[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 60 (Friday, May 3, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S4686]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE TRINITY RIVER BASIN FISH AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT REAUTHORIZATION 
                              ACT OF 1996

  The bill (H.R. 2243) to amend the Trinity River Basin Fish and 
Wildlife Management Act of 1984, to extend for 3 years the availability 
of moneys for the restoration of fish and wildlife in the Trinity 
River, and for other purposes, was considered, ordered to a third 
reading, read the third time, and passed.
  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, H.R. 2243, a bill to reauthorize and amend 
Public Law 98-541, the 1984 Trinity River Restoration Program, is a 
truly bipartisan piece of legislation. Introduced by Representative 
Riggs, H.R. 2243 passed the House by a vote of 412 to 0 on December 12, 
1995. The bill would extend funding authority for Trinity River basin 
restoration programs through fiscal year 1998. In addition, H.R. 2243 
would expand the management plan to aid in the resumption of commercial 
and recreational fishing, and increase the task force by five members 
to include representatives from commercial and recreational fishing 
interests, two native American tribes, and the timber industry. The 
administration supports H.R. 2243.
  To date, restoration efforts in the Trinity River basin have included 
the modernization of the Lewiston hatchery, the construction of the 
Buckhorn Debris Dam, sediment collection pools in the Grass Valley 
Creek, and the purchase of 17,000 acres of highly erodible land in the 
Grass Valley Watershed. Other habitat restoration efforts are underway 
to encourage natural fish spawning and rearing, including replacement 
of spawning gravel below the Lewiston Dam, reestablishment of meander 
channels, dredging of pools in the Trinity River, and feather-tapering 
the river's edges.
  Reauthorization of Public Law 98-514 will continue the restoration of 
the Grass Valley Creek Watershed, control sediment on tributary 
watersheds, restore the South Forks Trinity River fish habitat, and 
implement a wildlife management program. These efforts will contribute 
to rebuilding the populations of salmon and trout, which are important 
to commercial, recreational, and tribal fishing interests.

                          ____________________