97 



A new agreement, or a new regional entity 



Bonneville, the Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation work well together 

 in managing the mechanics of river operations, but coordination of policy is another 

 matter. In brief, there is no agreement in the region on whether a new agency or entity is 

 needed or would be helpful. There are plenty of entities and agreements at woric in the 

 salmon issue already, but consistency and coordination among them remain elusive. 



These three agencies need to improve their coordination of river operations and 

 salmon recovery efforts with other federal agencies, including the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ideally, the agencies should 

 represent a unified federal front to carry out their responsibilities under the Northwest 

 Power Act - to protect, mitigate and enhance fish and wildlife of the Columbia River 

 Basin. At the same time, the federal agencies must continue to respect their partnership 

 with the states and Indian tribes and maintain allegiance to their common constituency, 

 the citizens of the United States. 



8. The United States gov«nunent has trust obligations to Indian tribes of the Columbia 

 River Basin. Courts repeatedly have upheld hunting and fishing rights guaranteed 

 by treaties signed with these tribes more than 100 years ago. All federal agencies 

 must respect the govemmmt-to-govemment relationship between the United States 

 and the region's Indian tribes. 



In devising the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, the Council is 

 directed by the Northwest Power Act to "... request in writing ... from the Federal and the 

 region's State fish and wildlife agencies and from the region's appiopriate Indian tribes ..." 

 recommendations for measures to include in the program. In this regard, the Act recognizes 

 tribal, federal and state govenmients as co-equal managers of the region's fish and wildlife. 

 Similarly, the Council recognizes that its fish and wildlife program must be consistent with 

 the rights of these tribes. The Council is committed to meeting its own responsibilities and to 

 helping the federal agencies meet theirs, while addressing the problems of weak stocks. 



In 1976, the Solicitor of the Interior held that the Bonneville Administrator "... has a 

 duty to take reasonable measures to protect Indian fishing rights from the consequences of ... 

 his power marketing activities." The Solicitor added, "...this is a duty 'imposed upon the 

 Administrator pursuant to law' within the meaning of the Federal Columbia River 

 Transmission System Act. ' " ^ 



2 "Authority of Bonneville Power Administration to Participate in Funding of Program to Help Restore the 

 Columbia River Anadromous Fishery," 83 Decisions of the Department of the Interior 589, 601 ( 1 976). 



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