[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
[August 22, 2003]
[Pages 1045-1049]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at Ice Harbor Lock and Dam in Burbank, Washington
August 22, 2003

    Thank you all very much. I appreciate you coming out to say hello. 
Thank you. Be seated, please. Thanks for coming out to say hello. It's a 
little different view from the views we have in Crawford. [Laughter] The 
temperature is a little cooler, too, I want you to know.
    But thanks for coming. It's such an honor to be here at the Ice 
Harbor Lock and Dam. I found it interesting that another Texan came to 
dedicate the dam. Vice President Lyndon Johnson dedicated this 
unbelievable facility in 1962. He said it's ``an asset of astounding 
importance to the region and to America.'' He was right in 1962, and 
when I tell you it's an asset of astounding importance to this region of 
America in 2003, I'm right as well.
    We just had a great tour, seeing this facility and its technological 
wonders. This work has added to the strength of your State, and it's 
added to the prosperity of the people. It's really important that we 
remember that when we're talking about national assets. After all, 
people's money built this facility, and we want the facility to help the 
people. The facility has been a crucial part of the past in this region, 
and I'm here to tell you it's going to be a crucial part of the future 
as well.
    I was pleased to see the incredible care that goes into protecting 
the salmon that journey up the river. It's an important message to send 
to people, it seems like to me, that a flourishing salmon population is 
a vital part of the vibrancy of this incredibly beautiful part of our 
country. I appreciate the commitment that we are making as a country and 
that you're making as a community for salmon restoration. What I saw was 
and what you know firsthand is that we can have good, clean 
hydroelectric power and salmon restoration going on at the same time. 
And that's what I want to spend some time talking about. We have a 
responsibility to work together to make sure the human condition is 
strong and to make sure that the salmon flourish. And we'll meet that 
challenge.
    I thank Gale Norton for her leadership. 
She is the Secretary of the Department of the Interior. She is a lady 
from the West. She understands land management. She knows what I know, 
that the folks who live closest to the land are those that care most 
about the land. And we appreciate that attitude.
    I'm traveling in some pretty darn good company too, when it comes to 
the congressional delegation. Old Doc Hastings 
has

[[Page 1046]]

made a pretty good hand--[applause]. He informed me first thing, before 
he even said hello, that he was a grandfather again today. So 
congratulations, Doc. I wouldn't take too much credit for it, Doc, if I 
were you. [Laughter]
    I appreciate so very much traveling with George 
Nethercutt as well. Both 
Doc and George are always telling me about how 
important eastern Washington is. Every time I talk to them, they're 
reminding me not only that the folks here are just fine, fine, down-to-
earth, hard-working people, but our Nation is blessed to have the 
resources that are coming from this part of your beautiful State.
    The western part of your State is beautiful as well, and it's well 
represented--parts of it are well represented by my close friend 
Jennifer Dunn. I'm glad you're here, Jennifer.
    The Acting Secretary of the Army, Les Brownlee, is with us today. I appreciate you coming, Les. Thank you 
for being here. We've got a lot of folks from the Corps of Engineers 
that are with us, people who are making this dam work, and I want to 
thank them for their service to our country. I appreciate so very much 
the National Marine Fisheries Service, through the Commerce Department, 
the representatives that are here as well.
    I thank all the mayors that have come out, the State and local 
officials. I like to tease the mayors and tell them they've got a pretty 
darn tough job. After all, if the pothole isn't filled, they're going to 
hear from somebody firsthand at the coffee shop. [Laughter] That doesn't 
happen to the President much. [Laughter] I thank the mayors for coming. 
Just keep the garbage picked up. [Laughter]
    I appreciate so much the tribal chiefs that are here with us today, 
distinguished leaders that are here to make sure that the heritage of 
the salmon is protected and honored and revered, Chief Burke and Blackwolf, 
Sockzehigh, Seyler. I'm honored you all are here, and thank you for coming 
as well, for taking time.
    One of the things I've learned about Washington, DC, there's a lot 
of experts on the environment there. [Laughter] At least they think they 
are. They're constantly trying to tell people what to do. My judgment 
is, they--those who think they know what they're doing in Washington, 
DC, ought to come out and visit with the folks that are actually 
protecting the environment, people such as yourself. I have been to your 
State enough to know that the people of this great State are never very 
far away from some of nature's most beautiful sights. And the people who 
appreciate those beautiful sights the most are those who live close to 
the sights. They understand best of all what it means to be a good 
steward of land and water.
    The Washington way of life depends and always will depend on the 
wise protection of the natural environment. It's been a part of your 
past; it's going to be an important part of the future of this State and 
our country, for that matter. And a vital part of the natural 
environment is the Pacific salmon.
    Lewis and Clark, as Doc was--made sure to 
point it out, where Lewis and Clark stayed--where he thought they 
stayed. [Laughter] But he did say that they stayed in this part of the 
world a long time. I can see why. The weather's nice, and the scenery is 
beautiful. But think about what it was like when those rivers in 1805-
timeframe were just full of salmon. It must have been an unbelievable 
sight for them, particularly if they were hungry. [Laughter]
    Today, there are a lot fewer salmon in the waters. And the mission 
has got to be to fight the decline. The mission has got to be to make 
sure that we understand that without the salmon in the Columbia and 
Snake Rivers, that this would be a huge loss to this part of the world. 
That's part of what the focus of my short discussion is today, is to let 
you know that we understand in this administration that we

