Lee Metcalf: “our Pacific Northwest salmon populations have been in decline for decades. Recently, nine new populations were listed as…”

“our Pacific Northwest salmon populations have been in decline for decades. Recently, nine new populations were listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The Federal Government and the States are poised to provide substantial sums of money for habitat rehabilitation and restoration efforts but, beyond that, the Federal Government must be a helpful advisor only with the decisions made thoughtfully and judiciously at the State and local level. We must not allow, nor can we afford, another debacle such as occurred on the Columbia River in recent years. Billions of dollars have been spent on salmon restoration in the Columbia River by the Federal Government over the last 20 years, with minimal results; largely because it has ignored available salmon technology. Now that so many salmon populations have been listed under ESA, my concern is that the Federal agencies will try to exert control over more and more aspects of salmon recovery. Bureaucracies centered in Washington, D.C., however well intentioned, are incapable of solving the salmon problems of the Pacific Northwest. We all pay the price for the mistakes made by the Federal Government. The most prized salmon specious are the king, coho and sockeye salmon. We have correctly focused our attention on them. However, it is more complicated than that. I believe we must look at the restoration of all five species, including chum and pink salmon.”