成人X站

AP NEWS

Biden deal with tribes promises $200M for Columbia River salmon reintroduction

Sep 22, 2023, 11:26 AM

The Biden administration has pledged over $200 million toward reintroducing salmon in the Upper Columbia River Basin in an agreement with tribes that includes a stay on litigation for 20 years.

The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Coeur d鈥橝lene Tribe and Spokane Tribe of Indians signed the deal with federal officials on Thursday, The Seattle Times聽.

The funds from the Bonneville Power Administration will be paid over 20 years to implement a plan led by the tribes to restore salmon and steelhead in the basin.

Constructing the Grand Coulee Dam about 80 years ago in eastern Washington, and Chief Joseph Dam downstream, stopped salmon from migrating into the basin and through tribal lands, cutting off tribal access to the fish, which leaders say has caused devastating cultural harm.

Salmon runs in the Upper Columbia had been abundant for thousands of years and were a mainstay of tribal cultures and trade.

The Upper Columbia United Tribes, which includes tribes in Washington and Idaho, have been working on the reintroduction plan. Now in the second of four stages, it includes research over the next two decades to establish sources of donor and brood salmon stocks for reintroduction, test biological assumptions, develop interim hatchery and passage facilities, and evaluate how the program is working.

鈥淚n 1940, Tribes from around the Northwest gathered at Kettle Falls for a Ceremony of Tears to mourn the loss of salmon at their ancestral fishing grounds,鈥 Jarred-Michael Erickson, chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, said in a statement from the White House Council on Environmental Quality. 鈥淭he federal government is taking a major step toward righting that historic wrong. 鈥 The Colville Tribes (look) forward to our children celebrating a Ceremony of Joy when salmon are permanently restored to their ancestral waters.鈥

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation additionally is committing $8 million in federal money toward juvenile salmon outmigration studies, genetic sampling and fish passage design development.

Northwest RiverPartners, which represents users of the Columbia and Lower Snake rivers, including barge operators and utilities, has been against dam removal on the Lower Snake for salmon recovery but supports this effort, which leaves dams intact.

鈥淭aking this next step in studying salmon reintroduction above these blocked areas is the right thing to do and lays the foundation for the possibility of sustainable salmon runs in the upper Columbia River Basin,鈥 executive director Kurt Miller said in a statement. 鈥淩eintroduction has the potential to create hundreds of miles of upstream habitat for salmon, responds to important Tribal commitments, and does so without negatively impacting the hydropower our region relies on.鈥

AP News

sean 'diddy' combs...

MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER, The Associated Press

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs acquitted of most serious charges, convicted of a prostitution-related offense

Sean "Diddy" Combs was convicted of a prostitution-related offense but acquitted Wednesday of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have put one of hip-hop鈥檚 most celebrated figures behind bars for life.

1 month ago

iran us qatar...

Associated Press

Iran says it launched attack on US forces at Qatar鈥檚 Al Udeid Air Base

Iran launched a missile attack Monday on a U.S. military base in Qatar, retaliating for the American bombing of its nuclear sites.

2 months ago

tennessee gender-affirming care...

MARK SHERMAN, The Associated Press

Supreme Court OKs Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for kids

聽The Supreme Court聽on Wednesday upheld Tennessee鈥檚 ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, a stunning setback to transgender rights.

2 months ago

Former President Joe Biden speaks at a conference in Chicago, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh,...

Josh Boak

Former President Joe Biden diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer

Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his office said Sunday

3 months ago

pope francis...

Associated Press

Pope Francis dies: Vatican releases cause of death

Pope Francis, the Catholic Church鈥檚 first Latin American pontiff who聽charmed the world with his humble style聽and concern for the poor, has died, as announced by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo. He was 88.

4 months ago

florida state shooting...

Kate Payne, The Associated Press

Fear and panic at Florida State as deadly shooting sends students fleeing

When a 20-year-old聽opened fire聽at Florida State University, terrified students barricaded doors and fled across campus, abandoning chemistry notes and even shoes, in a shooting that investigators said killed two men and wounded at least six others.

4 months ago

Biden deal with tribes promises $200M for Columbia River salmon reintroduction