with the drought, will likely mean the end of the fishery resource of the Klamath River. It is therefore my recommendation that all gillnetting be prohibited and that the possession of a gillnet within one mile of the Klamath River or any of the tributaries be made a crime. This must be done now, before the major runs attempt to spawn. This must be done now, before the major runs attempt to spawn. We need far more patrol boats and enforcement officers here immediately. I also have some further recommendations to provide a solution to the threat to the fisheries. I suggest that Congress should turn management of the Klamath River fishery back to the State of California, compensating any Indian who loses his "fishing rights". Excess salmon in good shape, from the Irongate Hatchery, should be returned to the Hoopa and Yirok reservation. Only fishing with hook and line in the river or the tidal basin should be permitted. Until the spawining runs are built back up, off-shore commercial fisheries should be severely limited, compensating the off-shore fisherman for his economic loss. Restoration, protection, and enhancement of spawning grounds and fish habitats should be accelerated. Limits on summer trout (steelhead and salmon smolt) should be drastically reduced. An interagency Klamath-Trinity Anadramous Fishery Board should be established to coordinate the restoration of the salmon and steelhead runs instead of having a multiplicity of agencies which apparently cannot work together. This "super-agency" should have jurisdiction over both off-shore and river fishing and fishery enhancement programs. Heavy criminal penalties should be established for all violators of State and Federal fishing laws in order to prevent the destruction of our anadramous fishery. I have almost completely lost faith in the ability of the Federal Government to preserve the fishery resource. For the last several years, I have served on Fish and Game Advisory Committees, written letters, attended meetings, made speeches, contributed money, and done everything within my power to make my government respond to the crisis in the anadramous fisheries. Nothing seems to work. I hope that your subcommittee can somehow solve this problem, but I am not optimistic. Please do what you can. Thank you for this opportunity on my behalf and on the behalf of all the members of the Klamath River Sportsman's Association to present this testimony. STATEMENT OF NEIL PALMER, CONSERVATION CHAIRMAN, REDWOOD REGION AUBUDON SOCIETY The Redwood Region Audubon Society is concerned with the present state of the Klamath River Salmon Fishery and with this fisheries future, considering the numerous negative impacts which it has been burdoned with. Our organization feels that the Klamath Salmon Fishery can not support commercial fishing on the river. But we are not questioning Indian subsistence fishing. Commercial ocean fishing and both ocean and river sports fishing should be appropriately managed to help revitalize this depleted fishery. Shorter seasons, larger fish size, smaller limits or whatever is deemed effective should be implemented. The extensive logging and road building within the Klamath River Watershed has played a major role in the deterioration of fish habitat and consequentely the salmon fishery. It is questionable whether existing logging practice rules and regulations protect the fishery habitat sufficiently to reverse this trend. Since the majority of logging and road building within the Klamath drainage takes place on Federal Lands, the United States Forest Service should be required to implement more conservative logging practices on our National Forests. The preservation of fishery habitat, along with its economic values, should play a greater role in Forest Service harvesting decisions. The Klamath Drainage contains many miles of once productive fish habitat, which was destroyed by poor logging practices and road building. These streams should be brought back to production by the implementation of aggessive habitat restoration programs. Federally funded water diversion projects on the Klamath and its tributaries have drastically effected natural stream flows, resulting in increased siltation and decreased water quality. Increased water releases from these dams are a must if habitat restoration is to be achieved. The Redwood Region Audubon Society believes that the dwindling Klamath Fishery can be revitalized if the suggestions mentioned above are implemented. STATEMENT OF SCOTT VALLEY SPORTSMAN'S ASSOCIATION The Scott Valley Sportsmans Association welcome the opportunity to address the Merchant, Marine and Fisheries Committee on the condition of the anadromous fish resources of the Klamath drainage. So you may be better able to understand the whole problem we will explain the geography, population and basic economics of the area involved. The Klamath drainage takes in Del Norte, Humboldt, Trinity and Siskiyou Counties. The river supports anadromous fish from Iron Gate Dam in Siskiyou County to its entrance into the ocean at Requa in Del Norte County. The three main industries are Logging, Farming and Tourism. Farming is at its maximum. It can not increase as there is no more arable land. Tourism is the only possible hope for sustaining the economic base of the area. The anadromous fish resource of the Klamath is the number one source of tourist business. If this resource is destroyed our economic base is knocked out. The unemployment rate for the last four years, in the four counties involved, is as follows: Del Norte. Trinity Siskiyou........ 