Public Information
Sara Thompson,
Public Information Officer
(503) 238-3567
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Press Releases
 2011 Releases |
| Tribes
release basin-wide plan to restore Pacific lamprey |
19 December 2011
The Columbia River
treaty tribes released today the most comprehensive restoration plan
for Pacific lamprey in the Columbia Basin. Approved Friday by the
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission’s four member tribes,
the Umatilla, Warm Springs, Yakama and Nez Perce, the Tribal Pacific
Lamprey Restoration Plan looks to halt the decline of lamprey and
reestablish lamprey populations through a wide range of mainstem and
tributary actions throughout their lifecycle.
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| Tribes
Celebrate Breaching of Condit Dam |
26
October 2011
Tribal leaders from
the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and its four member
tribes celebrated the breaching of Condit Dam on the White Salmon
River in Washington today. Watching the live webcast of the breach
event, tribal leaders gathered with approximately 150 representatives
from the settlement parties, contractor, and local leadership at the
dam site to witness the historic event.
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| Tribes
Open the 2011 Fall Commercial Fishery |
22 August 2011
The Nez Perce, Umatilla,
Warm Springs and Yakama tribes opened the first several commercial
gillnet fishing periods for the 2011 fall commercial season.
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| Tribes
call for swift actions to fix Marine Mammal Protection Act |
28
July 2011
The Columbia River
treaty fishing tribes strongly encouraged the states of Oregon and
Washington to take the most assertive step under the Marine Mammal
Protection Act by immediately refiling their Marine Mammal Protection
Act Section 120 permits with NOAA Fisheries. The tribes are also calling
on Congress to expedite legislation that will fix deficiencies in
the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
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| Northwest
Tribes Highlight Safety at Tribal Fishers Expo |
27 July 2011
Over 200 fishers, leaders
and community members attended the second annual Columbia River Indian
Fishers Expo on July 22. This year's event focused on safety and quality
food handling. Attendees learned about cold-water survival techniques,
boating safety, maintaining and repairing boat engines, and basic
fiberglass repair.
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| Tribes
to Host Second Annual Indian Fishers Expo |
19 July 2011
Tribal fishers from
the Umatilla, Yakama, Warm Springs and Nez Perce tribes will descend
on Hood River, Oregon on Friday July 22, 2011 for the second annual
Columbia River Indian Fishers Expo.
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| Gerald
Lewis Chosen to Lead the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission as
New Chairman |
17
June 2011
Yakama Nation leader
Gerald Lewis was selected by officials from the Umatilla, Yakama,
Nez Perce, and Warm Springs tribes to lead the Columbia River Inter-Tribal
Fish Commission (CRITFC) as its new chairman.
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| Tribes
Open Summer Fishery with the Summer Management Period |
16
June 2011
The June 16 start of
the summer chinook management period also marks the opening of direct-to-the-public
sales of summer chinook by the four Columbia River treaty tribes.
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| Northwest
Tribes Hold Spirited Discussion on the Future of Columbia Basin Salmon |
3 June 2011
Over 250 tribal leaders,
federal fisheries managers, state fisheries managers, scientists,
non-tribal fishers and members of the public attended the Future of
Our Salmon conference on June 1-2. The conference provided a unique
opportunity to discuss salmon recovery in a way that followed salmon’s
complex life cycle and the various issues that they face.
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| Tribes to discuss salmon recovery's future at two-day conference |
23
May 2011
The Columbia River
Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) and its member tribes--the Umatilla,
Yakama, Warm Springs, and Nez Perce--will bring together tribal, state,
and federal fisheries co-managers, environmental groups, and the interested
public for a candid conversation on the status of salmon populations
throughout the Columbia River Basin.
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| Tribes
Open Limited Sales of Spring Chinook! |
11 May 2011
Tribal fishers from the Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla, and Nez
Perce tribes announce the start of commercial sales
of scaffold and hook-and-line caught spring chinook directly to
the salmon-loving public. The opening
comes follows a late arriving run of spring chinook that
is projected to reach the preseason forecast of 198,400 adults.
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| Treaty
Tribes Praise Endangered Salmon Predation Prevention Act |
8 March 2011
Leaders of the Columbia
River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission's member tribes today expressed
strong support for the Endangered Salmon Predation Prevention Act
as introduced by Representative Doc Hastings of Washington. The legislation,
with bipartisan sponsorship, would provide an important set of management
tools to address alarming predation levels by California sea lion
problem by amending Section 120 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
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| 2010 Releases |
| Tribes
Open 2010 Fall Commercial Fishery |
24 August 2010
The Nez Perce, Umatilla,
Warm Springs and Yakama tribes opened the first of three commercial
fishing periods for the 2010 fall commercial season today.
