Good Partnerships
Partnerships are the key to success in watershed restoration. A single watershed may cross city, county, and state lines; it may require tribes, landowners, watershed councils, states, local governments, federal agencies, and citizen groups working together to restore watershed function and healthy fish and wildlife. In many cases, there isn't a single entity with the authority (and funding) to get the work done. All of the projects described in this handbook, whether they were initiated by an individual landowner, tribal staff, or a federal agency, are based on partnerships.
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"We were walking a tightrope between water for salmon and water for agriculture. We gradually quit screaming and fighting and began to talk."
Don Sampson, former chairman Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation,describing Umatilla Basin Project |
This section explains the Columbia Basin treaty tribes' interest in helping to restore and maintain healthy watersheds in areas outside the reservations; it describes how a successful partnership brought salmon back to the Umatilla River; it introduces the Salmon Corps, a powerful tool for the work of restoration; and it summarizes steps to forming partnerships for local projects.
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In the Columbia Basin, tribal interests and rights go beyond the borders of the reservations. In the Treaties of 1855, the Columbia Basin treaty tribes ceded a vast territory-approximately 40 million acres-to the United States, but reserved rights to fishing in the "usual and accustomed places" and the rights to hunt, gather roots and berries and pasture horses and cattle on "open and unclaimed land" within the ceded area. These rights have been confirmed repeatedly in the courts. (Cone and Ridlington, 1996) |
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Area in white was ceded by the Columbia River Treaty Tribes in 1855 treaties. 64 |
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The courts also established that the federal government and treaty tribes should cooperate in the management of the Columbia River. The 1988 Columbia River Fish Management Plan, an agreement among tribal, federal, and state parties with jurisdiction over Pacific salmon originating in the Columbia Basin, provides procedures for these parties to "co-manage" anadromous fish production, harvest, and habitat.
(Cone and Ridlington, 1996) It also bound the parties to the agreement to use their best efforts and authorities, including habitat protection authorities, to rebuild salmon runs.
Most of the habitat in question, however-not just the river itself, but the vast watershed that is the Columbia Basin-is either privately owned or under the jurisdiction of federal agencies. Therefore, because there are many owners and managers of the land, it is important to work as partners to accomplish salmon restoration.
"By building a partnership you create an understanding and build some trust," Don Sampson explains. Don is the manager of the Watershed Department of CRITFC and former chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Nation (CTUIR). "In the past 100 years there's been a change in mind and heart. By working together you can make changes for the long-term that are much more sustainable than anything you can get from litigation."
These changes are visible in the partnerships that successfully returned coho and chinook salmon runs to the Umatilla River in north-central Oregon. Because of dams, other passage obstructions, and seasonal dewatering of the river for irrigation, no salmon had spawned in the Umatilla River since 1920. Now, after 70 years of absence, coho, spring chinook, fall chinook, and steelhead are all coming back-thanks to a cooperative effort spearheaded by the CTUIR in partnership with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Bonneville Power Administration, the US Bureau of Reclamation, Oregon Water Resources Department, and the Hermiston, Stanfield, West Extension, and Westland irrigation districts.
At the time of the treaties with the Columbia River tribes, tens of thousands of coho, spring and fall chinook, and steelhead reared in the Umatilla River basin and found their way back to spawn. But soon after the turn of the century the state began allocating Umatilla River water to "beneficial uses," primarily irrigation. The Bureau of Reclamation subsidized the construction and operation of dams and irrigation canals that blocked fish passage and dewatered the river from June to October.
Because of low flow and blocked passage, coho and chinook salmon stocks were extirpated from the Umatilla River by 1920. Drastically reduced numbers of steelhead continued to return and spawn.
In the Treaty of 1855, the tribes never gave away the water they had used since aboriginal times. Instead, the Treaty explicitly reserved several rights that require water to support-such as the continuing right to fish. These rights were for both on-reservation use ("consumptive" use) and instream flows on and off the reservation, including rivers on the ceded lands. While the federally reserved rights had not been quantified, they were unmistakably senior to all other rights, dating from 1855, and, in the case of instream flows, "from time immemorial." (See discussion in Restoring Instream Flow section on page 16.) Although the tribes' water rights are considered federally reserved, the US did not protect this water for the tribes, but instead played an active role in diverting this water to non-Indian irrigators.
In the late 1970s, tribal leaders of the Umatilla Reservation decided to try to bring salmon back to the Umatilla River. They recognized that to do that they had to bring some of the water back.
"It was long-term thinking," Don Sampson explains. "It came from a sense of belonging to the river-our ancestors are buried there, our encampments and villages have been there for thousands of years, and the salmon were there for thousands of years, too. Those things have a right to that place.
"There is a spiritual connection between where we live and what we eat. It runs through your blood. People want to go back to those places. The plants are there to be gathered, the fish are there to be caught."
