Oregon Governor Reaffirms Commitments to the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative
Governor Tina Kotek has reaffirmed Oregon’s commitments to the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI) to develop clean energy and to restore salmon and steelhead to the Columbia and Snake Rivers.
In an executive order, Kotek instructs the agencies involved in the program to take all actions necessary to fulfill Oregon’s commitments to the CBRI.
Last year, in a joint initiative with the State of Oregon and Washington, proposals for the CBRI were submitted to the Biden Administration from the Six Sovereign Tribes – the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, and Nez Perce Tribe.
A Historic Partnership with Sovereign Tribal Nations
Kotek says the CBRI initiative is the result of ‘a historic, unified partnership with sovereign Tribal nations and that she is committed to ‘full implementation of our agreement over the next decade’ that includes building a resilient future to climate change and positioning Oregon and Washington state communities for a prosperous future.
The Biden-Harris Administration committed to the CBRI in conjunction with a Presidential Memorandum and federal committees together comprising the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA).
The development of affordable and reliable clean power for the region is the priority before the removal of existing dams on the Snake River to restore wild salmon populations.
“The expansion of Tribally sponsored clean energy production will provide stability for communities that depend on the Columbia River system for agriculture, energy, recreation, and transportation,” explains Kotek.
She has instructed all relevant Oregon agencies to report back with a program to reach these goals by February 2025 and to meet with the Governor twice annually to assess and accelerate the implementation of the CBRI and the RBCA.
Rapid Regional Growth Decimated Salmon Populations
According to the proposal sent to the Biden Administration, salmon populations provided significant economic benefits for non-tribal settlers in the Pacific Northwest.
However, rapid population growth, over-harvesting in fisheries, the development of millions of acres of land for agricultural, commercial, and industrial use, the construction of 14 federal dams on the Columbia and |Snake Rivers, and the installation of hundreds of small private dams and weirs on the tributaries drastically reduced salmon populations and the benefits they once provided to the region, its inhabitants, and ecosystems.
The changes had a devastating impact on the original peoples of the Northwest, the environment, and salmon. When Tribes signed treaties in good faith with the U.S. Government for millions of acres of aboriginal lands, they expected that in return their treaty rights would be honored and that there would be fish in the rivers.