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Northwest tribes seek increased salmon‑restoration and treaty‑rights funding, warn layoffs imperil programs
Summary
Representatives of Columbia Basin and Great Lakes tribal commissions told the House Appropriations panel that salmon recovery, treaty enforcement and fisheries management depend on stable federal funding and agency capacity; they asked for explicit appropriations for fisheries management, law enforcement at fishing access sites and other targeted
Representatives of the Columbia River Inter‑Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC), Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) and other regional tribal fisheries bodies told the Appropriations subcommittee they need sustained funding and federal agency capacity to carry out treaty‑protected fishing rights and natural‑resource restoration.
Jeremy Takala, chair of the Columbia River Inter‑Tribal Fish Commission, described the basin as "larger than Florida" in area and said salmon declines and endangered listings threaten tribal lifeways and regional economies. CRITFC requested specific FY26 appropriations to support core restoration work, fishing access sites, law enforcement, Pacific Salmon Treaty implementation and youth conservation training. Takala said the administration's apparent impoundment of some congressionally‑directed funds and federal staff layoffs have reduced the federal partners tribes rely on for implementation.
Jason Shunner (Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission) and representatives of the Chippewa‑area CORA consortium asked the committee to preserve funding for rights‑protection implementation and to maintain monitoring and enforcement for treaty fisheries in the Great Lakes. Austin Lozdan, chairman of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe and speaker for the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority (CORA), requested roughly $8.5 million for treaty rights protection in the 1836 ceded territory to cover biological monitoring, enforcement and intertribal reporting systems.
Why it matters: tribal treaty fishing rights are legally protected; enforcement, monitoring and restoration programs require stable funding and federal‑tribal coordination. Tribes said reduced federal staff at NOAA, Interior, the Army Corps and other agencies makes joint projects harder and leaves fishery protections vulnerable.
What lawmakers can do next: witnesses sought line‑item appropriations in FY26 for fisheries management, operations and enforcement, and urged the subcommittee to ensure agency staffing levels needed to administer and co‑manage restoration programs.