The tribal leaders knew that if they chose to go to court to take water away from irrigation and put it back into the river, they would eventually win. But they were concerned about the impact of a successful legal decision on the local irrigation economy. Their goal was to bring the salmon back-not to harm the local community.
"We were walking a tightrope between water for salmon and water for agriculture," Sampson remembers. "If the Indians could restore salmon and if the irrigators could secure a source of water for their living, each would be more satisfied." Local water users, including the Cities of Pendleton, Hermiston, Stanfield, Umatilla, and other groups, also wanted to find a way out of the impasse without endangering the local economy.
"We gradually quit screaming and fighting and began to talk," Sampson says. "We found leaders who shared a common vision, and we began to build something sustainable."
The tribal leaders teamed up with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to identify problems, propose projects, establish numerical goals for adult salmon returns, and seek funding.
They decided the following actions would be necessary:
Each of these steps required partnerships in various combinations of federal, state, tribal, and private interests. A Umatilla Basin Project Steering Committee was formed. The committee asked the Bureau of Reclamation to study ways to increase streamflows on the Umatilla River without adversely affecting irrigation. Tribal representatives and local water users studied the alternatives and agreed on a two-phase plan that involved both pumping and water storage.
Water from the Columbia River was exchanged for water from the Umatilla River. Three irrigation districts now receive water pumped from the Columbia at McNary Dam. The water formerly supplying these areas from the Umatilla River and McKay Reservoir now stays in the river to benefit fish passage in the lower 50 miles of the Umatilla.
As part of the plan, many changes were made to improve fish passage up the river. New fish screens and fish ladders were installed at Three-Mile Dam and structural changes were made to help migrating fish find the entrance to the fish ladder. New fish screens and ladders were constructed at four other irrigation diversions on the lower Umatilla River.
Hatchery facilities to reintroduce salmon to the river were built at Bonifer Springs on Meacham Creek, an upstream tributary of the Umatilla River, and at Minthorn Springs, an ideal water source just off the mainstem Umatilla River, where juvenile salmon could be acclimated to the stream, released, and allowed to return to spawn naturally. Acclimation facilities also were constructed at Gibbon and Thornhollow, on the Umatilla River mainstem.
The CTUIR, ODFW, and the Forest Service are jointly implementing many instream and riparian enhancement projects throughout the Umatilla Basin. Several areas have shown remarkable habitat recovery. This is expected to directly increase natural fish production in these streams by providing better conditions for the survival of both adults and young.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Umatilla Basin Watershed Council, and the Umatilla tribes are working on a study of water quality in the basin that will result in defining a "total maximum daily loading" (TMDL) of pollutants for water-quality-limited streams. The TMDL provides a
criterion for meeting water quality standards. Approximately 30 water-quality-limited reaches have been designated under the Clean Water Act in the Umatilla Basin. The TMDL process in the Umatilla Basin is designed as another cooperative project between local parties.
The visible result of all these partnership efforts is in the river-the salmon have returned. Thanks to the restoration program that the Umatilla tribes began in the late 1970s, spring chinook started returning in small numbers in the late 1980s. In 1996, 2,300 returned. Fall chinook and coho returns also increased over the last decade. More than 6,000 salmon of all species returned in 1997 and 1998.
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Visitors watch Brian Connor, Umatilla, as he measures a returning salmon at the Three-Mile Dam facility. 65 |
The Umatilla Tribes' goal is to see 47,000 natural and hatchery-produced salmon adults return each year to the Umatilla Basin. Much work remains to be done to make this goal a reality. The tribes are committed to working for restoration rather than accepting extinction. Today's success is a good start, but the future depends on continuing cooperation and understanding among all parties. The tribes hope that the successful cooperative strategy used in the Umatilla Basin can be applied to resolve other problems throughout the Columbia River system.
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The Salmon Corps, administered by the Earth Conservation Corps, began in 1994, with the goal of engaging Native American youth in the Pacific Northwest to repair the disappearing salmon habitats of the Columbia Basin. Salmon Corps comprises more than 100 young adults (18 to 25 years old) at six sites in the Columbia Basin. Eighty-five percent of Corps members are Native American. Non-native members are drawn as much as possible from the local area. |
"After they've spent a few days working side by side with us they understand better who we are and why we protect the land the way we do."
Charles Sams, Salmon Corps director |
"We believe the people who live in a place are the best stewards of the resources there," explains Charles Sams, director of Northwest operations for the Earth Conservation Corps and a tribal member. Salmon Corps members are trained in habitat restoration and experienced at working in partnership with local landowners and organizations.
"Conservation begins with the boots on your feet" is the Earth Conservation Corps" slogan. A nonprofit founded in 1989, Earth Conservation Corps' mission is to do environmental restoration and strengthen communities while providing training and opportunity for at-risk youth.
