News Release
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
PO Box 638, Pendleton, Oregon, 97801
Phone: 541-276-3165, FAX: 541-276-3095

For Immediate Release: April 20, 2004
Contact: Debra Croswell, 541-966-2033, Rick George 541-276-3449

PENDLETON - The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation said Monday they intend to sue the federal government to stop Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from halting summer spill necessary for recovering chinook salmon.

"Bonneville has misled the public with their message that summer spill would save $77 million and kill only 24 fish. Both those numbers are wrong," said Jay Minthorn, chair of the Umatillas' Fish and Wildlife Committee and vice-chair of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. "The fact is that this action will cause the deaths of tens of thousands of fish across the region and set back salmon recovery."

The Tribes support and promote summer spill - allowing water over dam spillways rather than through turbines - because it is regionally undisputed as the safest passage route for salmon through dams, as stated by the Independent Scientific Review Board, the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, the federal agencies that implement the Endangered Species Act and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

This is the first time the Umatilla Tribe is resorting to litigation in salmon restoration efforts that have brought thousands of salmon back from extinction in the Umatilla River in Eastern Oregon.

Antone Minthorn, chairman of the Umatillas' Board of Trustees, said the federal government's plan to reduce or eliminate spill at four Corps of Engineers' dams this summer has left the Tribe with no choice but to file a lawsuit.

"Our policy has always been to negotiate rather than litigate but this time our hand has been forced," said Antone Minthorn. "Our only option is to enjoin the federal government to stop this action before it harms our fish, our efforts and substantial public investments. Hopefully, their delay in deciding to end spill means they are re-examining the political and legal implications of their proposal because we think they will lose in court."

Jay Minthorn, who is also a member of the Umatillas' Board of Trustees, said BPA and the Corps of Engineers chose not to tell the public that ending summer spill would impact Umatilla River fall chinook.

"Bonneville conveniently omitted that the federal government, which has poured more than $100 million into salmon recovery in the Umatilla River, was responsible in the first place, some 90 years ago, for the salmon's extinction when a federal irrigation project pumped all the water out of the river for crops.

" If we're going to talk about cost efficiencies, which is the mask hiding the federal salmon-killing proposal, let's start in the Umatilla River where the federal government first funded the extinction of salmon, then funded their recovery, and now is proposing to kill the salmon they paid to recover by eliminating spill. Where is BPA's logic?"

Don Sampson, former executive director for the CRITFC and current executive director for the Umatilla Tribes, reiterated Jay Minthorn's comments.

"There is no biological basis, no financial need - only federal greed. The federal government is taxing salmon to keep air conditioners running in California. The region's years of efforts and progress should not be undermined," Sampson said.

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