Thus, the program guides decision- 

 making and provides a reference 

 point for evaluating success. 



To develop a frameworiv for the 

 program, in November 1 998 the 

 Council initiated the Multi-Species 

 Framework Project. The Framework 

 Project was managed by a state-fed- 

 eral-tribal committee and adminis- 

 tered by the Council. The project 

 brought together hundreds of indi- 

 viduals representing state and federal 

 agencies. Indian tribes, environmen- 

 tal and industry' groups, and inter- 

 ested citizens to propose and discuss 

 potential fish and w ildlife recovery 

 actions. The actions ranged from 

 breaching dams to leaving them in 

 place, and from shutting down fish 

 hatcheries and fish harvest to boost- 

 ing artificial production offish. 

 From more than 100 actions pro- 

 posed in the process, the Council 

 assembled seven alternatives for anal- 

 ysis using a state-of-the-art analytical 

 system called Ecosystem Diagnosis 

 and Treatment (EDT). The EDT 

 analysis addressed the biological 

 benefits of each alternative, and 

 a separate Human Effects Analysis 

 addressed the economic and social 

 impacts and benefits of the alterna- 

 tives. 



The Council did not choose a 

 specific alternative for this version 

 of the program. Rather, the goals 

 and objectives in this program were 

 derived from the recommen- 

 dations received from the j}-,.:cr>-, 

 region for amendments ^'S^-^\^-~ 

 to this program 

 and from 



among several of the Framework 

 Project alternatives. Through an 

 amendment proceeding that began in 

 .lanuary 2()()(). the Council restruc- 

 tured the program with a comprehen- 

 sive, underlying framework of gen- 

 eral scientific and policy principles 

 that apply to the entire Columbia 

 Ri\er Basin. The fundamental ele- 

 ments of the program are: 



The vision, which describes what 

 the program is trying to accomplish 

 with regard to fish and wildlife and 

 other desired benefits from the river; 



The biological objectives, which 

 describe the ecological conditions 

 needed to achieve the vision; and 



The implementation strategies, 

 procedures and guidelines, which 

 guide or describe the actions leading 

 to the desired ecological conditions. 



In other words, the vision implies 

 biological objectives that set the strat- 

 egies. In turn, strategies address 

 biological objectives and fulfill the 

 vision. The scientific foundation 

 links the components of the frame- 

 work, explaining why the Council 

 believes certain kinds of management 

 actions will result in particular physi- 

 cal habitat or ecological conditions of 

 the basin, or why the ecological con- 

 ditions will affect fish and wildlife 

 populations or communities. 



Under the Northw est Power Act, 

 the Council's fish and wildlife pro- 

 gram is not intended to address all 

 lish and wildlife problems in the 

 basin from all sources. But the 

 Council adopted the vision, objec- 

 tives, strategies and scientific foun- 

 dation with the belief that they will 

 complement and help support other 

 fish and wildlife recovery actions in 

 the region. 



This program recognizes that 

 others besides the Council are devel- 

 oping plans and taking actions to 

 address these issues. In particular, 

 the four Northwest states and the 

 Columbia Basin's 13 Indian tribes 

 each have fish and wildlife initiatives 

 under way. Many of these parties 

 already have subbasin and watershed 

 planning initiatives under way, and 

 are also addressing Endangered Spe- 

 cies Act concerns. 



Throughout the basin, the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service 

 and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- 

 vice are administering the Endan- 

 gered Species Act, which requires 

 infomiation gathering, planning, and 

 mitigation actions. In addition, the 

 Environmental Protection Agency, in 

 cooperation with the states and tribes, 

 is taking actions to achieve com- 

 pliance with the Clean Water Act. 

 (As used elsewhere in this program, 

 "applicable federal laws" includes 

 both the Endangered Species Act and 

 theClean Water Act.) 



This framework is not intended 

 to pre-empt the legal authorities of 

 any of these parties, but it does pro- 

 vide an opportunity for each of these 

 regional participants to coordinate 

 information gathering, planning, and 

 implementation of lecoverv' actions 

 on a \oluntary basis. That is, 

 the Council's program is designed 

 to link to, and accommodate, the 

 needs of other programs in the 



basin that affect fish and wildlife. 



lO 



BIA RrVER BASIN FiSH AND WILDLIFE PROGRAM 



