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    Integrating energy and the environment in the Columbia River Basin

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    • Fish and Wildlife Planning
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  • Fish and Wildlife

    The Council works to protect and enhance fish and wildlife in the Columbia River Basin. Its Fish & Wildlife Program guides project funding by the Bonneville Power Administration.

    Fish & Wildlife overview

    The Fish and Wildlife Program

    • Fish and Wildlife Program 2018/19 Amendment Process
    • 2014 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program
    • Subbasin Plans
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    Independent Review Groups

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    Forums and Workgroups

    • Asset Management Subcommittee
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    Topics

    • Adaptive Management
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  • Energy

    The Council develops a plan, updated every five years, to ensure the region’s power supply and acquire cost-effective energy efficiency.

    Energy overview

    THE NORTHWEST POWER PLAN

    • The 2021 Northwest Power Plan
    • The Seventh Power Plan
    • Planning Process and Past Power Plans

    TECHNICAL TOOLS AND MODELS

    • Regional Portfolio Model
    • Generation Evaluation System Model (GENESYS)

    Energy Advisory Committees

    • Conservation Resources Advisory Committee
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    Energy Topics

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    Energy Forums and Workgroups

    • Pacific NW Demand Response Project
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  • Meetings
    See next Council meeting December 10, 2019 in Portland › See all meetings ›

    View all council meetings View full calendar

    Recent and Upcoming Meetings

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    • Jun 2019 Tue Wed 11 - 12
      Council Meeting
    • Jun 2019 Tue 18
      9:00 am—4:00 pm RTF Meeting: June 18, 2019 9:00 am—11:00 am Hatchery Workgroup
    • Jun 2019 Mon 24
      9:00 am—12:00 pm Council Work Session for Fish and Wildlife Program Amendments
    • Jun 2019 Thu 27
      10:30 am—12:00 pm Asset Management Subcommittee
    • Jul 2019 Tue Wed 16 - 17
      Council Meeting
    • Jul 2019 Tue 23
      9:00 am—4:00 pm RTF Meeting: July 23, 2019
    • Jul 2019 Thu 25
      9:30 am—3:30 pm Conservation Resources Adv. Committee - 2021 Power Plan
    • Aug 2019 Mon 12
      1:00 pm—5:00 pm Regional Coordination Forum
    • Aug 2019 Tue Wed 13 - 14
      Council Meeting
    • Aug 2019 Tue 13
      5:00 pm—6:30 pm Public Hearing on Proposed Amendments to the Fish and Wildlife Program
    • Aug 2019 Tue 20
      9:00 am—3:00 pm Generating Resources / System Analysis Advisory Committees meeting
    • Aug 2019 Wed 21
      9:30 am—3:45 pm Demand Response Advisory Committee 5:00 pm—6:30 pm Public Hearing on Proposed Amendments to the Fish and Wildlife Program
    • Aug 2019 Thu 22
      5:00 pm—6:30 pm Public Hearing on Proposed Amendments to the Fish and Wildlife Program
    • Aug 2019 Mon 26
      1:30 pm—3:30 pm Resource Adequacy Advisory Committee - Technical Committee
    • Aug 2019 Tue 27
      9:00 am—4:00 pm RTF Meeting: August 27, 2019
    • Aug 2019 Fri 30
      10:00 am—11:00 am RAAC Steering Committee WEBINAR
    • Sep 2019 Tue 10
      9:30 am—12:30 pm Demand Forecast Advisory Committee
    • Sep 2019 Wed 11
      9:30 am—12:00 pm RTF Policy Advisory Committee Meeting
    • Sep 2019 Thu 12
      12:00 pm—1:30 pm Columbia Basin Habitat RM&E Strategy Webinar
    • Sep 2019 Tue Wed 17 - 18
      Council Meeting
    • Sep 2019 Tue 17
      5:00 pm—6:30 pm Public Hearing on Proposed Amendments to the Fish and Wildlife Program
    • Sep 2019 Tue 24
      9:00 am—4:00 pm RTF Meeting: September 24, 2019
    • Sep 2019 Wed 25
      9:00 am—3:00 pm Generating Resources Advisory Committee
    • Sep 2019 Mon 30
      5:00 pm—6:30 pm Public Hearing on Proposed Amendments to the Fish and Wildlife Program
    • Oct 2019 Tue 01
      10:00 am—12:00 pm Demand Response Adv. Comm. Webinar - Draft Residential DR Product Assumptions 1:30 pm—4:30 pm Columbia Basin Habitat RM&E Strategy Workshop #1 5:00 pm—6:30 pm Public Hearing on Proposed Amendments to the Fish and Wildlife Program 5:00 pm—6:30 pm Public Hearing on Proposed Amendments to the Fish and Wildlife Program
    • Oct 2019 Tue 08
      1:00 pm—4:00 pm Large-group Technical Consultation on the Fish and Wildlife Program
    • Oct 2019 Tue Wed 15 - 16
      Council Meeting
    • Oct 2019 Tue 15
      5:00 pm—6:30 pm Public Hearing on Proposed Amendments to the Fish and Wildlife Program
    • Oct 2019 Tue 22
      9:00 am—4:00 pm RTF Meeting: October 22, 2019
    • Oct 2019 Wed 23
      9:00 am—12:00 pm Columbia Basin Habitat RM&E Strategy Workshop-Boise
    • Oct 2019 Thu 24
      9:30 am—3:30 pm Conservation Resources Advisory Committee
    • Oct 2019 Mon 28
      9:00 am—12:00 pm Columbia Basin Habitat RM&E Strategy Workshop - The Dalles 1:00 pm—3:00 pm Informal Hatchery Workgroup
    • Oct 2019 Tue 29
      9:30 am—3:00 pm Generating Resources Advisory Committee
    • Oct 2019 Wed 30
      9:30 am—3:45 pm Demand Response Advisory Committee
    • Nov 2019 Wed 06
      9:30 am—2:30 pm System Analysis Advisory Committee
    • Nov 2019 Tue Wed 12 - 13
      Council Meeting
    • Nov 2019 Wed 13
      1:00 pm—4:00 pm Columbia Basin Habitat RM&E Strategy Workshop - Portland
    • Nov 2019 Thu 14
      9:00 am—11:00 am Proposal Form Webinar - Resident Fish and Sturgeon Review
    • Nov 2019 Mon 18
      12:30 pm—3:30 pm Columbia Basin Habitat RM&E Strategy Workshop - Wenatchee
    • Nov 2019 Tue 19
      9:00 am—4:00 pm RTF Meeting: November 19, 2019
    • Dec 2019 Wed 04
      9:00 am—2:30 pm Conservation Resources Advisory Committee
    • Dec 2019 Thu 05
      9:00 am—11:00 am Proposal Form Webinar - Resident Fish and Sturgeon Review
    • Dec 2019 Fri 06
      9:30 am—3:00 pm Generating Resources Advisory Committee
    • Dec 2019 Tue 10
      Council Meeting via Webinar
    • Dec 2019 Thu 12
      9:30 am—3:30 pm Demand Response Advisory Committee
    • Dec 2019 Mon 16
      5:30 pm—7:30 pm Town Hall Meeting on Modernizing the Columbia River Treaty
    • Dec 2019 Tue 17
      9:00 am—4:00 pm RTF Meeting: December 17, 2019
    • Dec 2019 Wed 18
      9:00 am—12:00 pm Natural Gas Advisory Comm. Webinar
    • Dec 2019 Thu 19
      1:30 pm—4:30 pm System Analysis Advisory Comm. WEBINAR
    • Jan 2020 Tue 07
      9:00 am—3:00 pm Generating Resource Advisory Committee
    • Jan 2020 Tue Wed 14 - 15
      Council Meeting
    • Jan 2020 Wed 22
      9:00 am—4:00 pm RTF Meeting: January 22, 2020
    • Jan 2020 Thu 23
      1:00 pm—4:00 pm System Analysis Advisory Comm. WEBINAR
    • Jan 2020 Wed 29
      9:30 am—3:30 pm Conservation Resources Advisory Committee
    • Feb 2020 Mon 10
      12:00 pm—5:00 pm Regional Coordination Forum
    • Feb 2020 Tue Wed 11 - 12
      Council Meeting
    • Feb 2020 Wed 19
      9:00 am—4:00 pm RTF Meeting: February 19, 2020
    • Feb 2020 Thu 20
      9:30 am—3:30 pm Demand Response Advisory Committee
    • Mar 2020 Tue Wed 17 - 18
      Council Meeting
    • Mar 2020 Tue 24
      9:00 am—4:00 pm RTF Meeting: March 24, 2019
    • Apr 2020 Tue Wed 14 - 15
      Council Meeting
    • Apr 2020 Tue 21
      9:00 am—4:00 pm RTF Meeting: April 21, 2020
    • May 2020 Tue Wed 12 - 13
      Council Meeting
    • May 2020 Tue 19
      9:00 am—4:00 pm RTF Meeting: May 19, 2020
    View Council Meetings View all Meetings
  • Reports and Documents

