As co-managers of the Columbia River Basin fish and wildlife resources, CRITFC tribes have developed some of the most comprehensive fishery programs in the country.  This contract will provide leadership, management, coordination and implementation of watershed restoration programs to achieve the goals and objectives consistent with Wy-Kan-Ush-Mi Wa-Kish-Wit and the Northwest Power Council’s (NPCC) Fish and Wildlife Program.  This includes the support and advocacy of CRITFC’s mission and Commission priorities for restoration and protection of fish habitat at the local, regional, national and international levels.  The implementation of an effective public relations program will continue to be a key component to our coordinated outreach efforts.

The major efforts of the project continue to be: 1) the implementation, outreach and advocacy of Wy-Kan-Ush-Mi Wa-Kish-Wit, 2) participation and coordination of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s processes and the Fish and Wildlife Program, 3) technical and policy-level support and coordination on tribal and CRITFC Commission priorities in regional processes, 4) development and execution of public and media outreach and educational strategies to inform the public on tribal priorities and activities, 5) coordination of a Future of Our Salmon (FOOS) conference, and 6) overall coordination and technical support o commission priorities and issues related to water quality, climate change and tribal workforce development.

Wy-Kan-Ush-Mi Wa-Kish-Wit (Spirit of the Salmon) provides a “gravel-to-gravel” framework for restoring anadromous fish stocks, specifically salmon, steelhead, Pacific lamprey, and white sturgeon in upriver areas above Bonneville Dam and is at the forefront of our coordination strategies and activites.  The plan’s geographic scope extends wherever these fish migrate and throughout the Columbia River Basin.  The twenty-five year plan was introduced in 1995 and will end in 2020; we are currently in the 19th year of implementation. The Wy-Kan-Ush-Mi Wa-Kish-Wit website is fully searchable and includes the 1995 recommendations, the 2004 subbasin plans, the 2014 updated institutional and technical recommendations that describes progress and modifications, new community development recommendations, highlights of tribal projects, and hundreds of links of related materials to the CRITFC website, and other tribal, state, and federal websites related to the plan and Columbia Basin fish restoration.