This report satisfies a provision of the 1996 Amendment to the 1980 Northwest Power Act, which charges the Independent Scientific Review Panel (ISRP) to provide a retrospective report of the results of prior-year expenditures to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. The scope of past ISRP reviews has for the most part been limited to specific projects. With this report the ISRP enlarges the perspective and evaluates the cumulative effect of our reviews on program accountability, project effectiveness, and scientific soundness. The ISRP hopes that this report sets the stage for successive retrospective reviews that examine measurable benefits to fish and wildlife and provide biological information for the Council's evaluation of Fish and Wildlife Program expenditures and effectiveness.

This report has two major sections. The first section discusses the ISRP review process from 1997 through 2005 and its results. The second section covers major programmatic themes including, in order: research, monitoring and evaluation (RM&E); habitat and passage in the mainstem Columbia River (including white sturgeon, lamprey and exotic species); tributary habitat; wildlife; artificial production; and the ocean and estuary. The report also includes an appendix that describes the development of the peer review process in greater detail than the main report.