A 60-year-old treaty between the U.S. and Canada to jointly manage the Columbia River is being renegotiated.
Canada and the United States met in October for their 19th round of negotiations to modernize the Columbia River Treaty. The 60-year-old Columbia River Treaty is an engineering agreement between the two countries to jointly manage the international Columbia River to reduce flood risk and optimize hydropower production.
The river runs through the heart and history of the U.S. Northwest and plays a vital role in all aspects of life in the Northwest. The river system is also under grave threat from the climate crisis and pollution, as well as many dams built on its mainstem and tributaries.In an historic announcement this fall, President Joe Biden committed $200 million over 20 years to support tribal-led efforts to reintroduce salmon above the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State. In order to uphold our nation’s tribal treaty and trust responsibilities, the administration issued a presidential memorandum to protect the Columbia River watershed and to restore “healthy and abundant” salmon and other native basin fish.
Read the full article on Truthout.org:
https://truthout.org/articles/new-columbia-river-treaty-must-prioritize-local-tribes-and-ecological-concerns/
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