"If we're serious about protecting salmon habitat on the Columbia, the first thing we've got to do is protect the last undammed, undeveloped stretch of the river," explained Smith. "It's absolutely necessary to take this first step in restoring the Northwest's salmon runs."

Joining Smith in introducing H.R. 1477, The Hanford Reach of the Columbia River Protection Act, are Representatives Norm Dicks and Jim McDermott, Democrats from Washington state, and Representatives Elizabeth Furse and Earl Blumenauer, Oregon Democrats. "As the only sponsor on the Resources Committee, which is where this bill will go, I hope to play a major role in passing this bill," said Smith.

H.R. 1477 is a companion bill to legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D- Wash) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

The purpose of the bill is to "protect the natural, cultural, scenic and recreational resources of the Reach; to encourage education and interpretation of the Reach, and to restore and enhance the natural habitat of the Tri-Cities river shore downstream of the Reach.

The Act would amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to include the fifty miles of the mid- Columbia known as the Hanford Reach as a recreational river.

Although Senator Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) and Representative Doc Hastings (R-Pasco) have argued for local management of the river, federal designation of the Reach as a Wild and Scenic River is the best approach, said Smith. "Since the federal government oversees most of the river, because of the Bonneville Power Administration and the surrounding dams, as well as the Hanford nuclear site, it makes sense that the federal government should also take the responsibility of protecting the last wild stretch of the river," he said. "It doesn't make sense to split up jurisdiction among three counties."