Biden Administration Announces $240 Million For Pacific Northwest Tribal Hatcheries Producing Salmon, Steelhead

The Departments of Commerce and Interior Thursday (July 25) announced $240 million in funding to support Tribal hatcheries that produce Pacific salmon and steelhead. The agencies say the funding underscores the administration’s “commitment to empowering Tribal Nations and fulfilling the federal government’s trust and treaty responsibilities.”

Tribal fish hatcheries in the Pacific Northwest “support essential subsistence, ceremonial and economic benefits for Tribal communities, as well as fulfilling Treaty-reserved fishing rights. The Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will partner with the Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs to deliver this funding to regional Tribes,” said a joint agency press release.

The investments build on the Administration’s agreement to restore salmon in the Columbia River Basin and follow the Interior Department’s recently released report documenting the “historic, ongoing and cumulative impacts” of federal Columbia River dams on Columbia River Basin Tribes.

–CBB, June 21, 2024, ADMINISTRATION REPORT DESCRIBES HARM OF DAMS TO COLUMBIA BASIN TRIBES, WHITE HOUSE SETS UP TASK FORCE TO COORDINATE BASIN SALMON RECOVERY
https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/administration-report-describes-harm-of-dams-to-columbia-basin-tribes-white-house-sets-up-task-force-to-coordinate-basin-salmon-recovery/

–CBB, March 1, 2024, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, STATES, TRIBES FORMALLY SIGN BILLION-DOLLAR COLUMBIA BASIN RESTORATION INITIATIVE TO RECOVER SALMON, STEELHEAD, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/biden-administration-states-tribes-formally-sign-billion-dollar-columbia-basin-restoration-initiative-to-recover-salmon-steelhead/

These investments, say the agencies, “empower Tribal sovereignty and self-determination” and align with an executive order which Biden signed https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/12/06/fact-sheet-president-biden-signs-historic-executive-order-to-usher-in-the-next-era-of-tribal-self-determination/ at the 2023 White House Tribal Nations Summit, requiring federal agencies to take action to ensure that federal funding for Tribes is accessible, flexible, and equitable.

“By executing these awards through Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act contracts and compacts, the Department will lift a significant administrative burden from the awardee Tribes. NOAA plans to continue building on this partnership with BIA for future work opportunities to address Tribal needs throughout the United States,” said the press release.

“Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda and commitment to guaranteeing equitable access to federal funding for Tribes, this cross-agency partnership will ensure Tribal communities have the resources they need to sustain Pacific salmon and steelhead fisheries that are essential to their economic development,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “There’s also more to be done, and I look forward to working with all Tribes and Congressional champions to find future opportunities to support salmon hatcheries.”

“Since time immemorial, Tribes in the Pacific Northwest have relied on Pacific salmon, steelhead and other native fish species for sustenance and their cultural and spiritual ways of life,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “This funding will help us deliver historic investments from the President’s Investing in America agenda that will empower Indigenous communities and safeguard resources they have stewarded since time immemorial.”

Tribal fish hatchery production in the Pacific Northwest benefits subsistence fishers as well as both local and global markets, supporting commercial, subsistence and recreational fishing, tourism and the broader ecosystem from California to Alaska, notes the press release.

“Millions of fish are produced in Tribal hatcheries each year, driving Tribal employment and subsistence, nutrition for Tribal families, and the preservation of cultural traditions and recreation. As habitat is restored and reconnected to better support natural fish production, hatcheries will remain a critical tool to supplement fish for Tribal and non-Tribal fisheries, as well as other salmon-dependent animals and ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest.”

As part of Thursday’s announcement, an initial $54 million is available to 27 Tribes in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska to address current hatchery facility maintenance and modernization necessities, and to support Tribal capacity needs. The remaining funding will be made available competitively to help Tribes address the long-term viability and effectiveness of critical infrastructure for the propagation of Pacific salmon and steelhead.

Jennifer Quan, Regional Administrator, NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region, said the money will be for deferred maintenance and not for “funding new facilities or increased production.”

“Some facilities are on the brink of failure,” she said.

Quan noted that hatcheries have done damage in the past, particularly reducing genetic diversity of wild fish. But she said with “improved hatchery practices we are in a different place right now.”

Stressing that hatcheries are crucial to meeting Tribal treaty rights and adapting to climate change, Quan said current science shows “we can produce more fish without risk to natural populations.”

For background, see

NOAA Fisheries IRA Funding for Tribal Fish Hatcheries https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/climate/helping-america-prepare-and-respond-climate-change-under-inflation-reduction-act#tribal-fish-hatcheries-300-million

NOAA Tribal Priorities, IRA Funding https://www.noaa.gov/inflation-reduction-act/inflation-reduction-act-climate-ready-coasts-and-communities/tribal-priorities

White House Memorandum on Restoring Healthy and Abundant Salmon, Steelhead, and Other Native Fish Populations in the Columbia River Basin https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/09/27/memorandum-on-restoring-healthy-and-abundant-salmon-steelhead-and-other-native-fish-populations-in-the-columbia-river-basin/

Also see:

–CBB, May 3, 2024, LAWSUIT SAYS LOWER COLUMBIA RIVER HATCHERIES VIOLATING ESA BY RELEASING TOO MANY FISH, THREATENING LISTED WILD SALMON, STEELHEAD https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/lawsuit-says-lower-columbia-river-hatcheries-violating-esa-by-releasing-too-many-fish-threatening-listed-wild-salmon-steelhead/