Upper Columbia River
Salmon
Recovery Region
Area
- Human Population: 142,200
- Counties: Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan
- Water Resource Inventory Areas: Moses Coulee (44), Wenatchee (45), Entiat (46), Methow (48), Okanogan (49), and Foster (50)
- Federally Recognized Tribes: Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and Yakama Nation
Regional Recovery Organization
Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board
Origins and Organization
When its draft recovery plan was completed in December 2005, the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board formed as a private, non-profit entity to serve as a focal point for implementing the plan. Similar to its organizational structure during planning, the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board's Board of Directors consists of elected officials or designates from Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan Counties, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the Yakama Nation. The board has staff to assist it in plan implementation.
Species Listed
Salmon Recovery Plan
The National Marine Fisheries Service adopted the upper Columbia recovery plan in October 2007. Wenatchee, Entiat, Foster Creek, Moses Coulee, and Methow watershed plans provide the foundation for local-based implementation of salmon recovery efforts in the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Region. The Okanogan Watershed Plan is underway. Lead entities within the region are tied directly to the regional board, and submit their project lists to the Salmon Recovery Funding Board through the regional board. The board incorporated many elements from both watershed and sub-basin plans into the regional salmon recovery plan; the harvest, hydropower, and hatchery components derived through Chelan and Douglas Public Utility District Habitat Conservation Plans; out-of-basin processes, such as the biological opinions on both the Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project and the Federal Columbia River Power System; the Hatchery and Genetics Management Plans; the U.S. Forest Service Northwest Forest Plan; and several other federal, state, tribal, and local efforts. The board's goal is to ensure that the plan is implemented in a voluntary manner. The board is the coordinating body for the recovery plan. Additionally, it facilitates improvements in resources and authorities for the region to assist in plan implementation, such as technical assistance, funding mechanisms, permitting, monitoring, and outreach.
The Upper Columbia Regional Technical Team provides recommendations, when requested by the board, on technical issues related to monitoring, project development, and selected components of plans or processes. The technical team consists of people with appropriate technical skills, who are appointed by the team's chairperson, in consultation with the board chairperson.
Recovery Plan (as of 1/07)
- Plan timeframe: 10-30 years
- Estimated cost: $95 million
- Actions to implement plan: 296, of which 146 are habitat actions
- Status: The final plan was adopted by the National Marine Fisheries Service in October 2007.