18.8 15.2 14.03 14.1 The population of the area is roughly one hundred and sixty five thousand of which about eight thousand are Native Americans. We will now explain the background and development of the problem as we see it, but first let us point out that under California State Fish and Game Code 8434, netting and selling anadromous fish from the Klamath was and is illegal. We also want to point out that the one mile strip from the Hoopa Square to the mouth of the Klamath has never been known or considered as an Indian Reservation until the Mattz versus Arnett Case. When Congress opened the land to settlement in 1892 it was because at that time the Sovereign Yurok Tribe showed no interest whatsoever in the area. In fact, Congress, between 1880 and 1890 tried to pass a bill to terminate the lands reservation status but Eastern legislators who knew nothing of what was happening in California blocked the legislation. The present problem on the Klamath started with the Judge Boldt decision in the state of Washington. He ruled that three percent of the citizens were entitled to fifty percent of the fish. The decision resulted in an increase in illegal fishing in all three west coast states. The Klamath was hit the hardest. Illegal fishing on this river increased to a point where an estimated seventy percent of the King Salmon runs were caught in this manner in 1977. At the present time our organization feels that as a result of illegal fishing in the years 1976, 1977 and 1978 fifty to sixty percent of the basic salmon broods stocks are gone from the Klamath. We estimate that twenty to thirty percent of the steelhead stock has been desumated. In the year 1977 the Bureau of Indian Affairs entered the Klamath area. Their employees told the Indians they had a Federally reserved right to fish commercially. They said this right came from the Mattz versus Arnett decision. Our club has studied this case in great depth. The word commercial is never used or never intended. The decision is very simple. It says that the State of California does not have the right to stop a Native American from fishing for food on an ongoing Indian Reservation. If the Judges had investigated this case Mr. Mattz would have still lost. He was using five one hundred foot gill nets. In a good Salmon run in a day he could have caught enough fish for food for all the Yuroks and Hoopas for the whole winter. The simple truth is gentlemen, that everyone, including Mr. Mattz, knew he was fishing commercially. Biased court decisions of this kind, based on passed mistreatment of any group of citizens do more harm than good. Mr. Mattz is still engaged in commercial fishing having been arrested for same on the Smith River December 13, 1978. Let us elaborate on Indian fishing rights in California. There are no treaties or agreements between any State or Federal agency and any Sovereign Indian Nation regarding fishing rights in California. Before going on we put three questions to your committee. (1) What is subsistance fishing. Is it taking enough fish to eat or taking enough to sell to reach any lifestyle desired. (2) Should Indians, who accepted citizenship in 1923, who have all rights that other citizens have, have rights that other citizens don't have. (3) Does the U.S. Government allow Sovereign Nations to exist within its continental limits. Our organization contends that under the constitution all citizens have the same rights, therefore subsistance fishing of any kind other than legal fishing does not exist under law. However we recognize the existance of Native American Families dependent on the use of salmon for food. We think these people should be allowed to continue their historic taking of salmon until time solves the problem. It is the human way to handle the situation. We also contend that Indian Tribal or other organizations are no different than any other ethnic minority group organization in our country. We do not wish to indulge in character assasination or personalities. We will list the mistakes made by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The end responsibility has to rest with Cecil Andrus. The blunders as we see them are as follows. (1) Their refusal to contact the real leaders of the Indian community. (2) Their refusal to hold a secret ballot box election on commercial fishing. (3) Their insistence on blaming the decline in the fishery on the old causes of logging, water diversion, pollution and sport fishing when the only new factor was the start of commercial fishing. (4) Their refusal to answer organizations and individuals on how they arrived at the conclusion that any California Indian has a right to fish commercially. (5) Their refusal to pay any attention to what the majority of the Indians wanted. Less than one hundred out of eight thousand wanted commercial fishing. (6) We resent their insulting attitude that Indians must be diapered and bottle fed. The Indians are a proud and intelligent people. (7) Their refusal to recognize that the part of the river involved was one hundred and ninety miles long, with more citizens and more river outside the Reservation than in. (8) Their complete