Administration Report Describes Harm Of Dams To Columbia Basin Tribes, White House Sets Up Task Force To Coordinate Basin Salmon Recovery

The Biden Administration this week released a controversial “Tribal Circumstances Analysis” acknowledging the harm 11 Columbia and Snake river dams have inflicted and continue to inflict on Columbia Basin Native American Tribes.

At the same time, the White House Council on Environmental Quality created a new interagency Columbia River Task Force that will coordinate efforts across federal agencies to fulfill its commitments to restore native fish populations. Federal agencies include the departments of Commerce, Energy and Environmental Protection.

These steps advance a historic agreement to work in partnership with Tribes and Pacific Northwest states to restore wild salmon populations in the Columbia River Basin and develop a long-term strategy to meet the clean energy, transportation, and other key needs of the region, a Biden Administration news release says.

“Since time immemorial, Tribes along the Columbia River and its tributaries have relied on Pacific salmon, steelhead and other native fish species for sustenance and their cultural and spiritual ways of life. Acknowledging the devastating impact of federal hydropower dams on Tribal communities is essential to our efforts to heal and ensure that salmon are restored to their ancestral waters,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “As part of our ongoing commitment to honoring our federal commitments to Tribal Nations, the Interior Department will continue to pursue comprehensive and collaborative basin-wide solutions to restore native fish populations, empower Tribes, and meet the many resilience needs of communities across the region.”

A Nez Perce Tribe statement calls the Tribal Circumstances Analysis comprehensive by documenting the “devastating impacts of federal Columbia River dams on Columbia Basin Tribes” and it provides critical recommendations for upholding the federal government’s Treaty and trust responsibilities.

“The United States – by telling the truth about the historic and ongoing injustices the federal dams have imposed on our people and by embracing its Treaty and trust obligations – is upholding the rule of law and highlighting the urgency to act to prevent salmon extinction,” said Shannon Wheeler, Chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee.

“The Tribal Circumstances Analysis is a stark reminder that the federal dams were built on the backs of our Tribal Nations and our people, and continue to decimate our salmon populations and our culture, sovereignty, and way of life,” Wheeler continued. “We know we must act urgently to prevent extinction, and this report reaffirms the need for the United States and us to move forward together as Treaty partners. We look forward to continuing to work with the United States to take bold and immediate actions to ensure a future where our rivers run free, our salmon return in abundance, and our people thrive.”

The Tribal Circumstances Analysis is here. https://www.doi.gov/media/document/tribal-circumstances-analysis

Less enamored with the Biden report is U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-WA, who represents Eastern Washington. She said the report is in bad faith and reflects the Biden Administration’s desire to breach the four lower Snake River dams, all located in Washington.

“This bad faith report is just the latest in a long list of examples that prove the Biden administration’s goal has always been dam breaching. They continue to undermine the honest regional dialogue we need to determine the future of the Columbia River System with a politically-motivated report that — in their own words — ‘is based on limited sources’ and uses ‘examples to support the conclusions.’ This irresponsible means to justify an end is misguided and should not be taken seriously, especially by those who understand the tremendous benefits this critical infrastructure provides to our region.”

The Pacific Northwest Waterways Association said the actions taken by the Biden Administration this week have failed to involve the local communities and economies currently most impacted.

“Our concerns with the Biden Administration’s actions are their excessive lack of transparency and the failure to account for all interests affected by this complex issue,” said Neil Maunu, Executive Director of PNWA and the Inland Ports and Navigation Group.

“We are deeply concerned with the failure to involve local communities that live and work in this region,” the PNWA continued in its news release. “This one-sided approach has not been transparent, as claimed by the Administration. The approach dismisses the tremendous negative impacts on the future of this region’s economy and the environmental harm caused by the breaching of the Lower Snake River dams. The current economy of the tri-state region is reliant on the Snake River and would be devastated by the negative impacts on river commerce, agriculture exports, recreation and tourism, and power generation.

