Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
January 26, 2022
Page 7
Confederated Tribes now have
more ownership in hydrodams
At the start of this year, the
Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs purchased an additional
ownership interest in the Pelton
Round Butte hydroelectric project,
increasing the tribes’ share from
33 and 1/3 percent to 49.99 per-
cent.
Pelton Round Butte is an emis-
sions-free, three-dam complex on
the Deschutes River, co-owned and
operated by the tribes and Port-
land General Electric.
The tribes became co-owners
of the facilities in 2001 through
an agreement that provided the
tribes with an additional opportu-
nity to purchase another 16.66
percent in 2021.
“Our longstanding relationship
with this resource is something that
is very important to our current
tribal membership and to future
generations,” said Jim Manion, gen-
eral manager of Warm Springs
Power and Water Enterprises.
“We will continue to be good
stewards of this precious resource
that we have the responsibility of
co-managing.”
Maria Pope, president and chief
executive officer of PGE, added:
“This agreement is a testament
to our close partnership and shared
commitment to the Deschutes
River Basin. PGE is honored to
continue working together with the
tribes in Central Oregon for years
to come.”
For more than forty years, the
tribes and PGE have worked to-
gether to generate power and ad-
vance an ambitious set of environ-
mental goals, including the reintro-
duction of salmon and steelhead
runs to the Deschutes River.
Improved ocean conditions ‘a blessing’ for fish
Much-improved conditions off
the Oregon coast may signal a re-
prieve for Columbia River salmon
and steelhead that have endured a
string of lean years in the north-
ern Pacific Ocean.
According to scientists with the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, 2021 posted the
second-best ocean condition score
across a 24-year data-set and was
the best year on record in one key
category—the density of northern
copepods. The tiny, energy-rich
organisms are packed with lipids
and, when abundant, can cause an
explosion of growth for dozens of
species.
That should mean when juve-
nile salmon and steelhead flushed
out of the Columbia River and into
the ocean last spring and summer,
they found plenty to eat. The good
ocean conditions—which include
cold water and abundant up-
welling—often lead to higher than
average survival for salmon and
steelhead during their time in salt
water, and thus higher freshwater
returns.
For David Johnson, director of
the Nez Perce Tribe Department
of Fisheries Resources Manage-
ment, the change in ocean fortunes
couldn’t have been better timed.
Last year, the tribe found 42 per-
cent of wild Snake River spring
chinook populations and 19 percent
of wild steelhead are tipping toward
extinction.
“It is really a blessing that the
ocean is looking like it does,”
Johnson said. “We are just really
happy about that.”
While the recent data on ocean
conditions could be good news for
struggling salmon in the Northwest,
advocates for the species warn this
isn’t enough to stop their alarming
slide, largely due to conditions in the
rivers themselves.
Meanings in the new Bureau
of Indian Education logo:
The open book represents
lifelong learning. The
Indigenous student
is wearing a fancy
shawl regalia
including
moccasins, ribbon
skirt, shawl, yoke,
beaded headband,
and eagle feather
with hair long and
braids.
The student embodies the
spirit of ancestors by
dancing with honor, and
carrying out prayers with
every step.
The eagles emblazoned on
the shawl represent
acknowledgement, strength,
and determination. Finally, in
the background, there is the
sun which gives
growth, abundance
and hope.
The four lines on the
book represent the
four directions, the
four seasons, the
four stages of life and
four sacred plants.
And the logo itself
represents the ongoing
commitment of the BIE to its
mission as it provides
educational services to
students and Tribal
communities.