Press Release

"This Administration is serious about protecting the environment," said Bob Lohn, head of the National Marine Fisheries Service Northwest region in Seattle. "And that commitment is reflected in this budget proposal. There will be significantly more money for salmon restoration in the Columbia River, for research and monitoring in the Columbia Basin, for habitat improvement, including the estuary, and for restoring streamflows."

Federal efforts in the Columbia Basin focus on finding better ways to move juvenile fish past a series of hydroelectric dams, improving the habitat for listed species and collaborating with states, tribes and other regional partners on restoration strategies and activities.

The funding for the National Marine Fisheries Service includes $12 million for additional scientific work, monitoring and evaluation to implement the 2000 Columbia River and Lower Snake River Biological Opinion.

According to Bill McDonald, regional director of the Bureau of Reclamation, most of the $4 million increase requested for Reclamation will be used for planning habitat improvement measures in partnership with private landowners and local watershed councils. Included in the budget are funds to continue Reclamation's water acquisition activity, which purchases water from willing sellers in accordance with state law. This water is used to augment flows for migrating salmon and is an important part of the recovery effort, according to NMFS biologists.

"The $128 million requested to improve fish passage at our dams and to help restore the Lower Columbia estuary underscores our commitment to regional salmon conservation efforts," said Brig. Gen. David A. Fastabend, Northwestern Division commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Improvements for fish passage at the dams have seen substantial success, with survival of in-river migrating Snake River juvenile Chinook salmon reaching levels in recent years as high as before the four Snake River dams were built in the 1960s. "This increased funding is a shot-in-the-arm for our future efforts to enhance survival," said Fastabend.

The Fish and Wildlife Service will dedicate the additional $3.7 million in the administration's request to enhancing flows and passage, restoring instream habitat and improving national fish hatcheries' contributions toward salmon recovery.

"I think this speaks volumes about the administration's dedication to restoring salmon populations in the Basin," said Anne Badgley, regional director of the Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific region. "Our focus is implementing the hydropower biological opinions and responding to partnership opportunities to address hydropower impacts to salmon in a comprehensive manner."

Other federal agencies are also participating in salmonid restoration. "EPA is firmly committed to continue working toward improving water quality, which is an essential aspect of salmon recovery" said John Iani, EPA regional administrator. Elaine Zielinski, state director of the Bureau of Land Management, commented, that "the land managing agencies have extensive work underway to improve salmonid habitat in the Columbia Basin, from strategies to enhance streamside vegetation to collaboration on recovery actions with states, local governments, tribes and our other watershed partners."

"This is a vote of confidence that we are moving in the right direction with the Northwest's salmon recovery efforts," stated Steve Wright, administrator for the Bonneville Power Administration. "We look forward to building on our progress along with our partners throughout the Northwest."

The Federal Caucus is the name given to the federal agencies that have natural resource responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act. They include the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), US Forest Service (USFS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and National Park Service (NPS).