WASHINGTON – At a Washington event Wednesday evening, Rep. Tom Petri received the 2004 Sockeye Leadership Award, presented jointly by Taxpayers for Common Sense and by Save Our Wild Salmon.

Pat Ford, Executive Director of Save Our Wild Salmon, praised Petri for his efforts in support of the Salmon Recovery Act, which secures the preservation and recovery of the salmon and steelhead of the Columbia River basin in the Northwestern United States.

Jill Lancelot, President of Taxpayers for Common Sense, thanked Petri for recognizing that "we cannot continue to throw billions of dollars at ridiculous recovery strategies that have done nothing to restore this fishery," but instead "has emphasized the need for a recovery plan for these fish that makes scientific and economic sense.

"It's Congressman Petri's vision, his perseverance and his insight that has led to bringing important issues into the limelight - particularly salmon recovery," said Lancelot, who also noted Petri's record of fighting against costly and environmentally damaging water projects such as the Animas-La Plata project in the Southwest, and the proposed Auburn Dam in California.

Nicole Cordan of Save Our Wild Salmon, Jill Lancelot of
Taxpayers for Common Sense, and Rep. Petri