Historic Columbia River Basin Agreement Paves Way for Salmon Restoration, Dam Removal, and Places Hold on Decades of Litigation

By Cole Goodwin

The Dalles, Ore., February 26, 2023 – After years of negotiations and a decades-long court battle over dam operations, a historic partnership agreement has been signed by President Joe Biden, the Governors of Washington and Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Yakama, Umatilla, and Nez Perce, to restore wild salmon populations, expand clean energy production, and reinforce the economic benefits of the Columbia River system.

The agreement represents a $1 billion federal investment and will put a 10-year pause on existing lawsuits while restoration work, research, and implementation work is completed.

“The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative and the U.S. government’s commitments list represent many, many hours of collaboration,”  said Corinne Sams, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Board of Trustees Member, Fish & Wildlife Commission Chair and Chair of the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission.

“They not only address goals for healthy, abundant populations of fish to support Tribal treaty and non-tribal harvest, they also respect the future needs of the Columbia Basin in terms of preparing for climate variability, providing clean, reliable energy, transportation, and recreation. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is very appreciative of the collaboration with the Six Sovereigns and our Federal partners, and looks forward to working together to advance the goals of healthy and abundant salmon for the benefit of current and future generations.”

What the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative Agreement Entails:

The agreement includes a $300 million investment in salmon restoration to honor federal treaty agreements which promise indefinite fishing rights, and that fish would always be available in tribes traditional fishing areas while also finding ways to continue generating power and stimulating the economy.

“The Army Corps is proud to implement actions that will help restore habitat and fish populations in the Columbia River Basin while continuing our support for the regional economy. It is incredibly important that we do this work collaboratively with Tribal Nations to produce results that honor their treaty rights and our trust obligations, producing durable solutions that withstand the impacts of climate change,” said Michael Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.

$100 million will benefit Six Sovereigns for fish restoration projects and $200 million will be provided to modernize and maintain fish hatcheries.

The agreement makes changes to dams water spill schedules. It reduces the amount of water spill from the dams during the summer and fall salmon runs and increases the amount of water spilled during the spring when young fish migrate back to the ocean. The adjustments are meant to maintain power availability while also benefiting fish. 

The agreement commits the federal government to funding studies by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on how to replace services provided by the Lower Snake River (LSR) Dams, to inform Congress’s decision on whether or not to breach the four LSR dams. 

The agreement facilitates the building of one to three gigawatts of Tribal-sponsored clean power generation, which will count toward replacement energy for the lower Snake River dams. Several federal agencies will also provide funding and work in partnership with the State and the Sovereigns to plan for replacement of transportation, recreation, and water supply services provided by the lower Snake River dams.

Does the agreement mean Dam Removal?

The agreement lays the groundwork to breach the lower four Snake River dams but leaves the decision of dam removal up to Congress.

“We are now on a path to breach the four Lower Snake River dams,” said Earthjustice Senior Attorney Amanda Goodin.

“This marks a turning point in our decades-long litigation. Instead of attempting to defend yet another illegal dam operations plan in court, the Biden administration is setting a new course, following the science and the lead of the Tribes and States, to begin to replace the services of the Lower Snake River dams so that they can be breached,” said Goodin.

In the past, The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has spent billions of ratepayer dollars to save the salmon and yet salmon populations have continued to decline. With data showing reports that the population has decreased from 20 million to just 124,000 in 2024. 

“Pacific Northwest salmon are fighting for survival. Their numbers are shrinking, and state, federal and Tribal conservation efforts, while significant, have only managed to slow the decline. Those efforts must be accelerated and must be performed in harmony,” said the Office of Washington Governor Jay Inslee in a press release.

In 2022, Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray commissioned a joint report illustrating several key conclusions and recommendations: Salmon populations are on track for extinction, the dams must one day be breached to save them and protect the federally-guaranteed right of Tribes to fish, and that the enormous economic benefits of the dams must be replaced before the rivers run free.

