Spirit of the Salmon

Institutional Recommendations

• Rather than create a new federal bureaucracy, use the Columbia River Fish Management Plan, the Northwest Power Planning Council's Fish and Wildlife Program, and orders of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as a basis for management.
• Plan and implement production called for in the Columbia River Fish Management Plan.
• For public lands and water project management, implement a dispute resolution process similar to Columbia River Fish Management Plan and Federal Energy Commission processes.
• Establish a new state and tribal fish and wildlife entity using Bonneville Power Administration funding.
• Support ongoing and implement new subbasin planning through a Columbia Basin watershed trust program.
• Base Endangered Species Act listing on the status of species throughout a significant portion of its spawning and rearing range. In the absence of scientific proof, the National Marine Fisheries Service should withdraw its Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU) interim policy as a basis for Endangered Species Act listings.
• Transfer federally funded hatcheries located on reservations and at other upriver sites to tribal control.
• State, tribal, and federal fish agencies coordinate and set priorities for research, monitoring and evaluation programs.
• Continue development of and make research and monitoring data available through a coordinated information system.
• Update provisions of the Pacific Salmon Treaty and the Columbia River Fish Management Plan based on the latest survival rate and catch level information.
• Continue coordinated harvest law enforcement; develop habitat protection law enforcement.