“The Administration professes to support environmental justice, yet this report neglects the interests of millions of residents, including Native American tribes in the region, who rely on the river system’s multi-use benefits today for their livelihoods, bringing more insecurity to marginalized communities and negatively impacting local economies. The Administration must reconsider its one-sided view in favor of an inclusive, holistic approach that equitably serves all stakeholders.”

According to a joint Idaho Senate memorial passed this spring, nearly 10 percent of all U.S. wheat exports are barged through the four dams on the Snake River, and about 50 percent of all Idaho-grown wheat is barged from Lewiston to Portland and then exported to international markets. Removing or breaching the dams would make it unnavigable for farmers to transport those products to port for export, the memorial said.

PNWA is a non-profit trade association that advocates for federal policies and funding in support of regional economic and environmental sustainability. It represents over 150 public ports, navigation, transportation, trade, tourism, agriculture, forest products, energy and local government interests in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho (www.pnwa.net).

Earthjustice, attorneys representing plaintiffs in federal court since 2001 that have challenged the biological opinions of Columbia River federal hydro system operations, said the report is a start.

“This truth-telling from the federal government is a critical step toward remedying historical and ongoing injustice to Columbia Basin Tribes,” said Earthjustice Senior Attorney Amanda Goodin. “The health of salmon, these rivers and the Tribes are inextricably linked. This report underscores the imperative for the Administration and Congress to take all actions necessary to rebuild healthy and abundant salmon and other native species across the Basin, including substantial increases in funding across the Basin and Congressional authorization to breach four Lower Snake River dams.”

The actions recommended in the report should prioritize substantial increases in federal funding for basin restoration, including fully funding the Columbia Basin 10-year fish needs plan once finalized (a forthcoming plan developed under the U.S. Government Commitments), Earthjustice said in a news release.

It should also include working directly with Tribes on energy planning, fish and ecological restoration, working collaboratively with partners across the basin to timely implement the U.S. Government Commitments that were part of the Resilient Columbia Agreement signed last December, and working collaboratively to fully implement the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative, which Earthjustice says “a comprehensive blueprint to restore the Columbia Basin developed by the Yakama, Nez Perce, Umatilla, and Warm Springs Tribes and the states of Oregon and Washington.”

In addition, the organization says, future environmental analyses of the Columbia River System Operations must be informed by this analysis, “including a decision on whether the federal government should recommend that Congress authorize breaching four dams on the Lower Snake River to rebuild the salmon populations that originate there.”

The latest Earthjustice lawsuit in Oregon federal court by the National Wildlife Federation and others challenged the federal government’s 2020 environmental impact statement and BiOp. Judge Michael H. Simon of the U.S. District Court in Oregon stayed that litigation in 2021 to allow White House-mediated discussions on potential solutions, which are now complete. The lawsuit has since been stayed for 10 years.

Established by the CEQ and co-chaired by three federal agencies, the new Columbia River Task Force will coordinate efforts across federal agencies to fulfill the Administration’s commitments to restore native fish populations made last year and in February of this year, says a June 18 CEQ news release.

On Sept. 21, 2023, the Administration signed an agreement with upper Columbia River tribes to restore salmon runs in blocked areas upstream of Grand Coulee/Chief Joseph dams. The agreement included $200 million over 20 years from the Bonneville Power Administration. The agreement, between the United States, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, and the Spokane Tribe of Indians. will fund efforts to test the feasibility of, and ultimately to reintroduce salmon in blocked habitats in the Upper Basin. The Department of the Interior also announced it is providing $8 million over two years through the Bureau of Reclamation to support these efforts.

On Dec. 14, 2023, Oregon and Washington and the leaders of four lower Columbia River tribes (six sovereigns) signed a Memorandum of Understanding that agreed to a broad recovery plan known as the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative and an agreement to stay long-running litigation in federal court for up to 10 years. The MOU was accompanied by a list of commitments and funding by the U.S. government designed to ensure the initiative would be successfully completed.

