sures to "protect, mitigate, and 

 enhance" ail fish and wildlife 

 atTected by the operation t)t'tiie 

 hydrosystem, and to include mea- 

 sures that provide for improved sur- 

 \ival offish at hydroelectric facilities 

 and for flows of sufficient quality 

 and quantitv to improve production, 

 migration and surv ival. The Act also 

 requires the Council to assure that the 

 measures in this program are consis- 

 tent with "an adequate, economical, 

 efficient, and reliable power supply." 



While the Council must consider 

 the impacts of the conditions 

 imposed by the federal agencies 

 under the Rndangered Species Act, 

 the Council has a broader mandate. 

 As part of this mandate, the Council 

 recognizes that the survival of li.sted 

 species afYected by the hydrosystem 

 must be an integral component of 

 the Council's fish and wildlife plan. 

 .'\ddressing Endangered Species Act 

 requirements together with the long- 

 term management of healthy stocks is 

 a long-term planning objective of the 

 Council. The Northwest Power Act 

 requires that the Council must assure 

 that the needs offish and wildlife are 

 met as efficiently as possible, while 

 also assuring the continued reliabil- 

 ity, adequacy and affordability of the 

 regional power supply. 



The Council believes that the 

 federal agencies operating the hydro- 

 sy.stem will have some flexibility in 

 implementing the conditions imposed 

 under the Hndangered Species Act. 

 In addition, the manner in which the 

 hydrosystem is operated outside of 

 the circumstances regulated by the 

 Endangered Species Act may still 

 have important consequences for fish 

 and wildlife. 



I he Council adopts the followin}» 

 liN (lidsystein strategies: 



Strategy: Provide conditions in the 

 hydrosystem for adult and juvenile 

 fish that most closely approximate 

 natural physical and biological 

 conditions. 



In its Energy and Water Develop- 

 ment appropriations bill for Fiscal 



Year 1998, Congress asked the 

 Council, with the assistance of 

 the Independent Scientific Advisory 

 Board, to review the capital 

 improvements at mainstem dams 

 proposed by the Coips of Engineers. 

 The reports produced by this review 

 contain a set of technical findings 

 and recommendations. The reports 

 are included in the Technical Appen- 

 di.x. Based on these reports, and 

 the recommendations of others, the 

 Council is adopting this general 

 strategy, which includes, but is not 

 limited to, the following elements: 



• Protect Biological Diversity 



Actions to improve juvenile and 

 adult fish passage through main- 

 stem dams, including the use of 

 fish transportation, should protect 

 biological diversity by benefiting 

 the range of species, stocks and 

 life-history types in the river, and 

 should favor solutions that best 

 fit natural behavior patterns and 

 river processes. Survival in the 

 natural river should be the base- 

 line against which to measure 

 the effectiveness of other passage 

 methods. To meet the diverse 

 needs of multiple species and 

 allow for uncertainty, multiple 

 Juvenile passage methods may be 

 necessaiy at individual projects. 



• Juvenile Fish Passage 



To provide passage for juvenile 

 fish that closely approximates 

 natural physical and biological 

 conditions, and to increase the 

 energy produced by the hydro- 

 system, the U.S. Amiy Corps 

 of Engineers should I ) continue 

 testing and developing surface 

 bypass sy.stems, taking into 

 account the widest range of 

 bit)logical diversity, utilizing an 

 expedited approach to prototype 

 development, and ensuring full 

 evaluation for the developmental 

 phase; 2) relocate bypass outfalls 

 in those circumstances where 

 there are problems with preda- 

 tion and juvenile fish injury and 



mortality; and 3) modify turbines 

 to improve JuNcnile survival. 



Adult Passage 



The U.S. Army Corps of Engi- 

 neers should improve the overall 

 effectiveness of the adult fish 

 passage program. This includes 

 expediting schedules to design 

 and install improvements to fish 

 passage facilities. Cool water 

 releases from reservoirs should 

 continue to be used to facilitate 

 migration. More emphasis 

 should be placed on monitoring 

 and evaluation, increased accu- 

 racy offish counts, installation of 

 PIT-tag detectors, evaluation of 

 escapement numbers to spawning 

 grounds and hatcheries, research 

 into water temperature effects on 

 fish passage, and the connection 

 between fish passage design and 

 fish behavior. 



Annual Report on Capital 

 Improvements 



The Corps of Engineers, work- 

 ing within the regional fish and 

 wildlife project selection pro- 

 cess, should report to the Council 

 annually on how the prioritiza- 

 tion criteria and decisions on 

 passage improvements take into 

 account these principles. 



Implementation of These Principles 



The Council I ) expects thai the 

 Independent Scientific Review 

 panel will apply these principles 

 during the pancEs review of 

 the reimbursable portion of the 

 Bonneville fish and wildlife 

 budget, which includes the 

 Corps' passage program; 2) will 

 itself apply these staiuiards in 

 its review of any Independent 

 Scientific Review Panel wpovl 

 and resulting recommcndalions 

 to Congress on these passage 

 budget items; and 3) will recom- 

 mend to Congress, in its reim- 

 bursable budget recommenda- 

 tions, thai budgel requests from 



26 



2000 Columbia river Basin Fish and Wildlife Program 



