About Us > Overview
Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority (CBFWA)
The CBFWA was established by Charter in 1987 as an informal collaborative for the region’s fish and wildlife managers to:
Coordinate the efforts of its Members to protect and enhance fish and wildlife resources of the Columbia River Basin through joint planning and action;
Provide a forum to facilitate the exchange of information among Members on matters affecting anadromous fish, resident fish, and wildlife resources and their habitat in the Columbia River Basin for informed, coordinated decisions and joint actions;
- Provide more effective review of other uses of the Basin in relation to fish and wildlife.
The membership consists of the two state and two federal fish and wildlife management entities and ten Indian tribes of the Columbia River Basin:
| Tribes | ||
| Burns Paiute Tribe | ||
| Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation | ||
| Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation | ||
| Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation | ||
| Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation { Main Site | Fisheries } | ||
| Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of Nevada and Oregon | ||
| Kootenai Tribe of Idaho | ||
| Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho | ||
| Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Fort Hall | ||
| Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of Duck Valley | ||
| Federal | ||
| U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | ||
| National Marine Fisheries Service | ||
| State | ||
| Idaho Fish & Game | ||
| Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks | ||
Our Members are legally recognized managers of the fish and wildlife resources, whose responsibilities are theirs through federal and state statutes, treaties and court actions. Through this Charter, the purposes of the Authority are:
to assure comprehensive and effective planning and implementation of fish and wildlife programs in the Columbia River Basin, ongoing or proposed, consistent with requirements of applicable law; and
to facilitate discussion among fish and wildlife managers to find consensus, to improve the quality of fish and wildlife decision-making, and to influence other regional decision-makers.
The CBFWA is a consensus organization. All actions supported by CBFWA are developed through a consensus process and only consensus positions are communicated on Authority letterhead. Consensus focuses the agency and tribal actions into a single direction, providing the Northwest Power and Conservation Council and the Bonneville Power Administration with recommendations representing the best available information from the fish and wildlife managers.
See latest CBFWA Workplan (1/24/2011)
Go to Members committee page to review recent meetings / activities
Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Foundation (CBFWF)
The Members of the CBFWA recognized the need to improve effectiveness and efficiencies and operate collectively as a business entity on a variety of projects. To that end, in October 1993 the CBFWF was created to provide the fiscal management and contractual services necessary for the agencies and Tribes of the Pacific Northwest to fulfill specific fish and wildlife management activities. The CBFWF began business operations in January 1995 and serves as the administrative-fiscal arm of the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority. The CBFWF manages projects directly related to the restoration and enhancement of salmon and steelhead stocks in the Columbia River Basin. Projects managed by the CBFWF are approved by the Members of the CBFWA and all new activities require Members approval prior to initiating.