2023 agreement for salmon restoration and clean energy production
The Columbia Basin Initiative is a 2023 agreement between the U.S. government, four sovereign Native American Tribes (Nez Perce, Yakama, Warm Springs and Umatilla) and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon to provide over $1 billion in funds for salmon restoration and clean energy production.[1] The agreement comes after over twenty years of litigation with the U.S. government for violating the Endangered Species Act.[2] The agreement honors the treaty rights of the four tribes to fish and gather food in the Columbia Basin.[3] The funding also will be used to support Tribally-owned energy projects.