1994 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program
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1994 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program |
| Council document 94-55 | |
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Contents
7.0 Coordinated Implementation of Habitat and Production Actions
7.1 Ensure Biodiversity
7.2 Improve Existing Hatchery Production
7.3 Develop, Implement and Evaluate Supplementation Plans
7.4 Pursue New Production Initiatives
7.5 Specific Actions to Assist Weak Stocks
7.6 Habitat Goal, Policies and Objectives
7.7 Cooperative Habitat Protection and Improvement with Private Landowners
7.8 Implement State, Federal and Tribal Habitat Improvements
7.9 Pursue Subbasin Water Projects
7.10 Provide Passage and Protective Screens on Tributaries
7.11 Yakima River Basin
An ecosystem approach to species recovery requires close coordination of habitat
and production measures. Coordination should ensure that habitat and production
measures are driven by the needs of specific populations and by the condition of
the watersheds in which those populations live. Effective coordination should
provide an opportunity to build on the energy and initiatives of local
communities. This helps ensure that ratepayers get maximum return from their
investments and makes the best use of the subbasin and system-wide plans
prepared by the fish and wildlife agencies and Indian tribes. The process
outlined in this section should rely on the analysis and judgment contained in
these plans and other resource plans. Implementers should adapt those plans to
the needs of weak stocks and watershed conditions.
The starting place for coordination will be a ?subregional? process that brings relevant interests together to address the needs of weak fish populations in particular watersheds. A total watershed perspective, in which fish needs, land and water conditions, and local, private and government initiatives are viewed together, will play an essential role in the ultimate success of efforts to rebuild salmon and steelhead runs. To give watershed planning a head start, the Council calls for a ?model watersheds? program (Section 7.7B), in which watershed-oriented techniques can be pioneered and evaluated, and promising developments may be incorporated in the subregional process.
Part of the task of coordination is to build on the opportunities and constraints of existing implementation processes, and avoid creating new processes that may diffuse the region's efforts. The implementation planning process (developed by the fish and wildlife agencies, Indian tribes and the Bonneville Power Administration to help prioritize efforts to implement the fish and wildlife program) should play a valuable role in bringing land and water managers and other interested parties into a coordinated implementation process.
Because many measures will be implemented by federal agencies, the National Environmental Policy Act may apply. Where it applies, the National Environmental Policy Act can generate important analysis that should inform the region's decisions.
With the listing of salmon stocks under the Endangered Species Act, the provisions of that law will play an important role. In the process outlined below, we recognize the need to evaluate habitat and production measures in light of these laws and processes, and make the best use of these evaluations in Council decisions. The Council also supports efforts to streamline these processes, both to improve the quality of the public debate and to minimize delay in decision-making.
In Sections 7.0 through 7.5, the Council calls for immediate efforts to gather data on wild and naturally spawning stocks, review impacts of the existing hatchery system and coordinate supplementation activities. In Sections 7.6 through 7.8, the Council calls for changes in land and water management, water diversion screening, habitat priorities and an expedited funding process. In the Council's view, this work will greatly assist the region's decision-making processes. In the absence of this work, the Council believes that implementation of habitat and production measures will continue to suffer from inadequate information, disjointed policies, uncertainty and delay. The region should begin this work promptly, to overcome these obstacles and allow recovery efforts to proceed expeditiously.
