsible for a significant por- 

 tion of the costs of their measures. 



This will provide accountability, improve the process, and help 

 solve Bonneville's and the region's financial problems. 



PREPARED STATEMENT 



Again, Mr. Chairman, thank you for providing the opportunity 

 for us to be present today and present our views to the committee. 

 [The statement follows:] 



Prepared Statement of Glenn Vanselow 



Mr. Chairman, the 140 members of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association 

 appreciate the opportunity to testify before this committee today. You and your col- 

 leagues have played important roles in bringing parties together to solve both the 

 biological and economic issues surrounding salmon recovery. We hope more progress 

 is made today. 



As you know, PNWA represents a wide range of economic interests in the Pacific 

 Northwest. Our membership includes public and private utilities, both on and off 

 the Bonneville system, and the Direct Service Industries. They are well represented 

 here today, so, while we support their concerns, I will be speaking on behalf of the 

 other river users in PNWA: the public ports, tug and barge operators, steamship op- 

 erators, river and deep-draft elevators, grain growers, forest products manufacturers 

 and others involved with economic development in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. 



I will focus on two major concerns: the biological effectiveness of NMFS' Biological 

 Opinion and how to manage the costs associated with salmon recovery. 



NMFS BIOLOGICAL OPINION IS BOLD, BUT NOT PRUDENT 



The National Marine Fisheries Service, with its Biological Opinion for 1995-98 

 river operations, takes the opposite tact from the Recovery Team they appointed to 

 guide them. The Recovery Team, when faced with doubt, recommended alternatives 

 that have been shown to increase survival, such as smolt transportation. They call 

 for studying the flow hypothesis and where mortality occurs before implementing 

 more radical proposals such as drawdowns. 



NMFS, on the other hand, appears to favor taking bold action now and checking 

 the consequences later. The NMFS opinion drains nearly all available U.S. water 

 storage in the Basin, risks nitrogen supersaturation with massive spills at dams and 

 calls for a January 1998 deadline for a decision on drawdowns to natural river level. 



It is little consolation that NMFS finally calls for the basic studies that will an- 

 swer the long-asked questions of where mortality occurs and what is the relation- 

 ship between flows and survival. The answers will come after they implement radi- 

 cal flow and spill programs and after they are scheduled to make decisions on 

 drawdowns. 



NMFS' "reasonable and prudent alternatives" to jeopardy appear to disregard the 

 scientific evidence now emerging in studies conducted by its own staff and the Uni- 

 versity of Washington. They appear to put the fish at increased risk from gas bubble 

 disease. They also run the risk of not being able to refill the storage reservoirs to 

 assist with migration in subsequent years. 



NMFS, the courts and Congress should use the same standard used by the Recov- 

 ery Team. Recovery measures should be based on biological science, not philosophy 

 or political science. 



THE REGION'S ABILITY TO PAY HAS REACHED ITS LIMIT 



The Bonneville Power Administration and the region's rate payers will see the 

 cost of salmon recovery measures grow from $30 million in 1981 to over $500 mil- 

 lion in 1995 if the NMFS draft Biological Opinion is implemented. 



