H-4602              _______________________________________________

                                           HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 4045

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Representatives Bumgarner, Sutherland, Silver, Brooks, Cole, Grant, Moyer, Haugen, D. Sommers, K. Wilson, Nealey, Hargrove, Sanders, Doty, Padden, Meyers, Amondson, Fuhrman and Taylor

Read first time 2/3/88 and referred to Committee on Natural Resources.

TO THE HONORABLE RONALD REAGAN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:

          We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

WHEREAS, A 140-mile portion of the Snake River runs through Washington, from the Idaho border to its confluence with the Columbia River; and

          WHEREAS, The construction of Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite dams on that portion of the Snake River from 1956 to 1975 destroyed 14,426 acres of prime riparian wildlife habitat; and

          WHEREAS, Congress authorized the United States Army Corps of Engineers to carry out the Lower Snake River Fish and Wildlife Compensation Plan in 1976; and

          WHEREAS, A part of that plan calls for the acquisition of 8,400 acres of upland bird habitat, 15,000 acres of chukar habitat, and 700 acres of fishing access lands; and

          WHEREAS, Only half of the upland bird habitat acreage acquisition, less than one-tenth of the fishing access acreage acquisition, and none of the chukar habitat acreage acquisition has been made to date; and

          WHEREAS, The federal budget, through the United States Army Corps of Engineers, has not included funding for these acquisitions; and

          WHEREAS, The federal government (United States Army Corps of Engineers) has not developed or funded interim compensation; and

          WHEREAS, The people of the State of Washington have already lost more than 25 years of recreational enjoyment of their wildlife resource, and the economic benefit of that recreation; and

          WHEREAS, We join with Congressmen Thomas Foley, Norm Dicks, and Sid Morrison in these efforts;

          NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the Congress of the United States fully fund the Lower Snake River Fish and Wildlife Compensation Plan and direct the appropriate federal agencies to immediately implement the Lower Snake River Fish and Wildlife Compensation Plan in cooperation with the State of Washington.

          BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Ronald Reagan, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.