497 



Finally, we are reviewing the enforcement provisions of the Northwest Power Act to 

 determine whether they provide Federal water managers with the authority to act in a manner 

 consistent with the Council's program. The Council's responsibilities also should be 

 broadened to encompass other water uses, such as irrigation, in order to balance all water 

 uses with fish and wildlife. 



e) Transferring a lump sum in fish and wildlife funds from BPA to fish and wildlife 

 agencies to be administered separately by those agencies for salmon recovery, while 

 providing accountability for the results of the work funded: 



In our experience, the Council and the State and Federal fish and wildlife agencies and 

 Indian tribes currently have little influence over how Bonneville funds are allocated in 

 implementing the Fish and Wildlife Program. However, an implementation planning process 

 (IPP) was negotiated between Bonneville and the fish and wildlife agencies and Tribes and 

 we have recently been informed by the Department of Energy that it has been incorporated 

 into Bonneville's work plans. 



We believe Bonneville should evaluate and select projects in a more open, collaborative 

 process as envisioned in the IPP. We also believe that fish and wildlife agencies should have 

 greater control over development of annual implementation work plans and allocation of 

 funding within the broader constraints set by the Council's Fish and Wildlife Program. The 

 Service believes that overhead at Bonneville could be reduced by relying more on the fish 

 and wildlife agencies and Tribes. 



f) Legislatively creating a new entity or designating an existing agency with authority to 

 mandate salmon recovery. 



The Fish and Wildlife Service has been working with other Federal agencies. States, and 

 Tribes to identify why past attempts to recover salmon resources in the Columbia River have 

 not been successful. We have not identified a singular cause. I do know, and most of my 

 colleagues agree, that the fragmented management and coordination we now have has not yet 



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