The Columbia River Basin is North America’s fourth largest, draining about 258,000 square miles and extending predominantly through the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana and into Canada. (See fig. 1.) It contains over 250 reservoirs and about 150 hydroelectric projects, including 18 dams on the Columbia River and its primary tributary, the Snake River. The Columbia River Basin provides habitat for many species including steelhead and four species of salmon: Chinook, Chum, Coho, and Sockeye. One of the most prominent features of the Columbia River Basin is its population of anadromous fish, such as salmon and steelhead, which are born in freshwater streams, live there for 1 to 2 years, migrate to the ocean to mature for 2 to 5 years, and then return to the freshwater streams to spawn. (See fig. 2.) Salmon and steelhead face numerous obstacles in their efforts to complete their life cycle. For example, to migrate past dams, juvenile fish must either go through the dams’ turbines, go over the dams’ spillways, use the installed juvenile bypass systems, or be transported around the dams in trucks and barges. Each passage alternative has associated risks and contributes to the mortality of juvenile fish. Figure 3 shows one of the trucks used to transport juvenile fish around the dams. To return upstream to spawn, adults must locate and use the fish ladders provided at the dams. Once adults make it past the dams, they often have to spawn in habitat adversely affected by farming, mining, cattle grazing, logging, road construction, and industrial pollution. Figure 4 shows a bypass system for juvenile fish migrating downstream and a fish ladder for adult fish returning upstream. Reservoirs formed behind the dams cause problems for both juvenile and adult passage because they slow water flows, alter river temperatures, and provide habitat for predators, all of which may result in increased mortality. Other impacts, such as ocean conditions and snow pack levels, also affect both juvenile and adult mortality. For example, an abundant snow pack aids juvenile passage to the ocean by increasing water flows as it melts. Given the geographic range and historical importance of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin, local governments, industries, and private citizens are concerned about the species’ recovery. For example, some Indian tribes living in the basin consider salmon to be part of their spiritual and cultural identity, and fishing is still the preferred livelihood of many tribal members. Treaties between individual tribes and the federal government acknowledge the importance of salmon and steelhead to the tribes and guarantee tribes certain fishing rights. Efforts to increase salmon and steelhead stocks in the Columbia River Basin began as early as 1877 with the construction of the first fish hatchery. Now, states, tribes, and the federal government operate a series of fish hatcheries located in the Columbia River Basin. Historically, hatcheries were operated to mitigate the impacts of hydropower and other development and had a primary goal of producing fish for commercial, recreational, and tribal harvest. However, hatcheries are now adjusting their operations to ensure that they support recovery or at least do not impede the recovery of listed species. As dams were built in the 1900s, attempts were made to minimize their impacts by installing fish ladders and bypass systems to help salmon and steelhead migrate up and down the rivers. In the 1980s, several other actions were taken to increase salmon and steelhead populations, including: (1) a treaty between the United States and Canada limiting the ocean harvesting of salmon; (2) the passage of the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act (P.L. 96-501), which called for the creation of an interstate compact to develop a program to protect, and enhance fish and wildlife affected by hydropower development in the Columbia River Basin and mitigate the effects of development; and (3) the beginning of major state, local, and tribal efforts to address habitat restoration through watershed plans. None of these efforts proved to be enough, however, and in the 1990s, 12 salmon and steelhead populations were listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA, resulting in the advent of intensified recovery actions. The 12 listed populations are Snake River Fall-run Chinook salmon, Snake River Spring/Summer-run Chinook salmon, Lower Columbia River Chinook salmon, Upper Willamette River Chinook salmon, Upper Columbia River Spring-run Chinook salmon, Snake River Sockeye salmon, Middle Columbia River steelhead, Upper Willamette River steelhead; Upper Columbia River steelhead Lower Columbia River steelhead, and Columbia River Chum salmon. Eleven federal agencies are involved in the recovery of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin. The federal agencies must comply with the missions and responsibilities set out in their authorizing legislation while also protecting salmon and steelhead under the ESA. Other entities, such as states, tribes, local governments, and private interest groups are also involved in the recovery effort. To facilitate communication and coordination between the federal agencies and other entities, a network of over 65 groups has been formed. NMFS is responsible for leading the recovery effort for salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin. NMFS, among other things, is responsible for (1) identifying and listing threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead populations, (2) preparing recovery plans for listed salmon and steelhead populations, and (3) consulting with other agencies to ensure that their planned actions do not further jeopardize the listed populations of salmon and steelhead. The other 10 agencies involved in the recovery are the 3 that are responsible for operating the dams and selling the electric power they produce (action agencies), the 3 that manage natural resources in the Columbia River Basin (natural resource agencies), and the 4 that carry out various other actions that affect the resources of the basin (other agencies). The U.S. Army’s Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), and the Department of Energy’s Bonneville Power Administration (Bonneville) are the 3 action agencies involved in recovery efforts. The Corps is responsible for designing, building, and operating civil works projects to provide electric power, navigation, flood control, and environmental protection. The Corps operates 12 major dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers that have direct relevance to salmon and steelhead (Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, McNary, Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, Lower Granite, Chief Joseph, Dworshak, Albeni Falls, and Libby). BOR is responsible for designing, constructing, and operating water projects in the 17 western states for multiple purposes, including irrigation, hydropower production, municipal and industrial water supplies, flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife. BOR operates two major dams (Grand Coulee and Hungry Horse), as well as over 50 smaller dams in the Columbia River Basin and is responsible for reducing any detrimental effects that such operations may have on the survival of salmon and steelhead. For example, BOR dams store water for irrigation, and BOR installs screens over irrigation canal entrances to prevent salmon and steelhead from entering and later dying when the water is used and the canals dry up. Bonneville is responsible for providing transmission services and marketing the electric power generated by the Corps and BOR dams in the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS). In doing so, it is also obligated by the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act (Northwest Power Act) of 1980 to provide equitable treatment to fish and wildlife along with the other purposes for which FCRPS is operated. The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service are the natural resource agencies involved in recovery efforts. The overall mission of the natural resource agencies is to manage their lands for multiple purposes, such as grazing, timber, recreation, and fish and wildlife conservation. BLM administers 262 million acres of public lands, primarily in 12 western states, and about 300 million additional acres of subsurface mineral resources. Its mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. BLM manages a wide variety of resources, including energy and minerals, timber and forage, wild horse and burro populations, fish and wildlife habitat, wilderness areas, and archaeological and other natural heritage values. While conducting its activities, BLM is required by the ESA to avoid actions that would jeopardize the continued existence of listed salmon and steelhead or adversely modify or destroy critical habitat. Consequently, projects are designed and operated to comply with the ESA. An example is planting trees and vegetation to reduce erosion and to provide shade to cool streams. FWS works with other entities to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants. It is chiefly responsible for implementing the ESA for terrestrial species, migratory birds, certain marine mammals, and certain fish. FWS operates or funds 37 hatchery facilities in the basin which, along with other purposes, assist in the recovery of listed populations of salmon and steelhead. It also operates three fish health centers and one fish technology center in the basin, which provide the hatcheries with technical support and health screenings of fish. Other conservation efforts include habitat protection and restoration, harvest management, and recommending hydropower operations that will benefit salmon and steelhead. The Forest Service manages 191 million acres of national forests and grasslands nationwide under the principles of multiple use and sustained yield, ensuring that lands will be available for future generations. The multiple uses include outdoor recreation, rangeland, timber, watershed, and fish and wildlife.