Murray Statement on Columbia-Snake River System Agreement Between Federal Government and Six Sovereigns

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement this week on the agreement reached between the Federal Government and the Six Sovereigns-the states of Washington and Oregon, and the Nez Perce Tribe, Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation-that could allow for an extended stay in court proceedings on litigation involving the management of the Columbia-Snake River System:

"Salmon are absolutely foundational to the economy, culture, and environment of Washington state and the region's Tribes. I will not let extinction happen on my watch and I am determined to take major and comprehensive action to save our salmon. While recent infrastructure and climate legislation has delivered significant federal investments in salmon recovery, I am under no illusion: more must be done. The steps we have taken so far are merely the start of the large-scale recovery efforts needed to restore healthy salmon runs. Recovery will require partnership between private and public stakeholders and coordination at every level of government. As Chair of the Appropriations Committee, I'm fighting for the most robust federal investments in salmon recovery possible, but securing those investments will require bipartisan support and cooperation-especially in a divided Congress.

"The agreement announced today builds off the conclusions we reached in the Murray-Inslee process, outlining what will make real headway to save our salmon-while acknowledging the reality that breaching the Lower Snake River Dams is not realistic until we can fully replace the benefits they currently provide. Getting to this point will require doing much more to speed the transition to clean and renewable energy and making large-scale investments in our regional infrastructure, including our water infrastructure, to support agricultural producers. Again, this will require bipartisan collaboration at every level of government and among all stakeholders.

"Particularly important to me, this agreement recognizes the significance of Tribal Treaty Rights and Tribal perspectives. In my statement on the findings of the Murray-Inslee process, I made clear that the onus for saving salmon can't just fall on the shoulders of Tribes. Fulfilling the Federal Government's trust responsibility requires protecting their rights and these critical fisheries.

"I recognize there are so many other people-growers and producers, public utilities, river users, ports, and others-who rely on the benefits the river provides; it's important their voices are heard in these conversations and I will continue to engage with them and work to ensure their perspectives and concerns are taken into account."

In August 2022, Senator Murray and Governor Inslee released joint findings and recommendations at the conclusion of an extensive, months-long joint federal-state process that evaluated the feasibility of breaching the Lower Snake River Dams as a way of protecting endangered salmon and steelhead species. Murray and Inslee concluded that breach is not feasible at this time as more needs to be done to replace the benefits of the dams–particularly investments in clean energy-but that it is imperative to prioritize major salmon recovery projects that can be undertaken in the near term while other benefits of the dams are matched by medium and long-term regional investments.