Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio). Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Chairman, for many, this is an emotional debate. I would concede the point that this is not a silver bullet. What we are talking about in particular are a few species of salmon that are on the verge of extinction, and whether or not this bill passes will determine their future. It already extirpated a run at Ballard Locks. We have a place in Oregon called Willamette Falls, 120 miles from the mouth of the Columbia River. Historically, there have been no sea lions there. There have been no changes in that structure in 100 years. Yet, the passage of wild salmon, which was normally 5,000 to 8,000, has dropped down to 500 because of the predation with 40 sea lions hanging out, munching, basically, at the fish ladder. Here is where sea lions are at. The optimal population is between this red line and this blue line. They actually have exceeded that blue line, which means they have recently exceeded and now are maybe dropping back to the maximum sustainable population. We are talking about a few hundred problem animals, which then teach other animals where they can get a free lunch. That is really the key here. This is based in science. We have a probability of 89 percent of extinction of the Willamette winter steelhead that go over Willamette Falls because of the sea lions that hang out there. They have tried everything: sonic guns, harassment, removal. They took them 300 miles away.…”