By Raelene Gold, LWVWA's Representative to the Columbia River Treaty NGO Caucus

The Columbia River is of upmost importance to the Pacific northwest, contributing 40% of US hydropower, irrigation for agriculture, transportation for commercial cargo, and a highway for migrating salmon. The LWVWA, along with the LWV of Oregon, LWV of Idaho, and LWV of Montana, has a long and significant history of involvement with the 1964 Columbia River Treaty and its current modernization process. The LWVWA and LWVOR participated in the 2013 Regional Recommendation that included a third treaty goal of ecosystem health to help salmon survival. The other two goals are maximum hydropower production and flood risk management to prevent flooding in southern British Columbia and the lower Columbia. 

In the current modernization of the Columbia River Treaty (CRT), Canada and the US announced an Agreement in Principle (AIG) on July 11. It included flexibility for Canada, a reduction in the Canadian entitlement that the US pays Canada, and a new flood risk management regime. It also included a new Tribal and Indigenous advisory body. But it excluded the third treaty goal of ecosystem health to help salmon. The LWVWA has a representative on the CRT NGO caucus which is composed of environmental, faith and civic groups. The caucus wrote a letter to the State Department and northwest Senators expressing disappointment in the AIP’s exclusion of the third treaty goal, and listing five actions that the State Department and northwest Senators could take to improve the AIP (see attached letter). To get League approval to sign onto the letter, it was first necessary to get approval of the President of LWVWA and then from LWVUS filling out a Request for Federal Action form. Fifty-seven organizations signed onto the letter including LWVOR, LWVID and LWVMT. You can read the letter here. 

Another concern for the League has been how little transparency or public involvement the US State Department has offered, in contrast to British Columbia which meets with and discuses treaty progress with BC environmental groups regularly. 

If you would like to join the LWVWA’s exciting work on the CRT, please contact Raelene Gold or LWVWA President Mary Coltrane. Once the modernized CRT is agreed to, it will go to the US Senate to be ratified, so there's still lots more to do!