[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 100 (Thursday, July 27, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7747-S7749]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HOW WE CAN MOVE BEYOND THE FALSE DEBATE AND ON TO REAL SALMON RECOVERY

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, for several years the people of the 
Pacific Northwest have been working to save several wild salmon and 
steelhead runs that are currently threatened with extinction.
  Today, the administration presented a number of proposals for how we 
can recover these species.
  Specifically, the administration released its draft biological 
opinion for technical review by the four affected States and the 
region's tribes.
  The administration also released an updated All-H paper--also known 
as the Basin-wide Recovery Strategy.
  This paper details proposals in the areas of hatchery reform, harvest 
levels, hydroelectric power generation, and habitat recovery.
  I take this opportunity to talk about how we can work together to 
restore the threatened and endangers species of the Columbia Basin.
  From the ancient history of Native Americans to the explorations of 
Lewis and Clark nearly 200 years ago, the natural bounty of the Pacific 
Northwest has always been a source of pride.
  We have been blessed with great rivers--including the Columbia, the 
Yakima and the Snake. Over the years, we have drawn from these rivers.
  Dams have provided us with vital hydroelectric power--forever 
improving the quality of life in our region and providing an engine for 
our robust economic development.
  These rivers have helped generations of farmers from Longview to 
Walla Walla by providing water for irrigation. And, they have provided 
a watery highway, allowing us to bring our products to market.
  Clearly, Washington state has benefitted from our rivers and natural 
resources.
  I am proud that today we are home to the best airplane manufacturer 
in the world. We are home to the best software company in the world. We 
grow the best apples. Mr. President, our future is bright.
  But Mr. President, this progress has come at a price. Our wild salmon 
stocks are struggling. In fact, the National Marine Fisheries Service 
has listed 12 wild salmon and steelhead stocks in the Columbia basin as 
threatened or endangered.
  In addition, several butt-trout and sturgeon populations are also 
threatened.
  Let me be clear. Those listings mean that right now--we are on the 
path of extinction.
  So the question before us is: Do we have the will to come together 
and choose a different path--the path of recovery?
  I believe that we do. I believe that the ingenuity and optimism of 
the people of Washington State will allow us to meet this challenge.
  And I am proud of the tough decisions that people all across my 
State--from farmers and Native Americans to sport fishermen and the 
fishing industry--have made so far.
  But it will be difficult. Unfortunately, the current debate about 
saving salmon makes finding a real solution even more difficult.
  The debate today is too short-sighted, it is too narrow, and it's too 
partisan.
  When I say the debate has been short-sighted, I mean that this isn't 
an issue that's going to be resolved in one month or one year or even 
one generation.
  We are dealing with an issue that has a long history.
  In the Pacific Northwest, salmon are part of our heritage, our 
culture and our economy.
  We know from the oral history of Native Americans the significance 
that salmon played in the lives of Northwesterners as long as 12,000 
years ago.
  The question before us today is: Will salmon still spawn in these 
rivers in the next 1,000 years, the next 100 years, or even 10 years 
from now?
  Salmon are a link to our past, and if they are going to be part of 
our future, we will have to find solutions that look beyond the next 
season or the next election.
  I am committed to make sure we take the long view when it comes to 
saving salmon.
  In addition, the debate has been too narrow. If someone from another 
part of the country heard the debate, they would think that only one 
thing affects salmon--dams.
  We know that dams are just one of four factors that affect salmon. It 
may help to think of the challenge before us as a table--a table with 
four legs.
  Each one of those legs must hold its share of the weight. If one leg 
is too short, the table will be out of balance.

