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It has come to my attention that an external review is currently being conducted to evaluate the usefulness of Reclamation's Denver Technical Service Center (DTSC). Having worked with staff from the DTSC for over eight years, I was asked by Dr. Mark Bowen if I might provide some input to the process regarding research they have conducted in the Yakima Basin. Like all heavily regulated river basins in the western United States, the Yakima has many challenging problems which must be addressed in order to preserve and protect fishery resources while continuing to supply agriculture with the necessary water to sustain local economies. It is a complex and difficult task which requires good science to guide sound management decisions. I know more than a little about this subject. Currently, and for the last eight years, I have served as the federal representative on the System Operations Advisory Committee (SOAC). SOAC was formed in 1981 on the order of the Federal Eastern District Court to advise Reclamation's Yakima Field Office (YFO) concerning Yakima Project operations as they affect the anadromous and resident fisheries (other committee members include a representative from the irrigation districts, the Yakama Nation, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife). Our recommendations are, by absolute necessity, scientifically based and it has been our good fortune to have information obtained through research conducted by the DTSC on numerous occasions. Mrs. Cathy Karp, Dr. Mark Bowen, and Mr. Steve Hiebert have all contributed significantly to our body of knowledge in the Yakima River Basin. Mrs. Karp's work tracking radio-tagged steelhead has provided much needed information on migration patterns and habitat use. Her work has also been invaluable in evaluating the steelhead kelt reconditioning program, an ongoing effort conducted by the Yakima-Klickitat Fisheries Project to significantly increase the incidence of repeat spawning by this threatened species. Dr. Bowen has completed a hyporheic flow study that informed us on the relationship between surface and subsurface flow conditions, allowing for more efficient use of stored water while preserving Chinook salmon spawning success. Steve Hiebert has completed numerous studies (e.g. Tieton Dam entrainment study, reservoir productivity), all aimed at balancing competing water demands in an environmentally responsible manner consistent with federal environmental regulations. I believe our ability to obtain this type of scientific information would decrease significantly if DTSC research activities were curtailed in the basin. Private sector contractors are undoubtedly more expensive and budgets are getting ever tighter. In fact, SOAC has requested that theYFO seek funding for two studies in the last year that were reluctantly denied due to budgetary constraints. Funding available through the Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board and BPA will both see significant cuts this year with the clear indication that research proposals will receive a much lower priority than on-the-ground habitat restoration projects. In short, research money is drying up at the worst possible time. The services provided by the DTSC have been extremely useful to us here in the Yakima Basin. I seriously doubt the research which staff has conducted would have taken place without their involvement. Furthermore, the DTSC is adept at developing research proposals to provide information that assists managers in both meeting water demand and regulatory requirements. This perspective is inherently governmental and fully consistent with Reclamation?s mission??to develop and conserve water and related resources." On behalf of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, I sincerely hope the DTSC remains active in the Yakima River Basin. Thanks for your consideration in this matter.	07/13/2006

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It has come to my attention that an external review is currently being conducted to evaluate the usefulness of Reclamation's Denver Technical Service Center (DTSC). Having worked with staff from the DTSC for over eight years, I was asked by Dr. Mark Bowen if I might provide some input to the process regarding research they have conducted in the Yakima Basin. Like all heavily regulated river basins in the western United States, the Yakima has many challenging problems which must be addressed in order to preserve and protect fishery resources while continuing to supply agriculture with the necessary water to sustain local economies. It is a complex and difficult task which requires good science to guide sound management decisions. I know more than a little about this subject.

Currently, and for the last eight years, I have served as the federal representative on the System Operations Advisory Committee (SOAC). SOAC was formed in 1981 on the order of the Federal Eastern District Court to advise Reclamation's Yakima Field Office (YFO) concerning Yakima Project operations as they affect the anadromous and resident fisheries (other committee members include a representative from the irrigation districts, the Yakama Nation, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife). Our recommendations are, by absolute necessity, scientifically based and it has been our good fortune to have information obtained through research conducted by the DTSC on numerous occasions.

Mrs. Cathy Karp, Dr. Mark Bowen, and Mr. Steve Hiebert have all contributed significantly to our body of knowledge in the Yakima River Basin. Mrs. Karp's work tracking radio-tagged steelhead has provided much needed information on migration patterns and habitat use. Her work has also been invaluable in evaluating the steelhead kelt reconditioning program, an ongoing effort conducted by the Yakima-Klickitat Fisheries Project to significantly increase the incidence of repeat spawning by this threatened species. Dr. Bowen has completed a hyporheic flow study that informed us on the relationship between surface and subsurface flow conditions, allowing for more efficient use of stored water while preserving Chinook salmon spawning success. Steve Hiebert has completed numerous studies (e.g. Tieton Dam entrainment study, reservoir productivity), all aimed at balancing competing water demands in an environmentally responsible manner consistent with federal environmental regulations.

I believe our ability to obtain this type of scientific information would decrease significantly if DTSC research activities were curtailed in the basin. Private sector contractors are undoubtedly more expensive and budgets are getting ever tighter. In fact, SOAC has requested that theYFO seek funding for two studies in the last year that were reluctantly denied due to budgetary constraints. Funding available through the Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board and BPA will both see significant cuts this year with the clear indication that research proposals will receive a much lower priority than on-the-ground habitat restoration projects. In short, research money is drying up at the worst possible time.

The services provided by the DTSC have been extremely useful to us here in the Yakima Basin. I seriously doubt the research which staff has conducted would have taken place without their involvement. Furthermore, the DTSC is adept at developing research proposals to provide information that assists managers in both meeting water demand and regulatory requirements. This perspective is inherently governmental and fully consistent with Reclamation?s mission??to develop and conserve water and related resources." On behalf of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, I sincerely hope the DTSC remains active in the Yakima River Basin.

Thanks for your consideration in this matter.

07/13/2006