Although the MOU does not specifically include removing or breaching the four lower Snake River dams, the actions of the MOU coupled with the federal commitments take big steps toward what would be needed before breaching the dams could take place. It would boost clean energy production to help offset the loss of the dams’ hydropower output, and it would build out transportation and provide other benefits provided by the dams if and when Congress could ever agree to breach them.

See CBB, March 1, 2024, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, STATES, TRIBES FORMALLY SIGN BILLION-DOLLAR COLUMBIA BASIN RESTORATION INITIATIVE TO RECOVER SALMON, STEELHEAD, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/BIDEN-ADMINISTRATION-STATES-TRIBES-FORMALLY-SIGN-BILLION-DOLLAR-COLUMBIA-BASIN-RESTORATION-INITIATIVE-TO-RECOVER-SALMON-STEELHEAD/

In late February this year, the Biden administration and the six sovereigns formally signed an agreement committing the federal government to as much as $1 billion to build infrastructure for eventual removal of four lower Snake River dams and to recover salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River basin.

In this week’s announcement, the Administration says that “Federal dams in the Columbia River Basin have long delivered – and continue to deliver – renewable energy and many other benefits. But they have also inflicted – and continue to inflict – grave harms on Tribal communities. Delivering on a key commitment, today the Department of the Interior is releasing a report acknowledging and detailing the historic, ongoing, and cumulative damage and injustices that the federal dams on the Columbia River have caused and continue to cause to Tribal Nations. The report marks the first time the U.S. government has detailed these harms.”

“The Columbia River Task Force will implement President Biden’s vision to develop affordable, clean, and reliable energy options for the region while working to restore wild fish populations and address the grave harms the federal dams have inflicted on Tribal communities,” said Brenda Mallory, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “President Biden recognizes that to confront injustice, we must be honest about history – even when doing so is difficult. The report released today is an important step to recognize and overcome the past together.”

Nik Blosser, who served as chief of staff to former Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, has been tapped by the Administration to lead the Task Force.

The Tribal Circumstances Analysis addresses the impacts of 11 dams in the Columbia River basin, including the four lower Columbia dams (Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, and McNary), the two upper Columbia dams (Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee), the four lower Snake dams (Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite), and Dworshak dam, located on the North Fork Clearwater River.

While doing so it considers the circumstances of eight of the Basin’s Tribal Nations most immediately affected by those dams, including the Coeur d’Alene Tribe of Indians, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, Nez Perce Tribe, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation, and Spokane Tribe of Indians.

The report says that the basin historically supported abundant wild salmon, steelhead and native resident fish (up to 16 million each year), which contributed to thriving Tribal cultures and communities by providing food for over 130 wildlife species and sustenance to Tribal people. “Since time immemorial, members of these Tribes and their ancestors stewarded these native species and relied upon their abundance as the staples of their daily diets and ceremony,” it says.

The construction of the large dams throughout the basin beginning at the turn of the 20th century blocked anadromous fish from migrating into certain reaches, flooded thousands of acres of land, sacred sites, and ancestral burial grounds, and transformed the ecosystem, the report says. As a result, many Tribal communities lost access to anadromous fish in their communities.

The report described how these profound losses have had traumatic impacts on Tribal communities, including by altering traditional diets, depriving Tribal members of the ability to exercise traditional ways of life, and fundamentally changing how Tribal members teach and raise children in the cultural and spiritual beliefs that center around these fish.

The report tells its story in four sections:

1. Columbia River Tribe’s relationships to the Columbia River

This section includes a “discussion of the Tribes’ enduring relationships to the Columbia River, including the First Foods traditions and fishing and hunting rights. It also summarizes more than a century of actions by the treaty Tribes to defend their treaty rights, even when faced with physical harm, arrest, and imprisonment, the report says.