disregard of the economic well being of any but the handful of citizens who want to break the law. (9) Their refusal, on very dubious grounds, to have an E.I.S. prepared. (10) Their complete disregard for the 157,000 non Native Americans in the affected area. We want to point out to the committee that the tragic happenings on the Klamath are a classic example of why the people are fed up with and turned off by the government. It is a typical case of Big Brother Bureaucracy coming into a specific area and telling everyone what is good for them. A Russian Dictator could have done no better. Laws should be interpreted to fit the will of the people not the will of the people bent to fit the law. We recommend that the Klamath River be returned to state jurisdiction and that the Federal Government stay in Washington. We further recommend that the B.I.A. be abolished. We recommend that all Indian Reservations be terminated and that title, free and clear, to said reservations be given to the Indians residing on said reservations, except any property owned by a non Indian on any reservation is still valid. We don't feel that any Indian Treaty is valid at this time, but in case our opinion is not shared by all we recommend Congress pass a law terminating all Indian Treaties. The fastest solution to this problem would be to terminate the reservation status of the mile strips on each side of the river. The percentage of this property owned by Indians is extremely small. This automatically turns the Klamath Drainage back to the state except for the Hoopa Square. Therefore, our most important recommendation is that Congress pass a law immediately terminating this part of the Hoopa Reservation. We feel the country can only survive under the original interpretation of the Constitution. All citizens have equal rights, privileges and duties. We thank you again for caring enough to come to our community to get our view of the problems here. NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION, Hon JOHN BREAUX. Chairman, Subcommittee on Fisheries. Wildlife Conservation and the Environment, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear CONGRESSMAN BREAUX: The National Wildlife Federation, with over 4 million members nationwide, is pleased to present the following comments on the serious management problems facing the Klamath River salmon fishery in California NWF and its state affiliate, the California Natural Resources Federation. have been following the controversy surrounding the harvest of this troubled resource for some time. NWF submitted comments copy attached to the Department of Interior supporting the closure of the 1979 spring season for Indian commercial fishing on the Klamath. At the same time NWF urged the Pacific Management Council to reduce the ocean harvest by 15 percent. Though necessary to avert disastrous impacts on reproductive success of Klamath River salmon stocks this spring, these stop-gap measures are but superficial treatment for the deeper problems affecting this important resource. The message that NWF would like to convey to this committee is that not enough attention is being paid to the real conservation issue underlying this controversy, namely the perpetuation of the resource through professional management and wise use. We would offer two suggestions in this regard: first, an escapement goal containing an adequate margin of safety must be established and enforced by all the regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over this resource (ie., PRFMC, State of California, and Department of Interior); and second, an affirmative federal-state pro gram must be developed and implemented to restore lost spawning habitat, and to augment spawning runs through artificial reproduction. The existing regulatory approach to management and allocation of this resource is fragmented, contentious and wholly inadequate to deal with these problems. The existing Klamath-Trinity River Task Force, though conceptually sound as a means of developing the crucial technical data needed for management decisions (e.g., escapement goals, run size estimates, allocation of conservation burden among users, regulatory techniques), has neither the mandate nor the money to come up with specific recommendations for the regulatory agencies to implement. Meanwhile the user conflicts escalate while the resource deteriorates. In sum, NWF urges the committee to focus on the real conservation issues involved in this controversy rather than on the question of who will get the last salmon. Very truly yours, PATRICK A. PARENTEAU, Counsel. NATIONAL WILdlife FederatION, Hon. FORREST J. GERARD, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. DEAR SECRETARY GERARD: Following are the comments of the National Wildlife Federation on the proposed regulations for Indian fishing, Hoopa Valley Reservation. 