monitor and evaluate the results 

 of the fish proteetion eftbrts; and 



• Assuranee thai the project will 

 not degrade water quality beyond 

 the point necessary to sustain 

 sensitive fish species (as desig- 

 nated in consultation w ith the 

 fish managers). 



Do not license, relieense, exempt 

 from license, propose, recommend, 

 agree to acquire or wheel power 

 from, grant billing credits for, or 

 otheru ise support any hydroelectric 

 development in the Columbia River 

 Basin without specifically providing 

 for these development conditions: 



• Consultation with wildlife man- 

 agers and the Council throughout 

 study, design, construction and 

 operation of the project; 



• Avoiding inundation of wildlife 

 habitat, msofar as practical; 



• Timing construction activities, 

 insofar as practical, to reduce 

 adverse effects on nesting and 

 wintering grounds; 



• Locating temporary access roads 

 in areas to be inundated; 



• Constructing subimpoundments 

 and using all suitable excavated 

 material to create islands, if 

 appropriate, before the reservoir 

 is filled; 



• Avoiding all unnecessary or pre- 

 mature clearing of land before 

 filling the reservoir; 



• Providing artificial nest struc- 

 tures when appropriate; 



• Avoiding construction, insofar as 

 practical, within 250 meters of 

 active raptor nests; 



• Avoiding critical riparian habitat 

 (as designated in ecMisultation 

 with the wildlife managers) 

 when clearing, riprapping, 

 dredging, disposing of spoils 

 and wastes, constructing diver- 



sions, and relocating structures 

 and facilities; 



• Replacing riparian vegetation if 

 natural revegetation is inade- 

 quate; 



• Creating subimpoundments by 

 diking backwater slough areas, 

 creating islands and nesting 

 areas; 



• Regulating water levels to reduce 

 ad\erse effects on wildlife during 

 cntical wildlife periods (as 

 defined in consultation with the 

 fish and wildlife managers); 



• Improving the wildlife capacity 

 of undisturbed portions of new 

 project areas (through such activ- 

 ities as managing vegetation, 

 reducing disturbance, and sup- 

 plying food, cover and water) 



as compen.sation for otherwise 

 unmitigated hami to wildlife and 

 wildlife habitat in other parts of 

 the project area; 



• Acquiring land or management 

 rights, such as conservation ease- 

 ments, where necessary to com- 

 pensate for lost wildlife habitat 

 at the same time other project 

 land is acquired and including the 

 associated costs in project cost 

 estimates; 



• Funding operation and manage- 

 ment of the acquired wildlife 

 land for the life of the project; 



• Granting management easement 

 rights on the acquired wildlife 

 lands to appropriate management 

 entities; 



• Collecting data needed to moni- 

 tor and evaluate the results of the 

 wildlife protection efforts; 



• Assurance that the p!X)ject will 

 not inundate the usual and accus- 

 tomed, traditional or contempo- 

 rary hunting places of any tribe 

 without tribal approval; and 



• Assurance that the project will 



not degrade wildlife habitat or 

 reduce numbers of wildlife in 

 such a way that the exercise of 

 treaty or executive order tribal 

 rights \\ ill be diminished. 



Ensure that all licenses for hydro- 

 electric projects or documents that 

 propose, recommend or otherwise 

 support hydroelectric development 

 explain in detail how the provisions 

 of this section will be accomplished 

 or the reasons why the provisions 

 cannot be incorporated into the 

 project. 



2. PROTECTED AREAS 



From the inception of this pro- 

 gram, the Council has supported the 

 concept of protecting some streams 

 and wildlife habitats from hydro- 

 electric de\elopment. where the 

 Council belie\es such development 

 would have major negative impacts 

 that could not be reversed. Begin- 

 ning in 1983, the Council directed 

 extensive studies of existing habitat 

 and has analyzed alternative means 

 of protection. In 19<S8, the Council 

 concluded that: 1 ) the studies had 

 identified fish and wildlife resources 

 of critical importance to the region; 

 2) mitigation techniques cannot 

 assure that all adverse impacts of 

 hydroelectric development on these 

 fish and wildlife populations will be 

 mitigated; 3) even small hydroelec- 

 tric projects may have unacceptable 

 individual and cumulative impacts 

 on the.se resources; and 4) protecting 

 these resources and habitats from 

 hydroelectric development is consis- 

 tent with an adequate, efficient, eco- 

 nomical, and reliable power supply. 

 The Council, relying on these .stud- 

 ies, designated certain river reaches 

 in the basin as "protected areas." 

 where the Council believes hydro- 

 electric development would ha\e 

 unacceptable risks of loss to fish 

 and wildlife species of concern, their 

 productive capacity or their habitat. 

 Ri\er reaches to be protected are 

 those reaches or portions of reaches 

 listed on the "Protected Areas List" 



2000 Columbia river Basin Fish and Wildlife program 



B-2 