[[Page S7748]]

  We know that salmon are impacted by four variables. They are 
hydropower, hatcheries, harvest, and habitat.
  Let me start with hydropower--or dams.
  Mr. President, I have long said that we need to develop and implement 
a comprehensive recovery strategy before we consider the removal of 
dams.
  I am pleased that the administration has taken this first step 
forward and provided the foundation for such a plan.
  I am also pleased that in doing so the administration is clearly 
moving us beyond the false debate of dams or no dams.
  The issue has never been that simple. To be sure, the Ice Harbor, 
Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite dams have--like other 
dams throughout the region--hampered the ability of salmon to migrate 
from their original river homes, to the ocean, and back again to spawn.
  The reality is that we have 12 listed species throughout the Columbia 
basin. Four of these stocks are in the Snake River. The other eight are 
on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers.
  Removal of the Snake River dams is of minimal value to the recovery 
of the eight listed Columbia and Willamette runs.
  Furthermore, while removal of the dams would benefit the Snake runs, 
NMFS has found removal may not be necessary for recovery and that 
removal alone would probably not be sufficient.
  We still have to deal with the issues related to recovering these 
particular stocks and the hydro system needs to be examined and 
upgraded to ease fish passage to and from the ocean.
  We need to address the challenges posed dams pose for fish survival.
  We must employ a comprehensive, basin-wide approach that, regardless 
of the ultimate decision regarding the dams, addresses all of the 
complex issues surrounding salmon recovery.
  Mr. President, I fear that some who have focused solely on dam 
removal have failed to consider what will be necessary under a 
comprehensive recovery approach.
  We need to, as the administration's draft plan suggests, establish 
performance standards for recovery, and we need to achieve those goals.
  Bypassing the dams will remain a subject to this debate if we fail to 
aggressively tackle the issues related to survival of fish through the 
hydro system. It is a reality we must deal with.
  Next I'd like to turn to the second factor that affects salmon 
recovery--hatcheries.
  We must minimize the impacts of hatchery practices that present 
challenges to the wild stocks, namely: the introduction of disease; 
competition for food; and dilution of the gene pool.
  Further, as the administration suggests, there is a possibility that 
we could use hatcheries as a way to bolster weak stocks on a short-term 
basis by using a little common sense.
  By choosing to utilize wild, native fish stocks, hatcheries can be 
transformed from a hindrance to recovery to a help.
  Mr. President, reform of the hatchery program will be expensive. 
However, there is a fair amount of agreement on what reform is 
necessary.
  The Northwest Power Planning Council's report, Artificial Production 
Review, has given us a basis for action. It is now an issue of finding 
the funds and prioritizing where these funds should be spent.
  The next factor is harvest. This relates to several controversial 
issues that are subject to both international and tribal treaties.
  The Pacific Salmon Treaty with Canada and the treaties with Northwest 
tribes clearly obligate us to recover salmon to harvestable levels. 
Under those treaties we, as Americans, have obligations we must meet. 
Already, many have sacrificed because of the declines in salmon runs.
  The tribal fishermen who have depended on the salmon since time 
immemorial to feed their families and celebrate their culture has 
sacrificed.
  The sports fisherman has sacrificed with the virtual elimination of 
chinook season.
  The commercial fishing family in Ilwaco has sacrificed.
  In a couple of years, after completing the buy-back commitments under 
the Pacific Salmon Treaty, there could be as few as 600 active non-
tribal commercial licenses, compared to the roughly 10,000 licenses in 
the 1970s.
  As we look forward at the sacrifices we will need to make in the 
future to help recover the wild stocks, we should never forget those 
who have already seen their livelihood, tradition, family, and 
community impacted by the dwindling numbers of returning fish.
  We need to promote selective fishing that allows the catching of non-
listed species while providing for the release of listed ones.
  We also need to continue to support efforts to reduce the number of 
federal and state issued fishing licenses by buying back those 
licenses.
  The recently signed Pacific Salmon Treaty, which Vice President Gore 
played such an important role in finalizing, calls for exactly these 
types of measures.
  We need to redouble our efforts to prevent overfishing and manage 
this resource in a responsible way.
  Finally, as controversial and difficult as the issues related to the 
hydro system will be, habitat promises to be every bit as thorny and 
complex an issue to tackle.
  Mr. President, in this equation, by and large, habitat equals water 
and impacts to water quality.
  As anyone familiar with agriculture can tell you, especially in the 
West, water is gold. It is the stuff of life.
  It makes or breaks communities, both their ability to maintain what 
they have and to sustain and manage their growth.
  Water in the West is both the great opportunity provider and limiter. 
Our water law dates back to the earliest days of settlement, and it has 
struggled to meet the demands of the modern era.
  We need to take steps now to prevent the continued destruction of 
critical habitat and work to restore habitat that has been degraded 
over time.
  Mr. President, the key for fish, as it is for people, is access to 
cool, clean water. Fish require a sufficient quantity of unpolluted 
water; that means encouraging land use practices near critical river 
habitat that are consistent with the needs of the fish.
  Mr. President, these are the four areas we must address. All four are 
important and must be part of the debate.
  Addressing issues related to the hydro system, reforming hatchery 
practices, managing harvest, and husbanding important habitat will not 
be easy. But we don't have a choice. Allowing salmon to become extinct 
is not an option.
  Mr. President, at the start of my remarks, I said that the debate so 
far has been too short sighted and too narrow, and I have explained how 
we can take a longer view and how we can look at the broad range of 
factors that affect salmon.
  Before I close I would like to explain why I think that the debate 
over salmon recovery has been too political to the detriment of saving 
salmon and doing what needs to be done to keep the families in our 
region whole.
  When partisan politics are injected into such a complex issue, it has 
the effect of dividing people--rather than bringing them together.
  Unfortunately, we have heard too many people who only say what they 
don't want to happen, who only seek to place blame, who heighten the 
rhetoric, who lead by creating fear rather than hope, and who never 
commit to a plan.
  That is not going to help us save salmon or the people in the 
impacted communities of the Pacific Northwest.
  Saying ``no'' to everything, without offering a constructive plan, is 
not leadership. And it will take leadership to recover our salmon 
stocks and keep our commitments to the people of the Northwest.
  Mr. President, I commit to work in a positive fashion with anyone who 
is genuinely interested in saving salmon.
  If you are serious about solutions, I am ready to work together to 
find them. And I am willing to play my part in our shared 
responsibility.
  I will continue to seek Federal funding to support new and continuing 
projects. I will strive to maintain my own communication with affected 
communities, individuals, and interest groups. In addition, I will 
promote better communication between federal agencies and other parties 
when this communication breaks down.

