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Biden Calls for 'Abundant' Columbia Basin Salmon Populations, Directs Agencies to Honor Tribal Treaty Rights by Courtney Flatt Oregon Public Broadcasting, September 27, 2023

"For us, if we don't have a fish in the river, basically we don't have that treaty right,
and it's the government's fault for not ensuring that we do,"
-- Aja DeCoteau, the executive director of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

President Biden on Wednesday directed federal agencies to restore healthy and abundant wild salmon populations to the Columbia River Basin. The presidential memorandum also called for tribal treaty and trust obligations to be honored.

Tribal and conservation groups applauded the move, calling the memorandum "incredibly historic."

"The president is also sending a clear message throughout the entire federal government and all the federal agencies that business as usual is no longer acceptable," said Aja DeCoteau, the executive director of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

Four tribal nations -- the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Indian Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation -- entered into treaties with the United States government in 1855.

That reserved the right for tribal members to fish in all usual and accustomed places. But since dams were built in the Columbia Basin, 13 salmon and steelhead populations have become threatened or endangered.

"For us, if we don't have a fish in the river, basically we don't have that treaty right, and it's the government's fault for not ensuring that we do," DeCoteau said.

Now, Biden has called for a "sustained national effort" to restore wild fish populations. The memorandum calls for tribally led conservation efforts.

"The Biden-Harris administration is committed to honoring and respecting Tribal sovereignty, protecting Tribal homelands, and incorporating Indigenous Knowledge and robust Tribal consultation into planning and decision-making," according to a fact sheet released by the administration.

The federal government, environmental groups and tribes have been involved in a decadeslong legal challenge over hydropower operations. That litigation has been on hold for nearly two years because the federal government agreed to figure out a solution. That pause ends Oct. 31.

In the memorandum, Biden gave federal agencies 220 days to review their budgets and plans to help restore fish.

The memorandum didn't provide specifics on how agencies should update plans to restore fish runs, but one contentious debate has been over the fate of four dams on the lower Snake River.

Salmon advocates say the dams need to be removed or altered before fish runs in the river become extinct -- and their services should be replaced. People advocating to keep the dams in place say they provide key benefits to the region -- and fish and dams can coexist.

U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., has led efforts to keep the lower Snake River dams in place.

"While there may not be explicit recommendations to breach the Lower Snake River Dams in this memorandum, that is the goal of this Administration," Newhouse said in a statement.

In a separate statement, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said the administration was "working from every angle to restore fish populations in the Columbia River Basin."

"I'm going to fight for the strongest possible investments to save our salmon," Murray said.

Last week, the Biden administration also committed millions to bring salmon back to the Upper Columbia River, where dams have blocked fish for nearly a century. The administration announced $8 million in funding through the Department of Interior's Bureau of Reclamation and $200 million over 20 years through the Bonneville Power Administration.

Wednesday's memorandum also calls for the region to continue delivering carbon-free energy, invest in local communities and support agriculture that depends on the dams. Because of that, supporters of the dams say not much has changed with this announcement.

"(The memorandum) doesn't address the conflict. It doesn't solve the problem that we're facing as a region," said Kurt Miller, executive director of Northwest RiverPartners, a group that supports keeping the lower Snake River dams in place. "I don't think it changes much. I think we're already trying to balance those needs."

However, salmon advocates argued this memorandum is a step toward solutions that could bring lots of investment into the region -- a step that's never been taken before, said Collin O'Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation.

"Having the clarity of saying: It's not a question of whether we're going to do this, it's a question of how we're going to best do this -- and have a much more thoughtful solutions-oriented conversation," O'Mara said.

Related Sites:
Joint Motion to Extend Stay US District Court, 8/31/23
Idaho Dept. of Fish & Game v. NAT. MARINE FISHERIES US District Court Oregon, 3/28/94

Memorandum on Restoring Healthy and Abundant Salmon, Steelhead,
and Other Native Fish Populations in the Columbia River Basin

September 27, 2023

The Columbia River and its tributaries, wetlands, and estuaries are the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest, providing abundant water, power, recreation, agriculture, transportation, and natural resources that have supported livelihoods, cultural and spiritual practices, commerce, and economic growth. The salmon, steelhead, and other native fish populations in the Columbia River Basin (Basin) are essential to the culture, economy, and way of life of Tribal Nations in the region and Indigenous peoples in Canada, and also provide an important food source for endangered orca, which are sacred to many Tribal Nations in the region. In 1855, the United States and four of the Tribal Nations of the Basin entered into treaties specifying that these Tribal Nations reserved the right to harvest fish on their reservations and at all usual and accustomed places. At that time, an estimated 7.5 to 16 million adult salmon and steelhead returned to the Basin each year.

