Columbia River Fish Accords

Fish Accords
In May of 2008 the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (CTCR) entered into the 2008 Columbia Basin Fish Accords Memorandum of Agreement (2008 Accords) with the three federal agencies (Action Agencies) responsible for operation and management of the fourteen federal dams and reservoir projects in the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS). The 2008 Accords committed $223.5 million over ten years to CTCR for implementation of a variety of activities that support the protection and recovery of salmon and steelhead, resident fish, and wildlife. In addition to helping the FCRPS Action Agencies meet their mitigation obligations arising under various federal laws including the Endangered Species Act and Northwest Power Act, the 2008 Accords partially address the direct and indirect effects of construction, inundation, operation, and maintenance of the FCRPS.
In addition to supporting over 145 full-time and seasonal jobs, the 2008 Accords helped to fund, among other important projects:
• The state-of the art $50 million Chief Joseph Hatchery facility completed in May of 2013 designed to release up to 2.9 million spring, summer, and fall Chinook juveniles annually
• CTCR’s Selective Harvest Program that supports Chief Joseph Hatchery broodstock collection efforts, allowing the release of natural-origin salmon while supporting ceremonial and subsistence salmon harvest for the Colville membership
• Protection and restoration of habitat for ESA-listed salmon and steelhead in the Okanogan and Methow River Basins
• White Sturgeon, redband rainbow trout, kokanee, and burbot enhancement in Lake Roosevelt and Lake Rufus Woods reservoirs
• The Colville Tribal Trout Hatchery that produces fish for distribution to waters throughout the Colville Reservation
• Colville Tribal Wildlife Mitigation Lands operations and maintenance 2018 Accords Extension On October 3, 2018 the 2008 Accords Parties entered into a four-year extension of the 2008 Accords that continues the partnership between CTCR and the FCRPS Action Agencies, builds on the important accomplishments realized during the 2008 Accords, and commits $68.8 million for implementation of projects that benefit of fish and wildlife affected by the FCRPS. Given the benefits of this mitigation work, we feel it is important that BPA continue to fund work into the future.