U.S. and tribes agree to bring back salmon above dams

The Biden-Harris administration last week announced a historic agreement to support tribally led efforts to restore salmon populations in the Upper Columbia River Basin.

The agreement between the United States, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, and the Spokane Tribe of Indians will fund efforts to test the feasibility of, and ultimately to reintroduce salmon in blocked habitats in the Upper Basin.

The pact includes $200 million over 20 years from the Bonneville Power Administration, the federal power marketing administration under the Department of Energy, to advance the tribally led implementation plan. The Department of the Interior also announced it is providing $8 million over two years through the Bureau of Reclamation to support these efforts. 

The Upper Columbia River Basin historically supported abundant wild salmon, steelhead, and native resident fish, which critically supported thriving tribal cultures and communities as the staples of their daily diets and ceremony. The agreement was announced Sept. 21 at a ceremonial signing at Interior with Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, tribes, agency leaders, and other senior Biden-Harris administration officials. 

“Since time immemorial, Tribes along the Columbia River System have relied on Pacific salmon, steelhead, and other native fish species for sustenance and their cultural and spiritual ways of life. Today’s historic agreement is integral to helping restore healthy and abundant fish populations to these communities,” Haaland said.

White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory called the agreement a “crucial step in delivering sustainable long-term solutions to restore abundant fish runs in the Columbia River Basin while also acknowledging and accounting for the many services the Upper River system provides today: flood risk, energy, and water supply.” 

For over a decade, the Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT) – which includes the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Spokane Tribe of Indians, Kalispel Tribe of Indians, and Kootenai Tribe of Idaho – have worked to develop a scientifically rigorous phased plan to study the feasibility of, and then ultimately implement, a reintroduction program into the blocked areas.

The four-part phased effort is currently in the Phase 2 Implementation Plan (P2IP) stage, which involves scientifically based research over the next 20 years to establish sources of donor and brood stocks for reintroduction, test key biological assumptions, guide management actions, develop interim hatchery and passage facilities, and evaluate success. 

“In 1940, Tribes from around the Northwest gathered at Kettle Falls for a Ceremony of Tears to mourn the loss of salmon at their ancestral fishing grounds. Today the federal government is taking a major step toward righting that historic wrong by committing to support the tribally led, science-driven reintroduction of salmon above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee dams,” said Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Chairman Jarred-Michael Erickson. “Together as partners, we will bring salmon back where they belong — to the waters of the Upper Columbia. The Colville Tribes looks forward to our children celebrating a Ceremony of Joy when salmon are permanently restored to their ancestral waters.”