Lincoln Chafee: “H.R. 2243, a bill to reauthorize and amend Public Law 98-541, the 1984 Trinity River Restoration Program, is a truly…”

“H.R. 2243, a bill to reauthorize and amend Public Law 98-541, the 1984 Trinity River Restoration Program, is a truly bipartisan piece of legislation. Introduced by Representative Riggs, H.R. 2243 passed the House by a vote of 412 to 0 on December 12, 1995. The bill would extend funding authority for Trinity River basin restoration programs through fiscal year 1998. In addition, H.R. 2243 would expand the management plan to aid in the resumption of commercial and recreational fishing, and increase the task force by five members to include representatives from commercial and recreational fishing interests, two native American tribes, and the timber industry. The administration supports H.R. 2243. To date, restoration efforts in the Trinity River basin have included the modernization of the Lewiston hatchery, the construction of the Buckhorn Debris Dam, sediment collection pools in the Grass Valley Creek, and the purchase of 17,000 acres of highly erodible land in the Grass Valley Watershed. Other habitat restoration efforts are underway to encourage natural fish spawning and rearing, including replacement of spawning gravel below the Lewiston Dam, reestablishment of meander channels, dredging of pools in the Trinity River, and feather-tapering the river's edges.”