The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission coordinates management policy and provides fisheries technical services for the Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla, and Nez Perce tribes.
CRITFC’s mission is “to ensure a unified voice in the overall management of the fishery resources, and as managers, to protect reserved treaty rights through the exercise of the inherent sovereign powers of the tribes.” Through its work, CRITFC protects the treaty fishing rights of the tribal fishermen at these member tribes, the fish that underlie this reserved right, and the tribal culture and community that rely on both.
The fate of salmon are intertwined with hydropower and the shift to renewable energy. In 2022, CRITFC produced an update to its Energy Vision for the Columbia River Basin (www.critfc.org/energy-vision). The 2022 Energy Vision's goals are to ensure that renewable resources in combination with increased storage, reductions in peak demand, and increased energy efficiency can provide clean, adequate, reliable, and affordable electricity, support the restoration of healthy, harvestable salmon populations, and prevent future damage to salmon and steelhead and other tribal resources caused by the electrical system.
For this effort, CRITFC will be partnering with two design and engineering firms: Akana and PAE.
Akana is a Native American owned professional services firm helping clients plan, design, engineer and manage projects in the built environment. Akana has been working with CRITFC for the last few years to assess and improve our Treaty Fishing Access Sites.
PAE is a small, Portland, Oregon-based, engineering firm whose vision is to solve the planet's energy and water challenges. We are working with staff at PAE to promote energy efficiency as the first step in addressing the world's energy needs.
