9414

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9414
• Author: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
• Title: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Annual Report.
• USFW Year: 1997.
• USFW - Doc Type: \
• Copyright Material: NO

FISHERIES CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE

odd War II caused
the devastation of Europe
that created the need for the
Marshall Plan. Although the
devastation of fishery
resources in the U.S. is often
just as complete, there is no
single cause for the decline.
From the eradication of
spawning runs through
building dams without fish
passages; to the loss of riparian
function through harvesting
timber, grazing, and agricul-
tural practices; to urban sprawl;
to pollution and overharvest,
aquatic systems are this coun-
try's most imperiled natural
resource. Just as the Marshall
Plan could not concern itself
with laying blame, but had to
focus on the task of rebuilding
Europe, the fisheries initia-
tive's only concern is reversing
the damage already done.
Throughout the U.S.,
NFWF is building coalitions
of recreational fishermen,
farmers, timber interests, local
governments, environmental-
ists, commercial fishermen,

of recreational

fishermen, farmers,

timber interests,

local governments,

enviro nmenta lists,

commercial fisher-

men, and anyone

else who is willing

to help reverse the

d eel i n e.

22 1997 Annual Report

and anyone else who is willing to help reverse the decline.
Foundation funds must be matched with personal, corporate, or
state funds; and increasingly, with sweat equity: whether from a
state fisheries biologist who identifies the problem and the solu-
tion, a landowner who provides the equipment, or a local environ-
mental community that provides the labor.
For example, in 1997, NFWF made its third grant to the
Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation (OWHF) for their work on
Oregon's southern coast. To date, OWHF has completed restora-
tion projects, primarily to benefit coho salmon, on every major
river system on the Oregon coast. The principal sites for these pro-
jects are private timber lands, and the same timber companies that
own these lands pay for the majority of these activities. While no
single action prevented the U.S. government from choosing not to
list Oregon's coho salmon under the Endangered Species Act, the
cooperation between the landowners, state, and conservation
interests is clearly the principal reason the listing was avoided.
NFWF not only invests in individual projects like OWHF,
but also works with our numerous federal partners on programs