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| Bruce Jim Chosen to Lead CRITFC as Chairman |
15
July 2010
Bruce Jim, a Warm Springs
tribal member, was selected by officials from the Umatilla, Yakama,
Nez Perce and Warm Springs tribes to lead the Columbia River Inter-Tribal
Fish Commission (CRITFC) as its new chair. Mr. Jim has deep ties to
the Columbia River. He is a respected tribal fisher who has fished
the Columbia and its tributaries his entire life.
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| Tribal
summer fishery begins today |
16 June 2010
Commercial sales of
local, fresh summer chinook (historically called "June Hogs"
because of their size) began June 16 at 6 a.m. Tribal fishers will
be providing summer chinook, steelhead, and sockeye directly to the
salmon-loving public.
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| Nez Perce Tribe Applauds
Decision to Suspend Bradwood Landing LNG Project |
5
May 2010
NorthernStar Natural
Gas (NorthernStar), a Houston,Texas based company, announced that
it is suspending the development of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
terminal and pipeline in the Columbia River Estuary at Bradwood Landing,
Oregon.
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| Tribes
Open Commercial Sales of Spring Chinook! |
27
April 2010
Tribal fishers from the Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla, and Nez
Perce tribes began sales today of the coveted spring chinook salmon
fresh from the Columbia River and directly to the salmon-loving
public. This year’s first commercial fishing season opened
at 6 a.m., April 27, and will close at 6 p.m. on April 29.
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| Yakama Nation Tribal Leaders Gather with Tribal Fishers on the Columbia River to Discuss Enforcement Issues |
26
April 2010
Yakama Nation
leaders gathered on April 21, 2010 in a historic meeting with tribal fishers
to discuss the presence of a coordinated intertribal enforcement effort
on the Columbia River..
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| Davis
Washines named CRITFC’s Chief of Enforcement |
8
March 2010
Davis E. Washines,
a member of the Yakama Nation, takes charge today of CRITFC’s
enforcement responsibilities as the commission’s new Chief of
Law Enforcement. Washines, whose tribal name is Yellowash, comes to
CRITFC with extensive history in tribal law enforcement and over 25
years of experience.
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| Aja
DeCoteau Named CRITFC’s Watershed Department Manager |
1
March 2010
Aja K. DeCoteau, a
member of the Yakama Nation, is joining the Columbia River Inter-Tribal
Fish Commission (CRITFC) on March 8 as the new manager for CRITFC’s
watershed department. DeCoteau, 29, has been serving as the program
manager for the Yakama Nation’s Environmental Management Program
in Toppenish WA for the past two years.
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| Tribes
Praise President’s Budget Increase for Treaty Rights Protection
in 2011 |
2
February 2010
Tribal leaders from
the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) are praising
the Obama Administration today for a long-sought funding increase
for tribal treaty rights-based natural resource management.
|
| The
Nez Perce Tribe asks Ninth Circuit Court To Overturn FERC Decision
Approving the Bradwood Landing LNG Project |
27
January 2010
The Nez Perce Tribe
filed a petition in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals asking the
court to step in on behalf of salmon and overturn the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission's approval of the proposed Bradwood Landing
Liquefied Natural Gas terminal and pipeline.
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| 2009 Releases |
| Fishery
managers predict 470,000 Columbia River spring Chinook in 2010 |
10 Dec 2009
The technical committee
advising Columbia River fishery managers has released its forecast
for the 2010 spring Chinook run. If the fish show up as projected,
the forecast of 470,000 spring chinook would be the largest return
to the Columbia since 1938.
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| 600,000
Coho Eggs Make Nine Hour Journey Home |
10 Dec 2009
Approximately 600,000 bright orange live-eyed Clearwater coho salmon
eggs from the Clearwater River in northern Idaho made the 400-mile,
nine-hour trip back home to the Eagle Creek National Fish Hatchery
in Estacada, Oregon.
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| CRITFC,
the Accords, and the Biological Opinion |
Sept 2009
An explanation of the CRITFC member tribes' various positions regarding the Columbia Basin Fish Accords.
|
| Tim
Weaver honored by ATNI by resolution (ATNI Res. 09-61) |
Sept
2009
At the September Affiliated
Tribes of Northwest Indians Annual Conference, long-time Yakama tribal
attorney Tim Weaver was honored.
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| McCoy
Oatman Named CRITFC Chair |
22 Sept 2009
Oatman, member of
the Nez Perce Tribe’s Executive Committee and CRITFC commissioner,
becomes chair of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.
