October 2009 Issue

See all presentations from the October Council meeting.

Council Approves High-level Indicators to Track Progress of Fish and Wildlife Actions

Council members approved three high-level indicators that will be used to monitor the progress of the Council's Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program: 1) abundance of fish and wildlife; 2) hydrosystem survival and passage; and 3) Council actions. The indicators will be used to report to Congress and the Northwest's governors.

Federal Agencies' Update on Obama Administration's Adaptive Management Implementation Plan

Steve Wright, administrator for the Bonneville Power Administration, Barry Thom, acting regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries, and Bill McDonald, Bureau of Reclamation, briefed (1.8mb PowerPoint) Council members on the Obama administration's adaptive management implementation plan, which they said will be an "insurance policy for fish" as part of the federal government's 2008 biological opinion.

Idaho's Consumer-owned Utilities Give Their Perspective

Representatives of the Idaho Consumer-owned Utilities Association presented an overview (570k PDF) of their organization and offered their perspective on signing new 20-year contracts with the Bonneville Power Administration, their concern about future Federal Energy Regulation Commission orders, and their need for additional transmission to serve the state.