For Immediate Release: Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Contacts:
Mitch Cutter, Salmon & Energy Strategist, (541) 280-8474
Abby Urbanek, Communications & Marketing Manager, (208) 345-6933 x 214
Tribal Circumstances Analysis Shows Need for Immediate Action on Northwest Salmon Restoration
BOISE, ID – Today the United States Department of the Interior released a comprehensive Tribal Circumstances Analysis documenting the ruinous effects that federal dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers have had on Northwest Tribal Nations. The analysis details historic injustices done to Tribes, laying bare the need for urgent action to undo this damage and uphold the federal government’s treaty and trust responsibilities.
“The United States – by telling the truth about the historic and ongoing injustices the federal dams have imposed on our people and by embracing its Treaty and trust obligations – is upholding the rule of law and highlighting the urgency to act to prevent salmon extinction,” said Shannon Wheeler, Chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee.
The federal dam system has exacted a harsh toll on regional salmon and steelhead in violation of treaties and other agreements made with Tribes more than 150 years ago.
“As the full system of dams and reservoirs was being developed, Tribes and other interests protested and sounded the alarm on the deleterious effects the dams would have on salmon and aquatic species, which the government, at times, acknowledged,” the report said. “However, the government afforded little, if any, consideration to the devastation the dams would bring to Tribal communities, including to their cultures, sacred sites, economies, and homes.”
The Analysis was completed by the Department of the Interior in fulfillment of a commitment made by the Biden Administration late last year.
“The findings of this report are staggering but sadly, not surprising. For years, federal agencies and elected officials have willfully ignored what scientists and indigenous peoples have told them,” said ICL Salmon & Energy Strategist Mitch Cutter. “Salmon are near extinction because the Bonneville Power Administration and other federal agencies have used pseudoscience and misinformation to lie about the capabilities of the lower Snake River dams and their impact on anadromous fish for decades. This report presents an opportunity for the Biden Administration to tell the truth, do what’s right, and follow through on their commitment to restoring truly abundant salmon, steelhead, and other native fish.”
Undoing decades of harm will require immediate action to implement the rest of the government’s commitments and the remainder of the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI) – a landmark roadmap to salmon restoration across the Pacific Northwest. It’s essential that federal agencies adhere to the deadlines laid out in the government’s commitments and that members of Congress support the CBRI’s plan for major actions to restore salmon, steelhead, and other native fish populations.
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