44 Fed. Reg. 9598, et seq., 14 Feb. 1979. In view of the depressed condition of the 1979 run of spring chinook salmon, and the likelihood that escapement goals cannot be met even with normal fishing pressure, the NWF strongly supports the proposed closure of Indian commercial fishing on the Klamath River. By telegram (copy attached), NWF has also recommended that the Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council reduce by 15% the 1979 ocean harvest of chinook by troll and recreational fleets. In our view, both actions are necessary interim measures to safeguard this troubled resource. The larger issue, however, and the one not addressed by the proposed regulations, is the development of a comprehensive management program which conbines resource conservation and resource allocation with the goal of perpetuating the anadromous fish resources of the Klamath-Trinity River System. Fishing regulations are not very useful if there are no fish to catch, and if the factors contributing to the decline of this particular run are not controlled that may well be the fate of the Indian fishery the Department is obligated to protect. Devising an appropriate management plan is serously hampered in this case because of the dearth of statistical information on run sizes from which accurate harvestable catch estimates and escapement goals can be derived. Jurisdictional disputes among the regulatory agencies have created a Balkanization of the resource management effort, to the detriment of the resource itself. To pull this disunited activity into some kind of coherent management framework, NWF recommends that the Secretary appoint a Task Force to study and make recommendations to the responsible agencies regarding, at a minimum, (1) the establishment of an escapement goal containing a liberal margin of safety; (2) the development of a regulatory scheme which takes account of (a) the relative impact on spawning success of the off-shore fishery versus the inside fishery, (b) the current and projected proportion of stock depletion attributable to the ocean troll, ocean sport, non-Indian sport, Indian commercial and Indian subsistence fisheries, respectively, (c) the need to divide the conservation burden equitably among the users, and (d) the need to provide equal access to the harvestable portion of the run; and, (3) the implementation of mitigation and enhancement measures to restore and impove the spawning habitat. The Task Force should be comprised of representatives of the responsible regulatory agencies, namely the Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, the State of California, the Department of Interior and the Hoopa Indian Reservation. The Task Force should have a technical advisory board consisting of fisheries experts from state and federal agencies, the affected Indian tribes, academic institutions and other interested and qualified organizations. The Task Force should be funded by DOI and given a specific (hopefully early) deadline for completion of its work. The Task Force would be no more than a cooperative data gathering and analytical effort by the respective participants. It would aid, not usurp, the exercise of the regulatory authority retained by each. By the same token it would have no effect upon the special trust relationship which exists between Interior and the Hoopa Reservation except to make it possible for the Department to fully execute its responsibility in that regard. In addition to creating a mechanism to develop sound regulatory criteria, NWF recommends that the Department undertake more vigorous efforts to restore and manintain the spawning habitat upon which the fishery depends. The proposed regulations make clear the Department's trust responsibility to protect the Indians' right to fish the Klamath River, but they are noticeably silent regarding the even more compelling fiduciary duty to prevent the waste and degradation of the resource itself. Habitat destruction caused by past and present federal activities in the watershed is a major reason for the decline of anadromous fish in the Klamath River Basin, as acknowledged in the Environmental Assessment for the proposed regulations. Some of these ongoning activities are under the direct control of the Department-for example, the operation of Lewiston Dam on the Trinity River. Others are under the control of sister federal agencies, such as the Forest Service. There are some immediate opportunities for conservation initiatives by the Department. For openers, it could follow the recommendations of the Fish and Wildlife Service and guarantee the release of 420 cubic feet of water per second out of Lewiston Dam, rather than divert still more water to the Westlands Irrigation District. Other initiatives could include expansion of the existing artificial (hatchery) and natural (rearing ponds) production of salmon and steelhead, removal of fish passage barriers in spawning streams, clean up of smothered spawning gravel, and review of forestry and agricultural practices in thre watershed with recommendation for control of pollutant runoff and toxic spraying. Investigation of the impact of foreign fishing fleets on run sizes and more active implementation of international conventions and agreements to protect domestic salmon fisheries is yet another avenue open to the Department. In sum, NWF sees the problem of the Indian commercial fishery as but one aspect of a much larger problem. Though the closure of that fishery, in conjunction with a reduction in the ocean fishery, is a necessary step to conserve the resource, it is no more than a stop-gap measure. Unless the Department comes to grips with the larger issue, the conservation of the resource itself, it will be satisfying neither its trust obligations to the Indians nor its statutory responsibilities to the American public. Sincerely, THOMAS L. Kimball, |