Salmon Corps works in partnership with AmeriCorps and many tribal, federal, state, and local organizations to define its projects and collaborate on funding. Private landowners can also initiate projects by contacting a Salmon Corps field director and working out a contract. (See Resources section.) Because of its nonprofit status, low overhead, regional sites, and training with natural resource professionals, Salmon Corps can successfully complete a wide variety of projects for one third to one half of market cost.
In four years, Salmon Corps has served more than 350 young adults. The program has graduated more than 70 percent of these participants. The national average for programs for at-risk youth is 49 percent. Crew members have completed more than 300 watershed and salmon habitat restoration projects. In partnership with local landowners, they have built 365 miles of riparian fence and outplanted tens of thousands of native trees and other vegetation. They have monitored water quality and have released more than six million anadromous fish into the Columbia Basin.
Salmon Corps field directors are on-site managers, responsible for day-to-day operations. Tribal liaisons, appointed by tribal government, provide guidance and in-kind support and help choose projects that meet tribal watershed restoration priorities defined in the salmon restoration plan, Wy-Kan-Ush-Mi Wa-Kish-Wit.
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Gina George is the Yakama Salmon Corps field director. Gina, a Yakama tribal member, grew up near Goldendale, Washington. "I was raised along the Columbia River," Gina says, "fishing and gathering our traditional plant foods. I was in AmeriCorps when I first heard of Salmon Corps. We were doing a lot of work for the City of Goldendale and the farmers and ranchers there, and my cousin was in the Umatilla Salmon Corps. I thought it was a great opportunity, especially the scholarship money for school. I tell people in our program how important education is-you can't go anywhere and get a job without it." |
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Gina George, Yakama Salmon Corps field director. 66 |
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The education can work both ways. "Many of those who live closest to us know the least about us," Charles Sams comments. "On many Salmon Corps projects we find the landowners initially skeptical. After they've spent a few days working side by side with us they understand better who we are and why we protect the land the way we do."
Gina's crews get varied experience in environmental and community work. In addition to replanting native vegetation, installing fencing, and other riparian or instream restoration work, they have pulled trash from high alpine lakes, helped repair elders' homes on the Yakama Reservation, and traveled to huckleberry fields near Mt. Adams to thin out the trees near the huckleberry bushes. "The elders thought it needed to be done," Gina said. "Huckleberries are important food for the Yakamas. They grow better with just the right amount of light and space and shade. I had 11 in my crew and we did 25 acres in four days."
An important benefit for the Salmon Corps members is the opportunity to get to know tribal elders better. "In western culture the youth can make radical changes," Sams explains, "But on tribal lands you have to get the elders to say what should be done. The elders and youth work together a lot, and that helps build community."
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A Warm Springs Salmon Corps crew helped install high-tensile, smooth-wire fencing for a rancher on the South Fork John Day River of central Oregon. Phil St. Clair found that keeping his cattle entirely out of a riparian area was the only way to stop heavy soil erosion and allow the vegetation to recover. |
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A Salmon Corps worker. 67 |
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"My wife's father had this place, and when he died my family bought it and it was leased for a few years," Phil St. Clair explained. "I started to realize some things were going wrong . . . . For one thing, there were no fish. That made me sit up and take notice. I couldn't use it at the level I was using it, or it was going to get worse.
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Phil and Kristy St. Clair at their ranch in central Oregon. 68 |
"In this juniper and sagebrush steppe country, floodplain and hillside is all there is. The deeper soil and water are in the floodplain. So I raise hay on the floodplain and let the cows onto it in the fall after cutting the hay and getting a little regrowth," St. Clair explained. But he was losing more of his hay meadow each year to erosion from winter and spring floods. The worst damage was along a field he used for breeding heifers.
"The ground that was eroding is my most productive and fertile soil," St. Clair said. "I can't afford to see it go down the river. In the condition this field was in, if I wanted to see recovery in my lifetime, I had to build a fence."
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St. Clair designed a fencing and bank stabilization project with help from the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Wildlife program and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. He obtained some funding from the Governor's Watershed Enhancement Board, some materials from ODFW, provided some of his own funds, and put up about two miles of fence with some help from Oregon Trout and a Salmon Corps crew from the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.
"I appreciated the help immensely," St. Clair said. The riparian area is showing signs of recovery, with new vegetation, a more stable stream channel, a rising water table, and more redband trout (these are resident fish; a natural barrier downstream prevents salmon from spawning here).
"We've signed an agreement with ODFW not to graze in the riparian corridor for 10 years, unless we both agree the area has recovered sufficiently," St. Clair said. The river is being monitored by Shaun Robertson, a Warm Springs Tribes fisheries biologist, who will survey fish populations, channel width, water temperature, macroinvertebrates, and other variables.
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Some of the CRITFC staff, tribal fisheries staff, interns, and commissioners at 1995 watershed workshop. 69 |
After you have chosen a protection or restoration project, you will need to build good partnerships for finding funding and getting the work done. The following is an overview of the process. See Resources section for more sources of information and contacts.
