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Columbia River Treaty Listening Session April 18 – REGISTER NOW!

CELP IS part of an alliance of Northwest-based civic, faith, energy, and conservation organizations working for a modernized Columbia River Treaty that will serve our region’s diverse needs now and into the future.

Core members include:

  • Center for Environmental Law and Policy
  • Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light
  • League of Women Voters of Washington
  • Natural Resources Defense Council
  • Northwest Energy Coalition
  • Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition
  • Sierra Club
  • WaterWatch of Oregon

North of the border, NGOs have formed the Upper Columbia Basin Environmental Collaborative to educate Canadian citizens and decision-makers about opportunities to benefit ecosystems through a modernized treaty. Negotiations with Canada to modernize the 1964 Columbia River Treaty have been underway for more than 5 years. Now, both countries are signaling that an agreement could be reached as soon as this summer!

We can’t let the Columbia River Treaty continue to ignore everything except engineered flood risk management and power production like it has for 60+ years under the supervision of Bonneville Power Administration and the US Army Corps of Engineers. The new Treaty must include Ecosystem Function – the health of the river and its ecosystems – as a third primary purpose. And the Treaty’s governance system must be reformed to include Columbia Basin Tribes, federal agencies with ecosystem expertise, and Northwest citizens.

On April 19th (5 – 6:30 pacific time, the U.S. Negotiating Team will hold its first public event in over 3 years – a virtual ‘listening session’ via Zoom to share updates and hear from the Northwest about priorities for a modernized Treaty. Please register now — it’s important to show federal decision-makers that there is strong interest in the Treaty from the Northwest.

Visit our Modernizing the Columbia River treaty webpage or go to https://columbiarivertreaty.org/ to learn more!

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