The Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority (CBFWA) was established by charter in 1987 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. The charter states that the purposes of the CBFWA are:

(A) 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

(B) to facilitate discussion among fish and wildlife managers in an effort to find consensus, to improve the quality of fish and wildlife decision-making, and to influence other regional decision-makers.

With the adoption of the 2008 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program including sub-basin plans, the development of the most recent FCRPS Biological Opinions, the 2008 Columbia River Fish Accords, and Endangered Species Act recovery plans across much of the Basin, the region has completed a major portion of the planning phase of adaptive management.  The members of CBFWA agree resources must be provided to implement these plans and agree that coordination efforts must now primarily focus on the implementation and evaluation components of adaptive management.  To accomplish this, the CBFWA members adopt the following Policy Directives committing each member’s staff and directing CBFWA staff to:

1. participate in and support ongoing assessments of the status of the species and implementation of strategies and actions to help determine if protection, mitigation, and enhancement efforts are successful in the Columbia River Basin;

2. maintain a “Status of the Resources” (SOTR) website and annually prepare a written report summarizing the current information provided on the website; and,

3. monitor and report on activities of key regional forums where policies, programs, and actions that affect fish and wildlife are planned and implemented.

For contract year 2011 (April 2011 through March 2012), the CBFWA members will carry forward with the 2010 Policy Directives and continue to evaluate their implementation.