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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2024)
Fisheries agreement (from page 1) “It allows our people to continue our way of life and we are salmon people,” Ms. Sams said. Originally filed in 2001 by the National Wildlife Federation and an assortment of other environmen- tal groups, the four Columbia River treaty tribes joined the lawsuit that same year. The plaintiffs in the case argued that the federal government was violating the Endangered Species Act by allowing federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers to deci- mate threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead populations. The six sovereigns Over 22 years of litigation, a suc- cession of judges assigned to the case have tossed out four of the government’s biological opinions— essentially permits allowing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to oper- ate federal dams on the Columbia and Lower Snake Rivers—finding that the plans violated the Endan- gered Species Act. The latest round of activity in the case began when the previous administration issued a biological opinion in 2020. Along with an ac- companying government study re- quired under the National Environ- mental Policy Act, the opinion was so flawed and rushed that the tribes, states and environmental groups involved leapt back into action. The active plaintiffs at the time— the state of Oregon, the National Wildlife Federation and the Nez Perce as amici, or friends of the court—each filed new complaints. The Warm Springs and Umatilla nations also resumed activity in the case, after standing down their claims in 2008. That was the year they negotiated the Columbia River Fish Accords, which essentially doubled funding for fish habitat restoration and other dam mitiga- tion efforts. But because of the Community notes... The Miss War m Springs 2024 Pageant is coming up on Friday, January 26 at the Agency Longhouse. The committee is seek- ing candidates ages 18-24. Stop by the Tribal Council of- fice, or call 541-553-3257. For in- formation, or an application, email to: minnie.yahtin@wstribes.org sandra.danzuka@wstribes.org Warm Springs Fire Manage- ment will have a job fair February 19-21, from noon to 3 p.m. each day. Anyone interested in learning about and applying for jobs can stop by the Fire Management con- ference room. The Museum at War m Springs is closed for the installa- tion of a new HVAC system. The Museum will reopen on February 1. Staff are working throughout the closure but the public is not allowed into the building at this time due to safety and health considerations. The Tribal Member and Youth Exhibit has been extended through March 2. 2020 biological opinion, both na- tions negotiated an amendment to the agreements surrounding the fish accords, saying they had no obliga- tion to support the government’s new plan. When the current administration took office in 2021, the government took a new approach, expressing a desire to find a more realistic and permanent solution to transform- ing the federal hydro-system into a green energy system that supports fish. Since then, the parties have spent two years in confidential me- diation, trying to hammer out an agreement that might finally protect salmon. Progress was slow, according to people involved. Enormous and unwieldy mediation meetings were held online—some with upwards of 200 participants representing par- ties with opposing views. In Janu- ary of last year, the four Columbia River treaty tribes decided to for- mulate their own strategy for com- prehensive salmon and steelhead re- covery. They aimed to develop a plan that accounted for everyone who currently benefits from the dams: People living in the North- west who depend on the energy the dams generate, farmers who use ir- rigation from the reservoirs behind the dams and ship their crops via barges in the river, and small town economies that revolve around the recreation the dams provide. “We did not want to make this a dams versus salmon approach,” said Jeremy Takala, vice chair of CRITFC and member of the Yakama Nation Tribal Council. In just five months, the tribes developed the Columbia Basin Res- toration Initiative. After the tribes started working on the plan, the states of Oregon and Washington joined them. Fisheries continues on 5
