November 13, 2002

The Council today accepted delivery of a management plan that is intended to guide future fish and wildlife projects in the Clearwater River subbasin of Idaho. After further review and public comments, the plan will become part of the Council's Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program.

"This plan is the result of years of hard work by a wide variety of individuals within the Clearwater subbasin," said Vice Chair Judi Danielson, an Idaho member of the Council. "Because this is the first subbasin plan to be submitted to the Council, it will help the Council develop processes for consideration of plans from the remaining 60-plus subbasins in the Columbia River Basin."

The Clearwater Subbasin Plan is the first to be completed since 2000, when the Council called for development of subbasin plans to guide implementation of its Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program in the future. The Council's program is designed to mitigate the impact of hydropower dams in the Columbia River Basin. The program guides development of fish and wildlife improvement projects that the Council approves and recommends to the federal Bonneville Power Administration for funding.

Subbasin plans will include assessments of fish and wildlife populations and habitat conditions as a baseline for identifying needs and designing projects. The plans will not be static, but will be reviewed and changed over time as change occurs to fish and wildlife populations and habitat conditions.

"The Clearwater subbasin plan provides an extensive assessment of fish and wildlife populations in the basin and a clear inventory of existing projects and past accomplishments," said Jim Kempton, who serves with Danielson as an Idaho member of the Council. "It meets the technical requirements established by the Council for subbasin plans, and we look forward to the Council's deliberative review."

The Clearwater plan was developed by the Clearwater Policy Advisory Committee, which includes representatives of Idaho County, Potlatch Corporation, Nez Perce National Forest, the Nez Perce Tribe, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Idaho Department of Lands, Idaho Association of Conservation Districts, Clearwater National Forest and NOAA Fisheries.

The Council's acceptance this week is the first step toward amending the plan into the Council's fish and wildlife program. Next, the plan will be reviewed by the Council's Independent Scientific Review Panel (ISRP). The Council then will conduct its own review and undertake a formal rulemaking process, including a public comment period, to adopt the plan into the fish and wildlife program.

Ecovista, a Pullman, Washington firm, provided technical assistance in developing the plan.

The Council is an agency of the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington and is directed by the Northwest Power Act of 1980 to prepare a program to protect, mitigate and enhance fish and wildlife of the Columbia River Basin affected by hydropower dams while also assuring the region an adequate, efficient, economical and reliable power supply.