[[Page S7749]]

  In short, I commit to being a positive partner with all those who 
understand the need for tough decisions and want to move forward to 
real recovery.
  It is time to rise above the current debate, which traps people into 
false choices while letting the possibility of other solutions slip 
away from us.
  Mr. President, this is not an issue that is going to be solved by 
November 7, 2000. This is an issue that will be with us for years--
perhaps generations--to come.
  What we need now are public servants and private citizens with both 
the will and the vision to sit down, roll up their sleeves, and figure 
out how to move forward.
  Right now we are on the path to salmon extinction. Anyone who delays 
progress keeps us on that path. Anyone who divides rather than unites, 
brings extinction closer.
  Mr. President, as we proceed on this issue, I wish to state my 
willingness to work with the next President, with the tribal 
governments, with my colleagues in the Congress, with the State and 
local governments, and with private citizens to address the important 
issues related to recovering wild salmon.
  And we can make progress while maintaining our region's economic 
viability.
  The opportunity the administration has given us today is to move 
forward in a constructive way.
  They have presented a plan that moves beyond the debate about 
bypassing dams and onto the issues we really need to focus on.
  While I may disagree with some of the specifics of this plan, it does 
provide a comprehensive roadmap for how we can resolve these difficult 
issues.
  I believe if we take the comprehensive approach, we will save salmon 
and steelhead runs; we will be able to produce essential power; we will 
be able to meet the needs of our farmers, and we will keep water 
healthy for our children's children.
  Mr. President, as I conclude I want to make one final point. This 
really isn't just about fish or dams. It is about the type of world we 
want to live in. We have a choice about the legacy we leave for our 
grandchildren.
  The choice I have called for today is the choice to leave future 
generations clean rivers--full of salmon.
  The choice I've called for today is the choice to show our 
grandchildren that no matter how big our difference may appear we can 
work together and be good stewards of our land.
  That is the choice I hope we will make.
  The other path leaves a far different legacy. A legacy that leaves 
our grandchildren polluted waters--resources divided from nature. and 
even worse--people divided from each other.
  Mr. President, that is not the legacy I want to leave. We cannot 
shrink from this challenge.
  Let's use today's reports as a tool to help us move forward toward 
real salmon recovery.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.

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