Monday October 24, 2022
The News Guardian —
The report identifies a comprehensive suite of actions with the greatest likelihood of making progress toward rebuilding Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead to healthy and harvestable levels. The final report follows the draft, which was released in July, and incorporates feedback from state and tribal fishery co-managers.
The recommended suite of actions to rebuild Columbia Basin stocks include: increasing habitat restoration, reintroducing salmon into blocked areas, breaching dams, managing predators, reforming fish hatcheries and harvest and reconnecting floodplain habitat.
“This is a crucial time for the Columbia Basin’s salmon and steelhead. They face increasing pressure from climate change and other longstanding stressors including water quality and fish blockages caused by dams,” said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries and acting assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere at NOAA. “The report identifies goals for the recovery of salmon and steelhead that will require a sustained commitment over many decades.”
The actions reflected in the report convey the urgency behind the Columbia Basin Partnership’s 2020 recommendations that merely avoiding extinction of native salmon and steelhead is not enough. Instead, the Partnership called for healthy and harvestable numbers that contribute fully to the culture, environment and economy of the region. The report is not a regulatory document, but rather is intended to inform and contribute to regional conversations and funding decisions.