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Native American Tribes living in the Snake River Basin were promised, via treaties in 1855 and 1868, the right to hunt and fish where and how they traditionally have, into perpetuity. Those treaty rights have been tested many times—including on issues of location, timing, and level of fish harvests—and each time courts have consistently upheld the treaty rights. (Source)
Hunting/fishing rights treaties (Yakama, Umatilla, Warm Springs, Nez Perce Tribes)
Shoshone Bannock/Fort Bridger Treaty (hunting/fishing)
Treaty rights upheld (United States v. Winans, Yakama Tribe)
Treaty rights upheld (Tulee v. Washington, Yakama Tribe)
Treaty rights upheld (United States v. Oregon)
Treaty rights upheld (Sohappy v. Smith; Yakama, Umatilla, Warm Springs, Nez Perce Tribes)
Treaty rights upheld (United States v. Washington)
U.S. government/six sovereigns Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA) (see 2001 NWF v. NMFS)
RCBA Tribal circumstances report
In the early 1900s, the U.S. government took on a charge—the “308 Plan”—to study and then build dams wherever possible for power, flood control, agriculture, and more. A period of dam building resulted, beginning with Bonneville Dam in 1937 and concluding with the last of four dams on the lower Snake River, the Ice Harbor Dam, in 1975. These dams provide energy generation, flood control, agricultural irrigation, an effective seaport for barging goods to and from deep inland, as well as jobs associated with these activities. (Source)
Congress/U.S. Army Corp of Engineers 308 Plan for dam creation
Bonneville Dam (on Columbia below Snake) completed
McNary Dam (on Columbia below Snake) completed
The Dalles Dam (on Columbia below Snake) completed
Ice Harbor Dam (lower Snake River) completed
Lower Monumental Dam (lower Snake River) completed
Little Goose Dam (lower Snake River) completed
John Day Dam (on Columbia below Snake) completed
Lower Granite Dam (lower Snake River) completed
Within years of the completion of the final of the four lower Snake River dams, wild salmon numbers plummeted for all Snake River species and a period of reckoning began, including multiple major studies undertaken and published in the past 30 years by federal, state, and Tribal entities regarding how to recover salmon in the Snake River Basin. Most have included action plans, yet action to date has had limited success. (Source)
Snake River sockeye declared endangered under the Endangered Species Act
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Snake River Recovery Plan
Meyer Tribal Impacts Report
National Wildlife Federation v. NMFS
Columbia Basin fish accords collaboration to fund and do mitigations
Columbia Basin Partnership (CBP) Task Force collaboration for vision, goals
Marine Fisheries Advsory Committee (MFAC)/CBP Vision for Recovering Salmon (Phase I report)
MFAC/CBP Vision for Recovering Salmon (Phase II report)
Bonneville Power Administration Lower Snake River Dams Power Replacement Study
Lower Snake River Dams Benefit Replacement Report (Washington)
NOAA/NMFS “Rebuilding Interior Columbia Basin Salmon and Steelhead”
A historic agreement for Tribal nations: two states and the federal government committed $1 billion in new energy projects, fisheries, agriculture, transportation, and industry that could replace the services provided by the four Snake River dams.The investments are designed to deliver more of the benefits to communities, workers, and Tribes in the region to honor treaty rights and build more resilient rural economies. Investments are supported with new assessments, including a Tribal circumstances report (already delivered) and a regional energy assessment to be completed in 2025. (Source)
Presidential memorandum
Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative
RCBA regional energy services and dam replacement report
RCBA dam replacement services analysis
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