Monday February 2, 2026
Tribal Business News —
Tribal nations are bracing for a wave of relicensing as nearly 40% of existing federally regulated hydropower projects come up for renewal over the next decade — a reset that could determine how rivers, fisheries and treaty-protected rights are managed for decades.
The authority behind those decisions is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which licenses most non-federal hydropower dams in the United States and determines whether projects can continue operating for another 30 to 50 years and under what conditions. Those decisions govern dam operations that affect river flows, fish passage and water quality across Indian Country, according to a report this week from the Native American Rights Fund.