“These unique efforts strengthen sovereign collaboration in support of comprehensive and inclusive salmon restoration efforts across the Columbia River Basin system.” ~ Jonathan W. Smith, Sr.
On September 30, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek issued Executive Order 24-28 to Oregon agencies instructing them to take certain actions to implement the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA) and the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI).
The CBRI was developed by the Six Sovereigns (the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Nez Perce Tribe and both states of Oregon and Washington), and the RCBA was negotiated with the federal government by the Six Sovereigns.
Jonathan W. Smith, Sr., Chairman, Tribal Council for the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, issued this statement in response to the Executive Order:
“The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs values Governor Kotek’s Executive Order calling for state-level agency action on the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA) and the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI).
These unique efforts strengthen sovereign collaboration in support of comprehensive and inclusive salmon restoration efforts across the Columbia River Basin system.
As the Executive Order signals, this is an important step in our State’s comprehensive approach to honoring Tribal sovereignty and meeting climate goals, securing a resilient and affordable energy system and modernizing our infrastructure and restoring our salmon and native fish to healthy and abundant levels.
The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon logo; courtesy of The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon.
We look forward to continued collaboration with the State on that front as we also develop and grow our leadership as a socially just energy leader. Our co-ownership with PGE of the Pelton Round Butte project, located on the Deschutes River, a tributary to the Columbia River, has allowed our people to engage in the long-term work to manage dams and fisheries in ways that not only preserve, but enhance, our sovereign environmental, cultural and economic interests. Our leadership in this space is helping the State meet the energy needs of population centers in the Willamette Valley while also creating opportunities for our Tribes to develop more renewable energy, such as solar power, needed to meet growing demands in a socially just way.”
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