U.S. acknowledges historic and ongoing negative impacts of Columbia River dams on tribes

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a report released on June 18, the U.S. Department of the Interior acknowledged Columbia River dams have had historic and ongoing negative impacts on tribal communities.

“The Yakama Nation has always spoke for the water, fish, and cultural resources that cannot speak-up for themselves. I am hopeful that through this report, federal entities will listen to Yakama People,” said Gerald Lewis, Yakama Tribal Council Chairman, in a press release.

The analysis highlighted ways in which the hydroelectric system on the Columbia and lower Snake Rivers blocked critical migration for anadromous fish and flooded thousands of acres of land, sacred sites, and ancestral burial grounds. In doing so, the report acknowledged the system’s adverse cultural, physical, spiritual, and economic impacts on Indigenous populations. 

“The Department understands that honoring the government’s trust responsibility and the sovereignty of Tribal Nations includes advancing equity and self-governance, correcting environmental injustices, and supporting Tribal Nations to ensure the spiritual, cultural, physical, and economic well-being of their members,” the report stated.

According to the report, the current annual return of naturally produced salmon and steelhead is less than 10 percent of historical runs, stating “around two million salmon and steelhead return to the Columbia Basin annually, with hatchery-origin fish making up two-thirds of that total.”  

“It's been a long time coming. I've been working on the Columbia River most of my career. We've fought for salmon restoration and increased funding. We've sort of known what we need to do for salmon rebuilding, salmon recovery, and we always get about 25 percent of what we ask for as far as habitat restoration or actions at the dams, even our hatchery funding,” said Tom Iverson, Yakama Nation Fisheries Regional Coordinator.

The report concluded with a series of recommendations, such as prioritizing treaty and trust responsibilities in resource management and protection, considering impacts on cultural resources in future actions, recognizing the cumulative impact of historic and current conditions, and giving weight to the disproportionate environmental burden on tribes, particularly in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The report also called for recognizing that status quo conditions of the river and its contained species reflect a degraded baseline, particularly in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

“When the Endangered Species Act was adopted in the 90’s for Columbia River salmon, it actually lowered the bar for the federal government…the standard for the Endangered Species Act is to avoid jeopardy. Which means, you can't do harm that will cause a species to go extinct, but it means you can do some harm, as long as it's not going to drive the fish to extinction,” said Iverson.

The analysis looked into 11 Columbia River Basin dams, and the circumstances of eight of the basin’s Tribal Nations immediately affected. It fulfills a commitment by the Interior Department to look into how hydroelectric operations on the Columbia River have affected Tribes as part of an agreement to pause a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Oregon. 

This agreement, called the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement, was signed on December 14, 2023, by the U.S. government, the states of Washington and Oregon, several Native American tribes, and the National Wildlife Federation. The agreement will work towards restoring wild salmon and other native species while expanding and strengthening a clean energy grid in the basin.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media