About Us > The Authority
The Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority (Authority) 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 four state and two federal fish and wildlife management entities and nine Indian tribes of the Columbia River Basin. 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 Authority 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 Planning Council and the Bonneville Power Administration with recommendations representing the best available information from the fish and wildlife managers.
CBFWA New Directions Workplan (10/1/2004)