2. Federal Dam Construction, Operations, and Mitigation Actions

Section 2 provides a history of the federal development of dams in the Columbia River Basin, including a brief overview of mitigation efforts.

3. Federal Columbia River and Lower Snake River Dams’ Effects on Tribes

Section III provides the government’s examination and summary of the historic, ongoing, and cumulative effects of the federal hydropower dams on Tribes, based on the perspectives provided by the Tribes over the decades, the report says. These impacts include effects on Tribal villages and homesites; cultural resources and sacred sites; lands, fisheries, and other natural resources; Tribal harvest rights, including treaty rights; economies and livelihoods; and the resulting cumulative impacts from all of these adverse consequences on Tribal ways of life, well-being, and sovereignty.

4. Recommendations for Furthering the United States’ Treaty and Trust Responsibilities and Achieving a Healthy and Resilient Columbia River Basin

Section IV offers recommendations for how the government can, consistent with its treaty commitments and trust responsibilities, better address these impacts, it says.

Recommendations include specific ways the impacts described in this report should inform National Environmental Policy Act and other compliance analyses, actions to strengthen Tribal sovereignty and restore healthy and abundant populations of salmon, fish, and other species, such as advancing Tribally led restoration initiatives and increasing co-stewardship agreements with Tribal Nations.

For background, see:

— CBB, March 1, 2024, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, STATES, TRIBES FORMALLY SIGN BILLION-DOLLAR COLUMBIA BASIN RESTORATION INITIATIVE TO RECOVER SALMON, STEELHEAD, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/BIDEN-ADMINISTRATION-STATES-TRIBES-FORMALLY-SIGN-BILLION-DOLLAR-COLUMBIA-BASIN-RESTORATION-INITIATIVE-TO-RECOVER-SALMON-STEELHEAD/

— CBB, Feb. 9, 2024, FEDERAL JUDGE APPROVES YEARS-LONG PAUSE ON BASIN SALMON RECOVERY LITIGATION SO PARTIES CAN PURSUE TRIBAL-STATES-FEDS RESTORATION PLAN, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/FEDERAL-JUDGE-APPROVES-YEARS-LONG-PAUSE-ON-BASIN-SALMON-RECOVERY-LITIGATION-SO-PARTIES-CAN-PURSUE-TRIBAL-STATES-FEDS-RESTORATION-PLAN/

— CBB, Feb. 9 2024, PUBLIC POWER COUNCIL SEEKS NINTH CIRCUIT REVIEW OF BPA’S ACTIONS REGARDING SALMON RECOVERY MOU, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/PUBLIC-POWER-COUNCIL-SEEKS-NINTH-CIRCUIT-REVIEW-OF-BPAS-ACTIONS-REGARDING-SALMON-RECOVERY-MOU/

–CBB, Feb. 2, 2024, SALMON RECOVERY MOU A SECRET, RADICAL DEAL? REPUBLICANS SAY YES, ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS SAY BRINGS STABILITY, HELPS FISH, CONTAINS COSTS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/salmon-recovery-mou-a-secret-radical-deal-republicans-say-yes-administration-officials-say-brings-stability-helps-fish-contains-costs/

–CBB, Jan. 19, 2024, NEW FILING TAKES ISSUE WITH REQUESTS FOR DISTRICT COURT TO REJECT PROPOSED 5-YEAR DELAY OF COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON LITIGATION, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/new-filing-takes-issue-with-requests-for-district-court-to-reject-proposed-5-year-delay-of-columbia-river-basin-salmon-litigation/

–CBB, Jan. 18, 2024, IF COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON MOU APPROVED BY COURT, WHAT WILL BE THE ROLE OF NORTHWEST POWER/CONSERVATION COUNCIL? HARD TO SAY, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/if-columbia-river-basin-salmon-mou-approved-by-court-what-will-be-the-role-of-northwest-power-conservation-council-hard-to-say/

