This report documents the historic, ongoing, and cumulative impacts of federal Columbia River dams on Columbia River Basin Tribes and provid
For the first time, the government takes accountability for damage done from dams--
"When federal dams altered the natural flow of the river, inundated hundreds of thousands of acres of land, and affected ecosystem functions, the Tribes were disproportionately harmed. The federal and non-federal dams on the Columbia River and lower Snake River transformed the river functions from those the Tribes rely on to those serving other economic ends, transferring wealth away from the Tribes. This transformation followed decades of significant degradation of the rivers and their resources by the Basin’s burgeoning industries. Together with commercial activities and other consequences from settlement of the region by non-Indigenous people, the construction and operation of federal dams impacted salmon, steelhead, and other species in the Columbia River Basin, thus impeding the Tribes’ ability to realize the benefits of their reserved rights, including treaty-reserved rights to harvest salmon at usual and accustomed places, on unoccupied lands, or within reservations. The devastation of once-abundant salmon, steelhead, and other species in the Columbia River Basin adversely and inequitably impacted Tribes’ spiritual, cultural, physical, and economic health as well. Because these impacts continue today and face new threats from climate change, upholding the federal government’s treaty and trust responsibilities to the Tribes includes working to protect these reserved rights and restore associated resources; improving the spiritual, cultural, physical, and economic well-being of Tribes; and advancing environmental justice."
Might just be more false promises.
The U.S. government has acknowledged for the first time the harms that the construction and operation of dams on the Columbia and Snake rive
"...it remains 'hopes and promises' until funding for salmon restoration and renewable power projects comes through Congress. 'With these agreements, there is hope. We feel like this is a moment in time. If it doesn’t happen now, it will be too late.
