WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held an Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard Subcommittee hearing today on S. 817, the Pacific Salmon Stronghold Conservation Act.

Witness List:

Dr. Gordon Reeves, Research Fish Biologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station

Mr. Guido Rahr, President & CEO of Wild Salmon Center

Ms. Sara LaBorde, Special Assistant to the Director, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Chairwoman of the Salmon Stronghold Partnership Board

Mr. Joe Childers, Immediate Past President, United Fishermen of Alaska and Co-chair/Vice Chair of the Advisory Panel of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council

Key Quotations from Today’s Hearing:

“Salmon continue to be a vital part of our communities up and down the Pacific coast, providing billions of dollars of economic activity and thousands of jobs. Current federal salmon recovery efforts are focused heavily on salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act – basically seeking to ‘restore what we have lost.’ While recovering depleted populations is essential, we cannot forget that it is also important to protect the healthy salmon populations we still have. The Pacific Salmon Stronghold Conservation Act was written to achieve a simple goal: to ensure the survival of Pacific salmon by making sure that our healthy salmon populations get the protection they deserve.”

Senator Maria Cantwell, Chairwoman, U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard 

“The foundation of the salmon stronghold network approach is well embedded in the principles of conservation biology and has the potential to help prevent further declines of native populations of salmon and trout and the ecosystems in which they reside. Additional strongholds would complement and expand the existing network of strongholds, which are generally limited in size and distribution, and would increase the overall effectiveness of the network.”

Dr. Gordon Reeves, Research Fish Biologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station

“Salmon strongholds offer our greatest hope of preserving the long term viability of wild salmon populations and the economic, ecological, and cultural values they sustain. In the face of climate change, development, and countless other threats on the horizon, federal leadership through the Salmon Stronghold Act presents a long overdue approach to stem the tide of species extinction and loss. If we succeed, we will be leaving our children some of the most beautiful rivers and the miracle of healthy wild salmon runs, returning to the clear waters of home as they have for millions of years.”

Mr. Guido Rahr, President & CEO of Wild Salmon Center

“The Salmon Stronghold Act will assist state governments like Washington State to accelerate implementation of a holistic, comprehensive salmon conservation and management approach that integrates all the “H’s” (habitat, harvest, hatchery and hydro).”

Ms. Sara LaBorde, Special Assistant to the Director, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Chairwoman of the Salmon Stronghold Partnership Board

“We must learn from other areas – it will be far more economical to protect salmon strongholds before we wreck them, than it will be to try to fix and recover them. We support the concept within S. 817 of identifying salmon strongholds and the threats to them, and we support creating a structure with funding to ensure that we are doing everything we can to sustain or restore salmon where necessary, for the benefit of future generations.”

Mr. Joe Childers, Immediate Past President, United Fishermen of Alaska and Co-chair/Vice Chair of the Advisory Panel of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council 

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