Actions since 1855, including the Federal Government's construction and operation of dams in the Basin, have severely depleted fish populations. Thirteen salmon and steelhead populations are listed as threatened or endangered, other populations of those fish have been extirpated, and other native fish populations have also declined, causing substantial harm to Tribal Nations and other communities reliant on salmon and steelhead. Despite decades of hard work, ingenuity, expense, and commitment across Federal, Tribal, State, and local governments and a wide range of stakeholders, the populations of salmon, steelhead, and other native fish populations in the Basin continue to decline or have not recovered to the level that would warrant removing any population from the list of threatened and endangered species.

It is time for a sustained national effort to restore healthy and abundant native fish populations in the Basin. For these reasons, and by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section1. Policy. It is a priority of my Administration to honor Federal trust and treaty responsibilities to Tribal Nations -- including to those Tribal Nations harmed by the construction and operation of Federal dams that are part of the Columbia River System (CRS) -- and to carry out the requirement of the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act (Public Law 96-501) to operate, manage, and regulate the CRS to adequately protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife affected by the Federal dams in the Basin in a manner that provides equitable treatment for fish and wildlife with the other purposes for which the Federal dams are managed and operated.

In recognition of these priorities, it is the policy of my Administration to work with the Congress and with Tribal Nations, States, local governments, and stakeholders to pursue effective, creative, and durable solutions, informed by Indigenous Knowledge, to restore healthy and abundant salmon, steelhead, and other native fish populations in the Basin; to secure a clean and resilient energy future for the region; to support local agriculture and its role in food security domestically and globally; and to invest in the communities that depend on the services provided by the Basin's Federal dams to enhance resilience to changes to the operation of the CRS, including those necessary to address changing hydrological conditions due to climate change.

Sec. 2. Federal Implementation. (a) All executive departments and agencies (agencies) with applicable authorities and responsibilities, including the Department of the Interior, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the United States Geological Survey; the Department of Agriculture, including the United States Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service; the Department of Commerce, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the Department of Energy, including the Bonneville Power Administration; the Department of the Army, including the United States Army Corps of Engineers; and the Environmental Protection Agency, are directed to utilize their authorities and available resources to advance the policy established in section 1 of this memorandum.

(b) Within 120 days of the date of this memorandum, all agencies with applicable authorities and responsibilities, including those agencies identified in subsection (a) of this section, shall review their programs affecting salmon, steelhead, and other native fish populations in the Basin, including any program with authority or responsibility with respect to the CRS, for consistency with the policy established in section 1 of this memorandum. As soon as practicable following such review, agencies shall, consistent with applicable law, identify and initiate any steps necessary to advance that policy.

(c) Within 220 days of the date of this memorandum, all agencies with applicable authorities and responsibilities, including those agencies identified in subsection (a) of this section, shall provide the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (Director) an assessment of the agency's programs that can advance the policy established in section 1 of this memorandum and the resources such programs need for this purpose. Based on the assessment, each agency shall prioritize these activities to the extent feasible in their program and budget planning.

Sec. 3. Intergovernmental Partnership. The Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (Chair) and the Director shall explore opportunities and mechanisms to develop an intergovernmental partnership, including through a memorandum of understanding, to advance the policy established in section 1 of this memorandum within the United States; the States of Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Idaho; the Tribal Nations of the Basin, including the Columbia Basin Treaty Tribes (the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Indian Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation); the Upper Columbia United Tribes (the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Indians, the Spokane Tribe of Indians, the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, and the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho); the Upper Snake River Tribes (the Burns Paiute Tribe, the Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation, and the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation); and other Tribal Nations, as appropriate. Within 120 days of the date of this memorandum, the Chair and the Director shall submit a report to the President with an update on progress in developing this intergovernmental partnership.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect the ability of heads of agencies to meet the requirements of sections 2 and 3 of this memorandum before the deadlines in those sections or to produce additional materials not specifically requested in this memorandum.

(b) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(c) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(d) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(e) Independent agencies are strongly encouraged to comply with the provisions of this memorandum.

Sec. 5. Publication. The Chair is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the