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| Tribes
Open Fall Commercial Fishery |
24 August 2009
Tribal fishers from
the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs and Yakama tribes opened their
2009 fall commercial season today for the sales of Columbia River
fish.
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| U.S.
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Visits Northwest Tribes |
3 August 2009
Larry EchoHawk, U.S.
assistant secretary for Indian affairs, made his first visit to the
Pacific Northwest as the head of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs
to meet with leaders of the 24 treaty Indian tribes in the Pacific
Northwest.
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| Rebecca
Miles Chosen to Lead CRITFC |
17 July 2009
Rebecca Miles,
Nez Perce tribal member, and official, was selected by her treaty
tribal officials to lead the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
(CRITFC) 2009-2010 officer team as its chair. Miles election this
morning makes her one of the youngest commissioners to serve in the
position.
|
| Sockeye Return to Yakima
Basin after 103-year Absence |
7 July 2009
The Yakama Nation today took a historic
step toward restoration of sockeye salmon to the Yakima basin by reintroducing
adult sockeye into Lake Cle Elum.
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| Columbia
River tribal commercial fishery begins today |
16 June 2009
Sales of local, fresh
summer Chinook (historically called "June Hogs" because
of their size), steelhead, sockeye and incidentally caught walleye,
shad and carp opens today, June 16, at 6 a.m. and continue until further
notice.
|
| Tribes
find success in hatchery supplementation |
12 June 2009
CRITFC question the
conclusions of a recent scientific study that claims the interbreeding
of hatchery and wild steelhead can reduce the reproductive success
of future steelhead generations.
|
| Tribes,
feds, and states celebrate first year of new era in Columbia Basin fisheries
protection |
8
May 2009
Nearly 400 tribal,
federal, state and local leaders returned Friday to a historic fishing
village on the banks of the Columbia River, celebrating unprecedented
collaboration cemented a year ago at the same place by Columbia Basin
Fish Accords.
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| CRITFC
leaders name Babtist (Paul) Lumley new Executive Director |
29
April 2009
Babtist
(Paul) Lumley, a member of the Yakama Indian Nation and 23-year veteran
of American Indian policy, is returning to the Columbia Basin after
a five- year absence to serve as the executive director for the Columbia
River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.
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| Pinkham
leaves CRITFC for native nation-building in Midwest |
12 March 2009
Jaime Pinkham, Nez
Perce tribal member and Watershed Department Manager for the Columbia
River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC), will say good-bye to
CRITFC and the Columbia Basin after four and a half years of dedication
to salmon restoration and tribal treaty fishing rights.
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| Tribal
fish management move to the head of science class with new genetics technology |
13 Jan 2009
CRITFC is the
first in the Columbia Basin to integrate a revolutionary genetics technology
to advance salmon management. The new technology known as integrated
fluidic circuits, or IFCs, read the genetic code of specific genes
of interest in salmon and steelhead populations.
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| 2008 Releases |
| Federal judge rejects Humane Society challenge to sea lion management |
26 Nov 2008
The tribes expressed strong support today for a federal court ruling against a humane society lawsuit that sought to block the removal of predatory sea lions from Bonneville Dam.
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| Collaborative
effort launches rulemaking process for revised water quality standard |
23 October 2008
The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) and its
member tribes commended the State of Oregon’s Environmental
Quality Commission (EQC) today for their unanimous vote to approve
an action that begins a yearlong rulemaking process to revise Oregon’s
toxic criteria for human health.
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| CRITFC
and basin tribes petition for rehearing on LNG decision |
20 Oct 2008
The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC), Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and Nez Perce Tribe are
joining the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
the states of Washington and Oregon and a coalition of public interest
groups in filing a request for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC) to reconsider its premature approval of a liquefied natural
gas (LNG) terminal at the Bradwood Landing site in the Columbia
River estuary.
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| 25th
annual Oxbow Salmon Festival anticipating sun and salmon |
6
October 2008
Metro’s Salmon
Festival celebrates the fall Chinook that spawn in the Sandy River
along Oxbow Regional Park. About 10,000 young and young-at-heart visitors
will descend on the event October 11-12, 2008 to enjoy guided river
walks, music, craft activities and CRITFC’s Wy-Kan-Ush-Pum Village.
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| Columbia
River Treaty Tribes Plan to Appeal FERC’s Flawed Decision on Bradwood
LNG Project |
18 Sept 2008
The Columbia River treaty tribes expressed disappointment today
over the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s conditional
approval of a liquefied natural gas terminal in the heart of the
Columbia River estuary.
