Overview of subbasin planning

February 2006

In 2005 the Council completed one of the largest locally led watershed planning efforts of its kind in the United States, an effort that resulted in separate plans for 58 tributary watersheds or mainstem segments of the Columbia River. These subbasin plans were developed collaboratively by state and federal fish and wildlife agencies, Indian tribes, local planning groups, fish recovery boards, and Canadian entities where the plans address transboundary rivers. The planning effort was guided by the Council and funded by the Bonneville Power Administration.

Subbasin plans identify priority restoration and protection strategies for habitat and fish and wildlife populations in United States portion of the Columbia River system. The plans will guide the future implementation of the Council’s Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, which directs more than $140 million per year of Bonneville electricity revenues to protect, mitigate and enhance fish and wildlife affected by hydropower dams. Subbasin plans will provide this guidance by providing the context in which proposed projects are reviewed for funding through the Council’s program.

Subbasin plans also integrate strategies and actions funded by others, thus ensuring that each plan serves the Council’s purposes under the Northwest Power Act and also accounts for Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act requirements, and other laws governing natural resource management, as fully as possible.