<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><HTML><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" FAMILY="SERIF" SIZE="1"><BR>
<BR>
<BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times" FAMILY="SERIF" SIZE="2"><B>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE LAUDS LEGISLATION FOR PROTECTION OF TRINITY RIVER RESTORATION<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times" FAMILY="SERIF" SIZE="2">Media Contacts: Clifford Lyle Marshall (530) 625-4211 ext. 161<BR>
Mike Orcutt (530) 625-4267 ext. 13<BR>
Tod Bedrosian (916) 421-5121<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times" FAMILY="SERIF" SIZE="2"><B>Hoopa, Calif.</B></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times" FAMILY="SERIF" SIZE="2"> – The Hoopa Valley Tribe lauded north coast Congressman Mike Thompson for his introduction Thursday of a bill to adequately fund the restoration of the Trinity River, which bisects the tribe’s reservation, and has been the focal point of decades of fishery restoration studies, litigation and bureaucratic short-changing. Thompson decided to introduce the bill (H.R. 2733) after a Hoopa delegation visited him to express concern that Trinity River restoration funding was being diminished by a plan to restore the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley. <BR>
<BR>
“The Hoopa Valley Tribe is supportive of river restoration throughout California, but legislation to restore the San Joaquin River has a funding plan that will significantly reduce environmental restoration funding from the Central Valley Project restoration fund,” said Clifford Lyle Marshall, Chairman of the Hoopa Valley Tribe. “The Hoopa Valley Tribe sent a delegation to Washington, D.C. to alert Congressman Thompson of the potential harm to the fishery based communities dependent on the Trinity River, and he reacted to our concerns.” <BR>
<BR>
Marshall anticipates working with San Joaquin River restoration advocates to support tandem legislation to benefit both rivers. “We will gladly be part of a coalition to restore both rivers, but after three decades of legislation, litigation and cooperative studies that have produced the solid science for restoring the river, we cannot agree to new legislation that will undermine the federal government’s promise to restore the Trinity River.” Marshall said the Trinity River, which is the largest tributary to the Klamath River, is the “workhorse” that produces more than 50 percent of the fall Chinook salmon in the Klamath River basin. The loss of habitat and dramatically declining fish populations in the rivers caused the federal government to declare a commercial fishing moratorium this year along 700 miles of the California and Oregon coasts. President Bush recently signed Congressman Thompson’s legislation to provide financial relief to north coast fishermen. <BR>
<BR>
<BR>
In past decades the Hoopa Valley Tribe has been a leading supporter of restoration of the Trinity River. “Our tribe has been linked to the river for 10,000 years, but this river is important to many others. “With Mike Thompson’s leadership and the support of long-time Trinity River advocate, Congressman George Miller, the north coast community has never had a better opportunity to bring the Trinity River back,” said Marshall. <BR>
<BR>
Thompson’s bill would be a building block towards a permanent financial foundation for Trinity River restoration, according to Mike Orcutt, Director of the Hoopa Valley Tribal Fisheries Department. “The Trinity River has not been adequately funded in past years. Even though the restoration program is supported by decades of science and has survived years of litigation, we still have had difficulty attaining enough federal funding to accomplish the restoration. I hope this legislation opens a new chapter for the river’s restoration,” he said.<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
- 30 - <BR>
<BR>
<BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2"></FONT><BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> See what's free at http://www.aol.com.</HTML>