    Browse reports and documents relevant to the Council's work on fish and wildlife and energy planning, as well as administrative reports.

    Browse reports

    Reports by Topic

    • Power Plan
    • Fish and Wildlife Program
    • Subbasin Plans
    • Financial Reports
    • Independent Scientific Advisory Board
    • Independent Scientific Review Panel
    • Independent Economic Analysis Board

    Columbia River History Project

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Hwui Shan

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It is well documented that Robert Gray sailed into the estuary of the Columbia River, and thus discovered it, 1792 and that 17 years earlier, in 1792, Bruno Heceta described the mouth of the river and, while unable to enter it, named its northern and southern capes. But these explorers were not the first to leave a written record of their voyages and discoveries along the Pacific coast. The first record, although not specifically about the Columbia, was much earlier.

In the year 458, a Chinese monk named Hwui Shan, accompanied by four other monks, sailed north to Japan and the Kamchatka Peninsula, east to the Aleutians and present-day Alaska, and then south along the Pacific coast, a region called Fu-Sang in Hwui Shan’s narrative of the voyage. Fu-Sang apparently encompassed the entire Pacific Coast from Alaska to Baja California. Hwui Shan’s descriptions of native peoples and their customs are detailed and accurate, based on what modern historians know about those ancient cultures. The journey is recorded in official documents of the Sung dynasty for the year 499,when the monks returned to China. They apparently reached Fu-Sang at about the time of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, 476 AD, stayed for a period of years and then returned to China. 

The accuracy of this story has long been hotly debated, for Hwui Shan also wrote about the weird “Kingdom of Women” the monks encountered, whose inhabitants were half human and breastless. But exaggeration was common in early accounts of western exploration. Twelve centuries after Hwui Shan, Spaniards searched what is now northern Mexico and the American Southwest for the Seven Cities of Gold and a race of three-breasted women.

Modern historians generally accept the Chinese account as authentic. The larger debate is over the significance of the voyage. The five monks did not claim Fu-Sang for their emperor, as their expedition was not one of conquest. Their intent apparently was only to observe and learn. And as such, their visit is little more than a historical footnote, a curiosity. But assuming it is true, and it seems plausible enough, then the first recorded exploration to pass the mouth of the Columbia River was the voyage of Hwui Shan, more than 1,300 years before the arrival of European explorers.

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