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President Biden Orders Federal Agencies to Make Columbia, Snake Salmon a Federal Priority by Annette Cary Tri-City Herald, September 27, 2023

"The sad truth is, this has not been a collaborative process all along and they are only seeking
to accomplish one predetermined outcome -- a breach of the four lower Snake River dams."
-- Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Washington

Kennewick, WA -- President Biden ordered federal agencies on Wednesday to prioritize restoring wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin, including the Snake River.

It is a historic document, reflecting salmon recovery as a national priority, said the National Wildlife Federation.

Biden said he was committed to honoring the nation's obligations to tribal nations and protecting and restoring America's natural wonders for future generations.

But he tempered his order with language on the benefits of the river and dams, as tribes, environmental groups and professional and recreational fishing organizations have called for tearing down the four Snake River dams in Eastern Washington.

The order said it is the Biden administration's policy not only to restore salmon, steelhead and other native fish populations, but also to continue benefits now provided by the Columbia River system and its dams.

That includes his administration's policy 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 ...," the order said.

"I'm really glad President Biden and his administration are taking salmon recovery and tribal treaty rights seriously and working from every angle to restore fish populations in the Columbia River Basin, while meeting the region's resiliency needs," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

But Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., said that while the order has no explicit recommendation to breach the four lower Snake River dams "that is the goal of this administration."

"The direction from President Biden proves that his administration and dam-breaching advocates will continue to pretend to hear feedback from the community to give the perception that residents and stakeholders are being heard," he said. "The sad truth is, this has not been a collaborative process all along and they are only seeking to accomplish one predetermined outcome -- a breach of the four lower Snake River dams."

Scott Simms, executive director of the Public Power Council, said he was glad the Biden administration "has realized the complexity of the Columbia-Snake River system and didn't succumb to the false promises of easy solutions advanced by some single interest advocates."

The four Snake River hydropower dams provide more than 1,000 megawatts of clean energy, or enough to power 800,000 homes.

They also make possible barging of 10% of U.S. wheat exports, plus other agriculture products that otherwise would be moved to the coast for export by trucks and rail, increasing carbon emissions, and the irrigation of farmland.

Goals in addition to saving salmon in the president's order cannot be achieved without the dams, said Kurt Miller, executive director of Northwest RiverPartners, which represents Northwest electric utilities, plus river transportation and agriculture interests.

"The White House has discovered this is hard because we are trying to make sure that every sector is healthy, and that is really challenging," Miller said.

The Columbia River and its tributaries, wetlands and estuaries are the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest, the presidential order said.

"The river ecosystem has supported ways of life, cultural and spiritual practices, commerce and economic growth for generations and continues to provide our nation with abundant water, power, recreation, agriculture, transportation and opportunity," said a White House fact sheet on the president's order.

Since 1855, when treaties were signed with four tribal nations, the ability of tribes to exercise their rights to fish have been substantially harmed by federal dams, private dams, population growth and overfishing that have changed the ecosystem and severely depleted wild fish populations in the region, it said.

In 1855, an estimated 7.5 million to 16 million adult salmon and steelhead returned to the Columbia River Basin each year.

Now 13 salmon and steelhead species in the basin are listed as threatened or endangered.

The order directs federal agencies in the next 120 days to review their programs affecting native fish populations in the basin for consistency with Biden's policy to honor treaty responsibilities and protect fish affected by the federal dams while also making sure other benefits continue to be available.

Within 220 days they must provide the Office of Management and Budget at the White House an assessment of their programs advancing Biden's policy and resources needed.

They should prioritize those activities in their program and budget planning, it said.

They also have 120 days to provide the president with an update on partnerships with tribes in Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho.

Public input on Snake dams

Litigation in the long-running federal case over the Snake River dams has been extended 60 days to allow federal mediation to continue but community members impacted by the lawsuit are being left in the dark as negotiations take place behind closed doors, Newhouse said.

Simms said that the administration should include "full and equal participation by all stakeholders and focus on true collaborative solutions."

The Public Power Council, which represents more than 100 consumer-owned electric utilities in the Pacific Northwest, has been focused on long-term solutions where the health of salmon and a producing hydro system are not positioned as mutually exclusive, he said.

Reliable and carbon-free generation help the Pacific Northwest confront headwinds such as "extreme climate events, new policy goals, rapid electrification and increasingly stressed grid conditions," he said.

He also pointed out that the Bonneville Power Administration has invested more than $6.8 billion for fish and wildlife mitigation measures over the past decade.

Northwest RiverPartners also called for greater public involvement by those affected by any changes to the river system.

While it recognizes the role of the lower Snake River hydroelectric dams in meeting clean energy, climate, economic and salmon recovery objects, it "builds on and extends a flawed process that has denied affected stakeholders and the public a meaningful role," Miller said.

He also was disappointed that Biden's memorandum ignores the 2020 environmental study on the Columbia River System, he said. It rejected calls to breach the four lower Snake River dams after considering not only benefits and risks to juvenile and adult endangered and threatened fish, but also the social and economic effects of changes to the system.

The issues of energy affordability, reliability and increasing clean energy must be central to any plan for the river system, Columbia RiverPartners said. More than 25% of the Columbia Basin region qualifies as energy burdened.

Multiple studies have shown that replacing the energy from the Lower Snake River dams would be $15 billion or more, according to Columbia RiverPartners.

Calls for removing Snake dams

But the National Wildlife Federation said Biden's order sends a clear message throughout federal government that business as usual is no longer acceptable and that taking action is urgent.

It reflects a change from avoiding jeopardy under the Endangered Species Act to to achieving healthy and abundant populations, the federation said.

"That is a big change," said Jacqueline Koch, communications manager for the foundation.

Plaintiffs in the federal court litigation over restoring Snake River salmon and other environmental and fishing groups applauded the president's order.

"We need a comprehensive plan to breach the dams and replace their services -- and we need it now, before salmon run out of time," said Earthjustice Attorney Amanda Goodin.

Restoring Columbia Basin salmon runs will be a huge economic benefit to the region, said Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. Even with commercial coastal salmon fisheries severely depressed, it still is a billion dollar industry supporting tens of thousands West Coast jobs, he said.

Chris Wood, president of Trout Unlimited, said while focusing the federal government on reversing the decline of wild salmon and steelhead is a welcome step, it is only a "half step" without removal of the lower Snake River dams to provide cold water habitat for native fish.

The executive director of the Idaho Wildlife Federation, Brian Brooks, said that Biden's memorandum "finally puts us on the path toward fish abundance that provides economic, ecologic and cultural viability."

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 Federal Register.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.