TO THE HONORABLE BILL CLINTON, 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, AND TO THE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL
MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, AND THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE ARMY FOR CIVIL
WORKS:
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, As many as fifteen million wild salmon
used to return annually to the Columbia-Snake River system; and
WHEREAS, Currently only about two million five
hundred thousand salmon return each year; and
WHEREAS, Wild salmon are important to the
environmental and cultural heritage of the citizens of the State of Washington;
and
WHEREAS, Certain species of salmon have been
designated as threatened or endangered under the authority granted by the
Federal Endangered Species Act; and
WHEREAS, Fisheries biologists from a variety of
disciplines have identified a range of causes of mortality at each stage of the
salmon's life cycle, and have agreed that recovery measures must address causes
of mortality at each stage of the life cycle; and
WHEREAS, Your Memorialists recognize that
successful implementation of the comprehensive regional salmon recovery plan
will require sacrifices by all economic stakeholders and substantial investment
by the citizens of the region; and
WHEREAS, The Columbia-Snake River system
provides substantial economic benefits to the citizens of the State of
Washington in the areas of agriculture, navigation, fisheries, energy,
industry, recreation, and flood control; and
WHEREAS, Stream flow augmentation is generally
believed to provide biological benefits to migrating salmon, but there is
continued uncertainty regarding the biological benefits to salmon of flow
augmentation achieved by drawing down reservoir levels below minimum operating
pool; and
WHEREAS, Drawdowns below minimum operating pool
on the Snake River, conducted in March 1992 for the limited purpose of
evaluating impact to physical structures and facilities, caused the loss of
resident fish, altered wildlife habitat, and increased risks of predation,
disrupted navigation, and caused physical property damage to public and private
facilities; and
WHEREAS, Salmon migrating upstream to spawn are
unable to pass through fish ladder systems when reservoirs are maintained at
levels substantially below minimum operating pool; and
WHEREAS, Drawing down Columbia-Snake River
system reservoirs below minimum operating pool for extended periods causes
substantial economic impacts, including increased costs for Washington's
agricultural producers and shippers which jeopardize their ability to compete
in global markets; and
WHEREAS, Maintaining reservoir levels at
minimum operating pool, with modifications to existing irrigation pump stations
on the John Day reservoir, enables the river system to support critical
economic activity;
NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully
pray that the officials charged with developing the regional salmon recovery
plan carefully consider the biological needs of endangered salmon species, and
before drawing down reservoirs below minimum operating pool as part of the
regional salmon recovery plan, give the strongest consideration to the economic
impact of such drawdowns on the citizens of the State of Washington; and
BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be
immediately transmitted to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the United
States, the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Assistant
Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, the President of the United States
Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of
Congress from the State of Washington.