–CBB, Jan. 5, 2024, IDAHO, MONTANA, UTILITIES, PORTS FILE OPPOSITION TO PROPOSED SALMON RECOVERY MOU, STAY MEDIATED BY BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/IDAHO-MONTANA-UTILITIES-PORTS-FILE-OPPOSITION-TO-PROPOSED-SALMON-RECOVERY-MOU-STAY-MEDIATED-BY-BIDEN-ADMINISTRATION/

See CBB, December 15, 2023, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, TWO STATES, TREATY TRIBES REACH MOU ON COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON RECOVERY, LITIGATION PAUSED FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/biden-administration-two-states-treaty-tribes-reach-mou-on-columbia-river-basin-salmon-recovery-litigation-paused-for-at-least-five-years/

— CBB, Dec. 13, 2023, D.C. SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING: NW GOP LAWMAKERS COMPLAIN ABOUT CONFIDENTIAL (LEAKED) DRAFT SALMON SETTLEMENT TALKS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/d-c-subcommittee-hearing-nw-gop-lawmakers-complain-about-confidential-leaked-draft-salmon-settlement-talks/

— CBB, November 30, 2023, Leaked Court Mediation Document Listing Actions and Commitment for basin Salmon recovery draws objections, questions, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/leaked-court-mediation-document-listing-actions-and-commitments-for-basin-salmon-recovery-draws-objections-questions/

— CBB, November 16, 2023, REPUBLICAN U.S. HOUSE MEMBERS REQUEST ALL CEQ DOCUMENTS RELATED TO MEDIATION, SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS ON LOWER SNAKE DAMS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/republican-u-s-house-members-request-all-ceq-documents-related-to-mediation-settlement-discussions-on-lower-snake-dams/

–CBB, Nov. 3, 2023, COLUMBIA/SNAKE SALMON RECOVERY LAWSUIT ON HOLD AGAIN AS PARTIES SEEK BUY-IN ON ‘ACTIONS AND COMMITMENTS’ NOT YET MADE PUBLIC, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/columbia-snake-salmon-recovery-lawsuit-on-hold-again-as-parties-seek-buy-in-on-actions-and-commitments-not-yet-made-public/

— CBB, Sept. 28, 2023, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION MEMO ORDERS FEDERAL AGENCIES TO REVIEW ALL COLUMBIA BASIN SALMON RECOVERY PROGRAMS, IDENTIFY NEEDS, PRIORITIZE ACTIONS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/biden-administration-memo-orders-federal-agencies-to-review-all-columbia-basin-salmon-recovery-programs-identify-needs-prioritize-actions/

-CBB, Sept. 7, 2023, JUDGE APPROVES THIRD EXTENSION ALLOWING PARTIES IN LAWSUIT OVER COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON RECOVERY TO KEEP TALKING, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/judge-approves-third-extension-allowing-parties-in-lawsuit-over-columbia-river-basin-salmon-recovery-to-keep-talking/

–CBB, June 29, 2023, NW HOUSE REPUBLICANS HOLD FIELD HEARING ON LOWER SNAKE DAMS TITLED ‘THE NORTHWEST AT RISK,’ https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/nw-house-republicans-hold-field-hearing-on-lower-snake-dams-titled-the-northwest-at-risk/

–CBB, June 1, 2023, ONCE AGAIN, FEDERAL ‘LISTENING SESSION’ ON COLUMBIA BASIN SALMON RECOVERY FOCUSES ON BREACHING LOWER SNAKE DAMS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/once-again-federal-listening-session-on-columbia-basin-salmon-recovery-focuses-on-breaching-lower-snake-dams/

— CBB, April 7, 2023, WHITE HOUSE LISTENING SESSIONS HEAR ARGUMENTS ON WHETHER LOWER SNAKE RIVER DAMS SHOULD STAY OR GO, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/WHITE-HOUSE-LISTENING-SESSIONS-HEAR-ARGUMENTS-ON-WHETHER-LOWER-SNAKE-RIVER-DAMS-SHOULD-STAY-OR-GO/

