For more information:
Bob Lohn, Director
Fish and Wildlife Division
800-452-5161

The program amendment will create fish and wildlife recovery goals and objectives for the entire Columbia River Basin, based on an underlying foundation of ecological science.  This responds directly to a number of recent scientific reviews of the Council's program, all of which called on the Council to develop a comprehensive framework of goals and objectives.

Beginning this month and continuing through April, the Council will seek recommendations for  1) general scientific principles that could be part of the foundation,  2) program goals and objectives, and  3) improvements in program management, coordination with other fish and wildlife agencies, and the selection of projects.  The Council then will develop a draft program and seek public comments throughout the Northwest before completing the effort by September. 

The amended program will be different than the current program in other ways, too.  It will be organized into three levels of increasing ecological complexity -- an overall Columbia River Basin level, an ecological province level representing ten groups of related tributary subbasins, and a level that includes all 53 separate subbasins.  The Council will help coordinate the development of plans for each subbasin and ultimately adopt them into the program.  These plans, which will be developed over a period of several years, will address the unique conditions in each watershed consistent with the amended program's scientific foundation, goals and objectives.  As they are completed, these plans will be adopted into the Council's program.

In amending the program, the Council will utilize the results of the Multi-Species Framework Project, which is the most comprehensive look so far at the large range of alternative approaches to fish and wildlife recovery.  The Framework Project, which was administered by the Council and managed by a committee of state, federal and tribal officials, developed a new and exhaustive data analysis of both the environmental and human effects of each alternative, giving the region the best view yet of the future policy choices.

Meanwhile, the projects approved for 2000 will continue during the transition to a new program, but the Council plans to change the project-selection process, as well.  Rather than review every project every year, the Council and the ISRP will transition to a three-year review cycle.  Under the new cycle, approximately one-third of the Columbia basin will be reviewed each year, with a focus on reviewing projects within ecological provinces -- perhaps three provinces a year.  In this way, the Council and the scientists will conduct a more thorough review, including site visits to view the conditions and results on the ground, and also gain a better understanding of how projects fit together among adjacent subbasins.