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want to work with the local folks to revitalize the salmon runs.
    The good news is that salmon runs are up. And that's really 
positive. And we just need to make sure we keep that momentum. I want to 
talk about some ways we're going to do it. Gale mentioned one thing is that we can spend that money in 
Washington, and we're writing a pretty good-size check in '04. It helps 
keep the commitment about what I said when I ran for President. I said, 
look, we are concerned about the fish. We're also concerned about the 
citizens of Washington State who depend upon the dams for electricity 
and the water to water their land so we can have the crops necessary to 
eat in America.
    But the economy of this part of the world has relied upon the steady 
supply of hydropower. And we've got an energy problem in America. We 
don't need to be breaching any dams that are producing electricity. And 
we won't. Part of a national energy policy has got to make sure that we 
increase supply and maintain supply. And I saw the six generators that 
are able to capture a steady flow of water that produces that power that 
enables people to live. We want the salmon to live; we want the quality 
of life in this part of the world to be strong as well.
    You know something, I talk about people closest to the land care 
about the land more than most. Every day is Earth Day if you're a 
farmer. Farmers depend upon the quality of the land and the quality of 
the water. And I understand that. And I understand that this dam and the 
dams along this river have a got a lot to do with the ability for people 
to farm the land.
    You know, one of the great things about our national security is 
that we don't have to worry about food from some other country. We 
produce enough to eat here in America, and that's good for our national 
security. I can't say the same for energy, by the way. We're reliant 
upon foreign sources of energy. That is a problem for national security. 
We're not reliant upon foreign sources of food, and that's important. 
This dam helps us become--so that we don't get reliant upon foreign 
sources of food.
    Our farmers depend upon the dams on this river. People who run the 
barges need the dams. The dams accommodate--in other words, commerce 
happens, people can make a living, people have food on the table so they 
can feed their families. At the same time, the salmon are getting more 
plentiful. And it's a positive story, and it's a story we've got to 
continue to make sure this stays positive.
    We have shown the world that we can have good quality of life and, 
at the same time, save salmon. And that's exactly what this 
administration will continue to do. I understand we can't do it alone, 
but we can help. We can make a difference. As Gale mentioned, the budgets are increasing. We're helping on 
technology. I just saw some technology that enables the young salmon and 
steelhead to pass through the dam near the surface of the dam at lower 
speeds and lower pressures. That will help the young salmon runs. The 
technology is employed at the Lower Granite Dam. It will be installed 
soon here at Ice Harbor. In other words, the Federal Government is doing 
its part by gathering the technologies that will make the salmon runs 
stronger and better over time.
    I bet in '62 there wasn't that much concern about salmon runs, when 
Vice President Lyndon Johnson was here. I haven't reviewed his entire 
speech; I don't know how much time he spent talking about technologies 
necessary to save salmon. But in 2003, we can say we're developing good, 
strong technologies to save salmon. We're getting better at it. And 
that's what--[applause].
    And I appreciate so much the hard work of the Federal employees that 
are doing what we pay them to do. I also know my friend Donnie 
Evans, who is the Secretary of Commerce, has 
got conservation plans

