The Columbia River Basin, the nation’s fourth largest, extends through seven Western states—Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming—and into Canada. (See fig. 1.) Twelve major tributaries, the longest of which is the Snake River, feed the Columbia River. The basin contains over 250 reservoirs and about 150 hydroelectric projects, including 18 dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The basin is home to many species of fish and wildlife, some of which are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as threatened or endangered, in part as a result of the extensive hydropower development of the basin rivers. Endangered fish in the basin include certain species of salmon, steelhead, and white sturgeon; bull trout are listed as threatened. Threatened and endangered wildlife in the basin include birds such as the marbled murrelet and northern spotted owl, and other animals such as certain species of caribou, deer, lynx, and rabbit. The basin is also home to 13 Indian tribes, which by treaty, executive order, or other authority, reside on reservation lands within the basin. As shown in table 1, nearly 45,000 members are enrolled in the tribes with reservation lands in the basin. Fish and wildlife are of critical importance to these tribes, as the tribes rely on them for sustenance as well as preservation of their cultural traditions. For example, salmon are part of the spiritual and cultural identity of most of the basin’s tribes, and are frequently used in tribal religious services. Numerous federal agencies, including the following, conduct activities within the basin that affect fish and wildlife, as well as the Columbia River Basin Indian tribes. Many of these agencies are responsible for managing water resources, the power generated by hydroelectric projects, or land resources, such as forests, grazing lands, and wildlife refuges. Bonneville Power Administration (Bonneville) provides power transmission services and markets the electricity generated by the 31 Corps and Reclamation dams comprising the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS). In doing so, it must provide treatment to fish and wildlife equitable to the other purposes for which the FCRPS is operated. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) designs, builds, and operates civil works projects to provide electric power, navigation, flood control, and environmental protection. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) designs, constructs, and operates water projects for multiple purposes, including irrigation, hydropower production, municipal and industrial water supply, flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife. U.S. Forest Service (Forest Service) manages national forests and grasslands under the principles of multiple use and sustained yield, and ensures that lands will be available for future generations. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administers public lands and subsurface mineral resources, and sustains the health, diversity, and productivity of public lands for the use and enjoyment of future generations. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) manages wildlife refuges, conserves, protects, and enhances fish, wildlife, and plants, and implements the ESA for terrestrial species, migratory birds, certain marine mammals, and certain fish. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) encourages and assists American Indians to manage their own affairs under the trust relationship with the federal government. It develops forestlands, leases assets on these lands, directs agricultural programs, protects water and land rights, and undertakes other responsibilities in cooperation with the tribes. Together, these federal agencies and the 13 basin tribes manage over half of the portion of the Columbia River Basin located within the United States. The Forest Service and BLM manage about 81,000 square miles of forest and grasslands, and 33,000 square miles of rangeland, or about 37 percent and 15 percent of the basin’s U.S. land area, respectively. Reservation land totals about 5 percent. All other agencies combined manage about 3 percent of the U.S. portion of the basin. Figure 2 illustrates the federal and tribal land ownership patterns. In addition to the water, power, and land resource management agencies, several other federal agencies have regulatory, resource protection, and research responsibilities in the basin. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) conserves, protects, and manages living marine resources so as to ensure their continuation as functioning components of marine ecosystems, and to afford economic opportunities. NMFS also implements the ESA for marine and anadromous (migratory fish such as salmon and steelhead) species. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protects human health and safeguards the natural environment by protecting the air, water, and land. It administers the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) assists farmers, ranchers, and other landowners in developing and carrying out voluntary efforts to protect the nation’s natural resources. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts objective scientific studies and provides information to address problems dealing with natural resources, geologic hazards, and the effects of environmental conditions on human and wildlife health. Along with their primary water, power, resource, and other management and regulatory responsibilities, these agencies are responsible under various laws, treaties, executive orders, and court decisions for protecting, mitigating, and enhancing fish and wildlife resources in the basin, as well as involving the tribes in the process. One of the main drivers of such activities is the Northwest Power Act, which provided for the establishment of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Under the act, the Council develops the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program to mitigate the effects of hydroelectric dams on basin fish and wildlife, and Bonneville assists in implementation and is the principal source of funding for the program. Bonneville recently experienced a substantial deterioration of its financial condition, in part because of drought conditions, rising costs of providing power, and lower than projected revenue from selling surplus power. For example, as we reported in July 2003, its end of year cash reserves fell from $811 million to $188 million from fiscal year 2000 to 2002. Bonneville’s financial difficulties caused concern about its ability to meet its fish and wildlife funding responsibilities under the Northwest Power Act. The Yakama tribe filed two petitions in June 2003, and the Upper Columbia United Tribes filed a petition in December 2003, in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to review Bonneville’s budgeting, accounting, and contracting processes, and in the case of the Yakama, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s recommendations, regarding fish and wildlife funding. As of now, the two Yakama filings and the Upper Columbia United Tribes filing are being discussed in separate settlement negotiations. In accordance with our policy to refrain from addressing matters that are in litigation, we did not address the issues before the court in this report. Federal responsibilities for protecting, mitigating, and enhancing fish and wildlife resources in the basin, as well as involving the tribes in the process, are defined by a multilayered collection of laws, treaties, executive orders, and court decisions. Nationwide, basin-specific, and agency mission-specific laws create responsibilities for federal agencies to mitigate the impacts of their activities on fish, wildlife, and their habitat. In addition, various laws, treaties, executive orders, court decisions, and agency policies require agencies to consider the rights of tribes in the basin. Federal responsibilities and activities under these layers of directives have been defined and clarified over the years through numerous court decisions. Appendix II lists laws, treaties, and executive orders identified by federal agencies as guiding their fish and wildlife responsibilities in the basin. Appendix III lists laws, treaties, and executive orders identified by federal agencies as guiding their tribal responsibilities in the basin. Appendix IV lists court decisions that have helped define or clarify agency responsibilities to fish, wildlife, and tribes under these directives. Each appendix includes the citation for every law, treaty, executive order, and court case listed. Federal agencies are responsible under nationwide, basin-specific, and agency mission-specific laws for mitigating the impacts of their activities that could potentially harm fish, wildlife, and their habitat. At the national level, federal environmental and fish and wildlife protection laws create broad responsibilities for federal agencies in addition to each agency’s mission-specific responsibilities. These laws guide the fish and wildlife activities of federal agencies nationwide, in some cases, under the oversight and enforcement authority of regulatory agencies such as EPA and NMFS. Federal agencies identified the following nationwide laws, among others, as guiding their fish and wildlife activities: Clean Water Act—Authorizes EPA to establish effluent limitations and requires permits for the discharge of pollutants from a point source to navigable waters. EPA approves state and tribal limits for the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards for specified purposes, including fish and wildlife. Endangered Species Act—Provides for the conservation and recovery of species of plants and animals that FWS and NMFS determine to be in danger or soon to become in danger of extinction. National Environmental Policy Act—Requires federal agencies to examine the impacts of proposed major federal actions significantly affecting the environment. At the basin level, certain federal laws create agency responsibilities that are specific to the fish and wildlife there. These laws guide the fish and wildlife activities of agencies such as Bonneville, the Corps, and Reclamation that are to be conducted in conjunction with their water and power responsibilities within the basin. Federal agencies identified the following basin-specific laws, among others, as guiding their fish and wildlife activities: Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act (Northwest Power Act)—Provides for the formation of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council and directs it to develop a program to protect, mitigate, and enhance the fish and wildlife of the Columbia River Basin.