Sub-basin Planning
Plan focus: To mitigate the impacts of Columbia River hydropower systems on fish and wildlife.
Overview
Sub-basins refer to the geographic boundaries of an entire watershed. This emcompasses the main river system and its tributaries. There are four sub-basins in the Snake River Region, these include the Walla Walla, Tucannon, Asotin and Lower Snake. Sub-basin planning for the Columbia River Basin was conducted in the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. All of these states contain sub-basins drained by the Columbia River. Washinton alone has 35 different sub-basins. Plans were completed in May 2004. Plans were adopted by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in the fall of 2004 and implementing in 2005.
Purpose
The intent of the sub-basin plans was to mitigate circumstances that result in the decline of fish and wildlife due to the construction and operation of federally owned dams within the Columbia River hydropower system. The plans document the conditions within each sub-basin and define strategies to enhance and protect fish and wildlife whose populations are adversely affected by dams.
Responsibility
The BPA owns and operates the federal dams within the Columbia River hydropower system. The BPA is responsible for implementing sub-basin plans in cooperation with tribal and local representatives.
Visit http://www.nwcouncil.org/fw/subbasinplanning/admin/guides/overview.htm to learn more about the sub-basin planning process.