This would require changes in state and federal laws. Establish benchmarks, or population goals, for specific runs of salmon and steelhead. The audit would be performed by the Northwest Power Planning Council, an agency of the four governors. Bonneville sells electricity generated at federal dams in the Columbia Basin and funds the majority of salmon projects, a potential conflict in that salmon and dams are seen by wildlife biologists as being at odds. Appoint one official, chosen by the president, to coordinate all federal salmon recovery programs.
Federal agencies charged with protecting salmon are numerous.
Secure more funding from all federal taxpayers while asking Bonneville customers to pay more. It is a significant victory for Kitzhaber, who four years ago called publicly for a joint position on salmon recovery by the four governors. The report sidestepped whether to breach four federal dams on the Lower Snake River, an action endorsed by Kitzhaber but strongly opposed by the three other governors. While it did not recommend dam removal, it did not preclude further consideration of it. Regardless of the ultimate fate of the dams, the region must be prepared in the near term to recover salmon by acting now.