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PRESERVING THE HANFORD REACH
1995 FWOC
Resolution
No. 9:
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The last fifty-five miles
of free-flowing waters remaining in the lower Columbia River is known
as the "Hanford Reach." This Reach lies downstream of Wenatchee
on the north to the Tri-Cities area to the south.
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This stretch of the
Columbia River has many outstanding natural resource values. It
contains the major portion of the Columbia River's only major spawning
grounds for anadromous fish, including salmon and steelhead, and also
for native sturgeon. It provides a safe haven for forty-eight
rare, or threatened, or endangered species, such as the bald eagle, the
peregrine falcon, the pallid bat, the Columbia pebble snail, and the
dwarf evening primrose. The Reach also is bounded by the state's
last (and best) shrub-steppe habitat that functions as an intact system.
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Its islands and riparian
areas are alive with rookeries of great blue heron and colonies of
gulls, besides containing bald eagle roosts and fawning grounds for
deer. Thousands of migrating geese and other water fowl also use
this stretch of the river as a safe haven place to rest, before
continuing their migrations.
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| The Federation of Western
Outdoor Clubs herewith reaffirms its previous resolution on this matter
(Resolution No. 6 from the 1993 Annual Meeting) that requested the
designation of the Hanford Reach as a Wild and Scenic River, and, as
such, be managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. |
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FWOC members and member clubs are urged to
send a copy of this resolution to the parties designated below, along
with any of their comments of their own on this issue:
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Congressional Delegation of the State of
Washington
The Governor of the State
of Washington
and to:
Mollie Beattie, Director
U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service
Washington, D.C. 20240
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