June 4, 2004

Locally developed plans that will guide future fish and wildlife projects in the Columbia River Basin are now available for public review and comment. The draft plans were submitted to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council last week following a remarkable, one-and-a-half-year collaboration among local landowners, state, federal and local governments, Indian tribes, and interest groups representing industries and environmental advocates.

A total of 59 draft subbasin plans were submitted to the Council for tributary subbasins in Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon. The plans are posted here, and will be available for public review and comment through August 12. Collectively, the plans represent the largest compilation of data on fish, wildlife and environmental conditions ever in the Columbia River Basin

The plans will be reviewed by the Council's Independent Scientific Review Panel and also by state and federal fish and wildlife agencies and Indian tribes. The Council will adopt the plans into its Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program in November or December. Once they are part of the program, the plans will inform the Council's annual recommendations to the Bonneville Power Administration on projects to implement the fish and wildlife program. In recent years these expenditures have averaged $139 million per year.

"Subbasin plans will improve the project selection and review process by providing a more complete and specific base of information on the status of fish and wildlife populations in each tributary subbasin," said Council Chair Judi Danielson, an Idaho member of the four-state agency. "They also will provide linkages to other planning processes for improving fish and wildlife survival. The plans will help us to better target where we invest the public's resources and will improve the financial accountability of the program."

Bob Lohn, Northwest regional administrator of NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency that implements the Endangered Species Act for salmon and steelhead, said the plans will form an important part of the foundation of recovery plans for threatened and endangered species in the Columbia River Basin.

"Subbasin plans represent a new threshold of understanding about fish and wildlife and their habitat," Lohn said. "The plans will contribute significantly to recovery planning, and to monitoring the results of the actions that implement our own recovery plans."

In Idaho, subbasin planning brought together people and interests literally throughout the state, as nearly all of the state is within the Columbia River Basin.

?We worked hard to design a collaborative process that not only would bring together all interested parties and governments for the purpose of subbasin planning but also provide a foundation for working together on natural resources issues in the future,? Idaho Council member Jim Kempton said.

In Montana, two subbasin plans were developed, one for the Flathead River system and the other for the Kootenai. Both were complex and challenging  The Kootenai was a unique challenge as it begins in British Columbia, flows south into Montana, west into Idaho and north back into British Columbia before joining the Columbia. Plan development, then, involved coordination among local citizens, Indian tribes, fish and wildlife agencies, water management agencies, two states and Canadian officials.

?Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes coordinated the planning in the Kootenai and Flathead, respectively, and did a great job,? said Montana member Ed Bartlett, Chair of the Council's Fish and Wildlife Committee. ?The successful completion of the plans is a tribute to all those who contributed to this unique collaboration.?

In Oregon subbasin planning teams were formed at the local level, and membership varied. Planning groups included representatives of local landowners, soil and water conservation districts, local governments, non-government organizations, state agencies, tribal governments, federal agencies and industry representatives.

?The key is local buy-in. Oregon favored an approach of local planning groups producing plans that have local support and local implementation,? said Oregon member and Council Vice-Chair Melinda Eden. ?We hope to tap a variety of funding sources to implement these plans in a cost-effective manner ? Bonneville ratepayer money, state and federal funds and private sources.?

In Washington, the state's four regional salmon recovery boards played a major role in developing the plans, as did the Intermountain Province Oversight Committee, which included representatives of local governments and Indian tribes in the northeastern part of the state.

?Washington salmon recovery boards are an important part of the success of subbasin planning in our state,? said Washington member Tom Karier of Spokane. ?The boards were the essential link between a wide range of interest groups and the fish and wildlife experts.?

Subbasin planning is unique for the size of the effort and its collaborative nature. For the first time in the Columbia River Basin, which includes parts of seven states and British Columbia, government agencies and citizens with expertise in the local environment and economy collaborated to develop plans for all fish and wildlife, including threatened and endangered species. It was important to the Council that subbasin plans be developed from the local level and not be created solely by government. The public response to the Council's approach was supportive. Local, state, federal and tribal governments collaborated in developing the plans, as did watershed councils, consumer and industry groups and others with interests in fish, wildlife and water. Literally hundreds of people were involved in the planning efforts throughout the Columbia River Basin.

Each subbasin plan includes an assessment of environmental conditions, an inventory of existing fish and wildlife populations, and a management plan for addressing problems and improving survival of species. The plans are designed to integrate state, federal and tribal goals for fish and wildlife recovery, including the Endangered Species Act.

The Power and Conservation Council has two voting members from each state, headquarters in Portland, and regional state offices. The Council develops and implements a program to protect, mitigate and enhance fish and wildlife of the Columbia River Basin that have been affected by hydropower dams while also assuring the Northwest an adequate, efficient, economical and reliable power supply.