Oregon Gov. Kotek signs executive order to restore Columbia Basin

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed an executive order aiming to help restore the Columbia Basin and fisheries in the Columbia and Snake rivers, the governor's office announced Monday.

The executive order, signed Sept. 27, directs a handful of state agencies -- including the Department of Fish & Wildlife, Department of Energy, and the Department of Transportation -- to "take all actions necessary" to meet goals under the 2023 Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative.

The initiative was developed between Oregon, Washington, and the “Six Sovereigns,” which includes the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, the Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation, and the Nez Perce Tribe.

The executive order includes several provisions, which will also help meet goals in the 2023 Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement under the Biden Administration -- which prioritizes developing clean and affordable replacement power for the region before considering removal of the Snake River dams.

The executive order requires the state agencies to provide written reports to the governor by Feb. 1, 2025, outlining how they can address restoration and ways to accelerate meeting those goals.

Additionally, the agencies must meet at the governor's office at least twice per year to review how the agencies are working together. A separate meeting will take place between the agencies and tribes to discuss goal implementation.

“The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative is the result of a historic, unified partnership with sovereign Tribal nations and the states of Oregon and Washington – and I am committed to full implementation of our agreement over the next decade,” Gov. Kotek said. “My directives to state agencies will uphold our state’s commitment and complement other efforts by the state to build a resilient and adaptive future to climate change, while also positioning our communities for a prosperous economic future.”

In a statement, the Tribal Council for the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon said they value Kotek's executive order and the CBRI, adding, "this is an important step in our State's comprehensive approach to honoring Tribal sovereignty and meeting climate goals, securing a resilient and affordable energy system and modernizing our infrastructure and restoring our salmon and native fish to healthy and abundant levels."

Jonathan W. Smith, Chairman of the Tribal Council furthered, "We look forward to continued collaboration with the State on that front as we also develop and grow our leadership as a socially just energy leader. Our co-ownership with PGE of the Pelton Round Butte project, located on the Deschutes River, a tributary to the Columbia River, has allowed our people to engage in the long-term work to manage dams and fisheries in ways that not only preserve, but enhance, our sovereign environmental, cultural and economic interests. Our leadership in this space is helping the State meet the energy needs of population centers in the Willamette Valley while also creating opportunities for our Tribes to develop more renewable energy, such as solar power, needed to meet growing demands in a socially just way.”

The executive order comes as the Columbia Basin has seen its salmon population "drastically reduced" over the years from several factors including overharvest in non-tribal fisheries, development of millions of acres of land, as well as private and federal dams in the Columbia and Snake rivers, according to the initiative.

"Plummeting wild salmon and steelhead runs resulted in the extinction/extirpation of many stocks while putting others on the brink of extinction. Critical habitats have been lost or rendered inaccessible. Today, this crisis is further exacerbated by climate change, which threatens local and regional ecological, cultural, and economic resilience. Elevated air and water temperature, increased drought, reduced snowpack and poor ocean conditions accelerate the decline of imperiled fish stocks and amplify regulatory constraints, water scarcity, fire risk, invasive species, and pathogens that impact numerous economic sectors," the initiative adds.