[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 14185-14186]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                INTRODUCTION OF THE SALMON PLANNING ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 23, 2001

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, good morning. I am pleased to be here 
today to introduce legislation that will facilitate dialog on a key 
issue facing the Northwest.

[[Page 14186]]

  I want to begin today with a quote from Chief Joseph, a man who lived 
in Northeastern Oregon and traveled the lands of the Columbia and Snake 
River Basin:

       The Earth was created by the assistance of the sun, and it 
     should be left as it was . . . I never said the land was mine 
     to do with it as I chose. The one who has the right to 
     dispose of it is the one who has created it. I claim a right 
     to live on my land, and accord you the privilege to live on 
     yours.

  This legislation is called the Salmon Planning Act. It provides for 
the planning that will be necessary to save the endangered salmon and 
steelhead populations in the Snake River if the Bush administration 
continues to deny funding to recovery efforts.
  For centuries, salmon has been recognized as a symbol of the 
Northwest lifestyle and a mainstay of the economy. Both commercial 
fishermen and the sport fishing industry rely on consistent runs of 
salmon and steelhead. Generations of northwesterners have grown up with 
fishing as a part of their lives.
  Beginning in the early 1960s, a series of 4 dams were constructed on 
the Lower Snake River. The dams provided energy, water for irrigation, 
and a barge system for transporting goods between the inland and ocean 
ports. Since then, the 12 genetically distinct populations of salmon 
and steelhead, native to the Snake River, have dropped to such an 
extent that every one of those populations is either functionally 
extinct or listed under the endangered Species Act.
  Scientific studies have shown that declining salmon runs represent 
the declining health of the overall ecosystem in the Columbia and Snake 
River basin. Independent studies by the Environmental Protection Agency 
and the Fish and Wildlife Service have shown an ecosystem in peril.
  Additionally, numerous treaties with Native Tribes in Oregon, 
Washington, Alaska, and the Canadian Government have committed our 
government to ensuring the continued viability of salmon runs. Failure 
to do so could expose taxpayers to billions of dollars in litigation 
and compensatory fees.
  Last year the National Marine Fisheries Service released a biological 
opinion regarding the Columbia and Snake River Basin and developed the 
Salmon Recovery Plan, which would avoid breaching the dams. I support 
this plan and hope that we can continue to make every effort to develop 
a workable solution without breaching the dams.
  However, the current administration has so far failed to allocate any 
funds to implement this plan. Full funding of the restoration measures 
called for in the Salmon Recovery Plan will cost an estimated $1.2 
billion per year for the region as a whole. The administration has 
chosen to sacrifice the salmon and the economy of the Northwest in 
favor of large tax refunds.
  The Salmon Planning Act will provide for a thorough peer review of 
the Salmon Recovery Plan of 2000 by the National Academy of Sciences to 
ensure the scientific credibility of its findings. In addition, the 
Salmon Planning Act calls for a study by the General Accounting Office 
of the effects of potential dam beaching if recovery efforts fail.
  The GAO study would detail the effects of dam removal on every sector 
of society that is impacted. In addition to the fishing and scientific 
community, dam removal would affect energy, transportation, agriculture 
and the local communities.
  The GAO study will also address the potential liability of the 
American taxpayer that may result from our failure to fulfill our 
treaty obligations should our salmon and steelhead populations become 
extinct.
  Passage of the Salmon Planning Act by itself will not result in the 
breaching of the dams. Let me repeat that, this act will not result in 
breaching the dams. Congress will need to address this issue again in 
the future. This bill does, however, provide the planning that will be 
necessary for Congress to make an informed decision.
  The window of opportunity to save our valuable salmon and steelhead 
resources is quickly closing.

                          ____________________