“The federal dams on the lower Snake and mainstem Columbia rivers have had – and continue to have – devastating impacts on the salmon and our people, burdening our Treaty partnership. So today, as Six Sovereigns joining together with the United States to advance salmon restoration throughout the Basin – including preparation for breach of the four lower Snake River dams – we are also witnessing the restoration of Tribal Treaties to their rightful place under the rule of law. We appreciate President Biden’s commitment to honor Tribal Treaties, and to work in partnership to restore healthy, abundant salmon throughout the Columbia Basin,” said Chairman Shannon F. Wheeler, Nez Perce Tribe.

To read Representative Mike Simpson’s proposal on Lower Snake River Dam breaching and how to replace the services those dams provide click here. 

Minimizing BPA Rate Pressure

“In the agreement signed today, BPA sought to provide our ratepayers operational certainty and reliability while avoiding costly, unpredictable litigation in support of our mission to provide a reliable, affordable power supply to the Pacific Northwest,” said John Hairston, Administrator and CEO of the Bonneville Power Administration.

BPA estimates that the rate impact will be a 0.5% increase in 2026 rising to a cumulative increase of 0.9% by 2035. BPA has said these rate increases are far “far lower and less risky than potential outcomes” if litigation returned to court.

Tribal Leaders Speak Out in Support of the Agreement

“Since time immemorial, the strength of the Yakama Nation and its people have come from Nch’í Wána – the Columbia River – and from the fish, game, roots and berries it nourishes. We have fought to protect and restore salmon because salmon are not just a natural resource, they are a cultural resource,” said Yakama Nation chairman Gerald Lewis.

“The Columbia Basin is facing complex and related problems. Salmon are dying, our fishermen have empty nets, and our families have empty tables. We need more clean energy, but we need to develop it in a way that it is socially just,” said Lewis.“We can and will save our salmon, and working together, we can and will ensure that our communities will have the energy and resources they need for generations to come.”

“For too long we have seen the federal government try to do the minimum amount necessary to pass legal muster under the Endangered Species Act,” said Jonathan W. Smith, Sr., Warm Springs Tribal Council Chairman. “This minimum effort approach has resulted in our fish populations limping along at depressed levels, oftentimes near-extinction and leaving us without enough salmon for our ceremonies, culture, and subsistence. We are optimistic that this first of its kind Presidential Memorandum on the Columbia Basin will chart a new course for the federal government that will lead to true restoration of our fisheries. There is no time to waste, and the Warm Springs Tribe is committed to working with the federal agencies, our fisheries co-managers and Columbia Basin stakeholders through this agreement to make sustainable, healthy and abundant fish returns a reality.”

“As Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) we are bound to the salmon and the rivers – these are our life sources. We will not allow extinction to be an option for the salmon, nor for us. The United States is bound to salmon and to us by Treaty where we reserved all our fisheries – our Treaty is the supreme law of the land under the United States Constitution,” said Chairman Shannon F. Wheeler, Nez Perce Tribe. 

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek and Washington Governor Jay Inslee and President Biden have also voiced their support for the agreement. 

“This successful and unprecedented partnership between the six sovereigns and the United States government has established a shared vision and pathway forward for restoration in both the lower and upper Columbia River Basin. Oregon looks forward to continued collaboration on a successful restoration,” said Oregon Governor Tina Kotek.

“Only through partnership can the dams’ benefits be replaced, new clean power be generated, salmon populations be restored, and the regional economy continue to grow,” read Inslee’s press release.

“The Columbia River System is the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest, and for the first time under his direction, federal agencies are putting all hands on deck to support regional and Tribal efforts to restore wild salmon in the region. This agreement charts a new path to restore the river, provide for a clean energy future and the jobs that come with it, and live up to our responsibilities to Tribal Nations,” said Brenda Mallory, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

For more information on the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative visit Critfc.org.