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that are now being developed and implemented in Chelan and Douglas 
County public utility districts. It's a good, creative use of Federal 
money, it seems like to me, to create these conservation plans and 
habitat restoration programs, to be smart about how we develop the 
strategies necessary to encourage salmon runs to increase. The plan will 
minimize the impact of dams, improving fish-bypass systems and hatchery 
programs. And we'll continue to work to fund local habitat restoration 
programs. In other words, there's a lot going on. But the truth of the 
matter is, in order to make this strategy work, we're going to have to 
work with the local folks. That's the reality of the situation.
    I know that--I saw some of the irrigation systems, spray systems--
they look pretty darn modern to me. I suspect some of the oldtime 
farmers here will tell you that there's been a lot of technological 
advancement when it comes to conservation of water. The more water our 
farmers conserve by using efficient sprinkler systems, obviously the 
less operating costs they have. But also it helps the salmon. And so for 
the farmers who are here, I want to thank you for doing your part not 
only feeding America but being good stewards of the water you use.
    There's a group called Fish First. I met a fellow named Gary 
Loomis. And I appreciate Gary coming today. Gary 
is a guy who cares about restoring salmon runs, salmon habitat. So he 
and a group of volunteers have come together to work on the salmon 
projects around the State of Washington. They're installing culverts to 
accommodate the fish. They're creating side channels and ponds. They're 
getting their money through private donations. There's a lot of people 
who care about salmon runs, and they ought to be helping by contributing 
money. And they're using volunteers and some public grants.
    As I understand that Gary Loomis' group is 
going to add another 4,900 foot of stream channel, mainly through 
volunteer work. And I appreciate what you're doing, Gary. I want to--why 
don't you stand up and give people a chance to look at you and let you 
know the--[applause]. I want to thank you for what you're doing. This 
will give me a chance to tell the people of the great State of 
Washington and Oregon that if you're interested in salmon runs, if you 
want to do your part about conserving this great legacy, volunteer with 
groups like Gary Loomis' group.
    There's a lot of good conservation groups that have a good 
commonsense view about making sure that the quality of human life is 
strong and the quality of fish life is vibrant and healthy as well. 
Volunteer help makes a difference.
    I appreciate the positive attitude that people have here in this 
part of the world, the can-do attitude: ``Here is a problem; let's go 
solve it together.'' And that's what we're here to confirm. It makes a--
it's a lot better than what happens a lot of times when it comes to 
conservation issues. And that is, people just file lawsuit after lawsuit 
after lawsuit, just kind of tie everything up in endless litigation, and 
nothing gets better.
    We've got that issue, by the way, with our forests. I was in Oregon 
yesterday, saw the devastating forest fires that are taking place. It's 
just sad to see national assets just go up in tremendous flames because 
we have not done a good job of thinning out our forests and protecting 
our forests. And a lot of the reason why is because people just file 
lawsuits, and we get stuck in the court, and nothing happens. The 
forests don't benefit. People in the communities close to the forest 
are--have their lives endangered because of the kindling that has piled 
up. We need to cut through all this business and get solving the 
national problems.
    And so the good news about what's happening here is it looks like 
you've been able to bypass all the endless litigation, come up with 
solutions to the problem so that the people can say, you know, ``Job

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well done.'' Generations--future generations can say these folks had a 
chance and they responded.
    And I want to thank you for what you do to make sure that this part 
of the world is as vibrant and healthy, the heritage of the salmon 
remains strong. There's no doubt in my mind you will accomplish the 
objective, no doubt in my mind we will help. We want to be helpers, not 
hinderers, coming out of Washington, DC.
    You know, the amazing thing about this country is when we put our 
mind to something, we can do a lot. We can do a lot. My mind is still 
focused on protecting America, by the way. We're going to hunt the 
terrorists down wherever they are and bring them to justice. And we're 
making progress. See, in America we know that freedom--free countries 
will be peaceful countries. We also know that freedom is not America's 
gift to the world; it is the Almighty's gift to every human being.
    Abroad, this great Nation will lead the world to more peaceful 
times. We'll promote freedom. We worry about the human condition when 
people are enslaved by tyranny. And at home, we'll protect our assets. 
We'll conserve our beautiful environment, and at the same time, we'll 
work to make sure that people can make a living, that people can work 
hard, put money on the table; they can do their duty as a mom or a dad 
for--to feed their families.
    Listen, America is a fabulous country, fabulous not only because of 
the values we hold dear but fabulous because of the nature of the 
people, who are the American people.
    Thank you for coming. May God bless you.

Note: The President spoke at 10:17 a.m. In his remarks, he referred to 
Gary Burke, chairman, board of trustees, Confederated Tribes of the 
Umatilla Indian Reservation; Harold Blackwolf, Sr., chair, Fish and 
Wildlife Committee, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation 
of Oregon; Ross Sockzehigh, tribal council chairman, Yakama Nation; 
Warren Seyler, tribal business council chairman, Spokane Tribe; and Gary 
Loomis, president, Fish First.