BPA signs historic agreement with Spokane Tribe of Indians

After months of negotiation, BPA and the Spokane Tribe of Indians signed a memorandum of agreement that provides the Tribe with 10 years of fish and wildlife habitat funding for blocked areas of the upper Columbia River Basin.

At a ceremony May 3, BPA Administrator and CEO John Hairston and Tribal Council Chair Greg Abrahamson signed the agreement at the Spokane House Interpretive Center along the banks of the Spokane River.

“In signing this 10-year agreement, BPA is memorializing its partnership with the Tribe and committing to funding a range of projects. These projects will protect and restore fish and wildlife and their habitat in the upper Columbia River Basin,” said Hairston.  “The projects also provide funding for anadromous fish hatchery upgrades. These actions will build on work that our partnership has accomplished through BPA’s Fish and Wildlife Program since the early 1990s.”

The Spokane Tribe of Indians agreement is closely related to the September 2023 memorandum of agreement the U.S. Government signed with the Spokane Tribe of Indians, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. The substance of that agreement calls for the U.S. Government to provide resources and support the tribes as they test the feasibility of reintroducing non-ESA-listed salmon into the blocked area of the upper Columbia River. That agreement was signed last September.