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| Fall
tribal commercial fishery beginning |
19 August 2008
Bright and early on Tuesday morning tribal fishers will begin their
main Columbia River Fall Chinook commercial fishing season; providing
the public with ample opportunities to purchase fresh, Indian-caught
salmon directly from tribal fishers.
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| 10-year
Agreement Forged for Columbia River Salmon Harvest, Production |
13
August 2008
A new 10-year agreement
guiding salmon harvest and production on the Columbia River, approved
yesterday by a federal judge, provides a long-term framework for rebuilding
weak fish populations and conducting sustainable fisheries.
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| Tribes
express concern, offer enforcement aid to lamprey/steelhead dumping investigation |
8
August 2008
Columbia River tribal leaders expressed concern today over the
discovery of dumped and wasted steelhead and Pacific lamprey at
Celilo Park on the Columbia River.
|
| Olney
“JP” Patt, Jr. steps down as CRITFC executive director |
21 July 2008
Olney “JP”
Patt, Jr. today announced his resignation as the executive director
of the Portland, Oregon-based Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
effective August 1st, 2008.
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| Columbia
River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission Welcomes its 2008-2009 Officers |
16 July 2008
The newly elected officers of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.
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| Columbia
River Tribal Salmon Harvest Returns! |
18 June 2008
Members of the salmon-loving
community can take heart, local salmon is available. The highly anticipated
tribal summer fishery will begin to satisfy local appetites for the
best salmon available.
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| Columbia
River Chinook returns boosted under new US/Canada salmon agreement |
22
May 2008
Negotiators from the
United States and Canada today announced completion of a ten-year
agreement for Chinook management under the Pacific Salmon Treaty that
promotes sustainability through reductions in ocean fisheries and
funding of improved assessment programs.
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| Officials
recover body of one Yakama fisher today, two other remain lost
Multi-agency search effort continues |
18
May 2008
Officials today recovered
the body of Yakama Nation tribal fisherman, James Peter Jr., who went
missing along with two other Yakama Fishers on May 7th, 2008.
|
| Multi-agency
search continues for three tribal fishermen missing on the Columbia
River |
9
May 2008
The Yakama Nation Fisheries
Enforcement, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fisheries Enforcement, Skamania
County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
are continuing search efforts for three tribal fishermen who went
missing on the Columbia River Wednesday morning when they failed to
return from salmon fishing.
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| Tribes
open prized spring fishery for the first time years |
5
May 2008
For the first time
in several years, fishers from the four Columbia River Treaty Tribes
will be selling the most coveted of all the Columbia River salmon,
the prized spring Chinook.
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| Tribes and feds end decades of legal battles to begin new era |
2
May 2008
Years of divisiveness
over salmon recovery efforts in the Columbia River Basin ended today
for the tribes and federal agencies that signed unprecedented agreements
designed to deliver specific, scientifically valid biological results
for the region’s fish. The agreements, celebrated today with
traditional tribal ceremonies at a place of cultural significance
in the Columbia River Gorge, are now called The Columbia Basin Fish
Accords.
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| Columbia
River Treaty Tribes Praise Federal Decision on Problem Sea Lions |
18 March 2008
Strong praise came today from leaders of the Columbia River treaty
tribes for a federal decision authorizing increased management of
nuisance sea lions exploiting endangered salmon stocks.
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| Sea
lions vs. salmon: Restore balance and common sense |
15 February 2008
An opinion piece by
CRITFC Chair Fidelia Andy commenting on the recommendation by NOAA
Fisheries to allow limited lethal removal of problem California sea
lions below Bonneville Dam.
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| Treaty
Tribes Praise Federal Sea Lion Recommendation |
17
January 2008
Leaders of the Columbia
River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission's member tribes today expressed
strong support for a federal recommendation to authorize limited lethal
removal of California sea lions whose impact on endangered Columbia
River salmon has reached crisis levels.
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| 2007 Releases |
| 2006 Releases |
| 2005 Releases |
| 2004 Releases |
| 2003 Releases |
| 2002 Releases |
| 2001 Releases |
|
Wana Chinook Tymoo magazine
Wana Chinook Tymoo means "Columbia River salmon stories" in
Sahaptin, the common language family of CRITFC's member tribes. It is
published to educate and inform the four tribaes and the general public
of salmon news and projects in the Columbia River Basin.
Winter 2009 (
4.2 MB)
Winter 2008 (
4.8 MB)
Summer 2004 (
3.1 MB)
Winter 2003 (
4.2 MB)
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