Upper Columbia Salmon Reintroduction a Key Feature of Extending Talks to Resolve Columbia River Legal Challenge

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Published: Monday, 22 August 2022 18:29

A joint motion was granted to extend the pause in litigation (called a “stay”) challenging the Columbia River System Operations 2020 Environmental Impact Statement and Biological Opinion for salmon and steelhead.

“Specific to reintroduction,” states Exhibit 2 of the motion, “the Administration commits to developing and implementing a plan to explore providing full support for and funding of Phase II reintroduction actions as well as other reintroduction efforts in the Upper Columbia River. The Administration commits to summarizing the status of the plan and progress on its implementation for these actions by December 30, 2022.”

As previously reported, the Spokane Tribe of Indians and Coeur d’Alene Tribe became parties to the litigation in 2021 because operation of the Federal Columbia River Operation System continues to cut off salmon, steelhead and lamprey access to the upper Columbia River above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee dams. By blocking this access, 40% of the previously occupied anadromous habitat in the Columbia River Basin was lost.

The Administration used the services of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to facilitate the level of dialog and engagement necessary to achieve the stay. This work included the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration drafting a report “Rebuilding Interior Columbia Basin Salmon and Steelhead.”

A priority action listed by the draft report is “Passage and reintroduction into priority blocked areas, including upper Columbia River.” Specifically,

“For upper Columbia River stocks, it is essential to provide passage into blocked areas. Establishing adult and juvenile passage to and from areas of the upper Columbia River blocked by high-head dams provides the highest and only reasonable likelihood of achieving mid-range CBP [Columbia Basin Partnership] goals for upper Columbia River stocks by 2050. This action helps address the blocked area threat by providing access to additional and more productive spawning and nursery areas.”

Although Columbia River Treaty negotiations remain a black box, the report also notes the urgency of “Maintaining and enhancing flow augmentation from Columbia River Treaty and U.S. storage projects for spring and summer juvenile migration.”

The Administration also committed NOAA and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to review comments to the draft report within 30 days of the close of the comment period, which is likely to be September 30^th unless the comment period is extended.