Idaho Wilderness Hearings

Statement:

INTER-TRIBAL FISH COMMISSION Mr. Pinkham. Yes, sir. Thank you Senator McClure. Thank you for this opportuntity to speak on a matter of critical importance to the Northwest's natural resources. My name is Allen Pinkham. I am chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, and also the chairman of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. I am testifying here today on behalf of the fish commisison. The commisison is formed of the Nez Perce Tribe, the Umatilla Indian Tribe, the Warm Spring Tribe, and the Yakima Indian Nation. Senator, for thousands of years Indian peoples in the Columbia River Basin have built their livelihoods and cultures, both spiritually and physically, around recurring cycles of the region's natural resources. From the land we borrowed materials to shelter us and food to sustain us. We relied upon the roots and berries of the meadows and mountains, the deer and elk of the forests, and, especially, the salmon that annually returned to the rivers. All of these elements are still vital to our people, but today I will focus upon salmon, because he, more than any other creature in the Pacific Northwest, touches us all—Indian and non-Inoxan alike. Our request is simple. We ask that you consider the needs of the salmon as you deliberate the question of wilderness in Idaho. To understand the relationship between salmon and wilderness, we need only to consider why salmon so successfully occupied the many Idaho rivers that access the sea. What were, and in many cases still are, the conditions that existed there? Abundant clear, cold water; shade and food from the forests; and freedom from human development. These conditions allowed the fish to flourish and to extend themselves throughout the thousands of miles of rivers and streams. These conditions produced the hundreds of thousands of salmon and steelhead that annually migrated to and from the Snake and Upper Columbia River systems. Now the runs are pitifully small. Some have entirely disappeared. Those that remain need our help. Congress recognized the plight of the salmon when it passed major legislation, the Northeast Power Planning Act and Salmon and Steelhead Enhancement Act in 1980. Both acts affirm the necessity of maintaining naturally reproducing populations of salmon and steelhead, and contain directives toward that purpose. Senator, those directives cannot be followed or that purpose accomplished unless suitable habitat is available for the fish. And suitable habitat for naturally reproducing anadromous fish is prevalent only in rivers and streams of the wilderness. Help for those fish and wilderness protection are inseparable. Our review of Idaho roadless areas, listed under the RARE II process, and we have attached lists to the testimony here, identifies many that directly or indirectly support salmon and steelhead production. In an ideal situation, we would probably ask that all these 713 areas be declared wilderness. But in the hard light of day, we know that this will not occur. There has not been sufficient time to thoroughly examine each and every Idaho roadless area to establish its particular contribution to salmon and steelhead production. Some, of course, are known to have inordinate value in this regard. Among them the Selway, Lochsa, and Rapid River areas and those of the Mainstem, South Fork, and Middle Fork of the salmon. To properly evaluate the numerous small roadless areas supporting fish populations will require additional study, which is already underway. Meanwhile, until study is completed, undue haste in opening these lands could spell the demise of irreplaceable components of a resource that is being pushed to the edge of existence. The enormity of the responsibility before us demands that we act with caution and judgment born of knowledge. In decisions on wilderness designation in Idaho, nothing less than the future of the State's salmon and steelhead—a considerable portion of the Columbia Basin's total production—is at stake. The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission asks that all Idaho roadless areas of known value to salmon and steelhead be given wilderness designation, and that all others be protected from development until such time as their fishery value is established. I'd also—just one last statement, Mr. McClure, is that the InterTribal Fish Commission is very supportive of the testimony that the Nez Perce Tribal Executive made this morning.