–CBB, August 4, 2022, JUDGE AGREES TO EXTEND STAY ON COLUMBIA/SNAKE SALMON RECOVERY CASE FOR ANOTHER YEAR AS PARTIES SEEK ‘COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTIONS’ https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/judge-agrees-to-extend-stay-on-columbia-snake-salmon-recovery-case-for-another-year-as-parties-seek-comprehensive-solutions/

–CBB, July 15, 2022, WHITE HOUSE ISSUES REPORTS ON BASIN SALMON RECOVERY, COSTS; ‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’ NOT RESTORING ESA-LISTED SALMON, STEELHEAD, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/white-house-issues-reports-on-basin-salmon-recovery-costs-business-as-usual-not-restoring-esa-listed-salmon-steelhead/

— CBB, June 30, 2022, FEDERAL MEDIATORS FOR COLUMBIA BASIN SALMON RECOVERY HOPE FOR EXTENSION OF LITIGATION PAUSE; WOULD GIVE MORE TIME FOR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/federal-mediators-for-columbia-basin-salmon-recovery-hope-for-extension-of-litigation-pause-would-give-more-time-for-comprehensive-plan/

–CBB, March 31, 2022, WHITE HOUSE PLANS ON BEING INVOLVED WITH COLUMBIA BASIN SALMON RECOVERY AS BIOP LITIGATION TALKS CONTINUE; COLLABORATIVE APPROVES A CHARTER, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/white-house-plans-on-being-involved-with-columbia-basin-salmon-recovery-as-biop-litigation-talks-continue-collaborative-approves-a-charter/

— CBB, December 22, 2022, NORTHWEST TRIBAL LEADERS WELCOME NEW COMMITMENTS FROM BIDEN ADMINISTRATION AT WHITE HOUSE TRIBAL NATIONS SUMMIT, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/NORTHWEST-TRIBAL-LEADERS-WELCOME-NEW-COMMITMENTS-FROM-BIDEN-ADMINISTRATION-AT-WHITE-HOUSE-TRIBAL-NATIONS-SUMMIT/

— CBB, October 6, 2022, NOAA FISHERIES FINALIZES ‘REBUILDING’ REPORT TO INFORM DIALOGUE ON COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON RESTORATION, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/NOAA-FISHERIES-FINALIZES-REBUILDING-REPORT-TO-INFORM-DIALOGUE-ON-COLUMBIA-RIVER-BASIN-SALMON-RESTORATION/

— CBB, October 27, 2021, “Federal Judge Approves Pause In Salmon/Steelhead EIS/BiOp Case; Parties ‘In Good Faith Discussions To Resolve Litigation,’” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/federal-judge-approves-pause-in-salmon-steelhead-eis-biop-case-parties-in-good-faith-discussions-to-resolve-litigation/

— CBB, October 22, 2021, “Parties Put Salmon/Steelhead BiOp Litigation On Hold, Commit To Working Together To Find ‘Comprehensive, Long-Term Solution,’” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/parties-put-salmon-steelhead-biop-litigation-on-hold-commit-to-working-together-to-find-comprehensive-long-term-solution/

— CBB, Dec. 11, 2020, OREGON FILES INTENT TO CHALLENGE FEDS’ NEW EIS/BIOP FOR BASIN SALMON/STEELHEAD IN CASE REGIONAL COLLABORATION GOES NOWHERE, https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/oregon-files-intent-to-challenge-feds-new-eis-biop-for-basin-salmon-steelhead-in-case-regional-collaboration-goes-nowhere/

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Administration Report Describes Harm Of Dams To Columbia Basin Tribes, White House Sets Up Task Force To Coordinate Basin Salmon Recovery

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