The Upper Columbia Basin Environmental Collaborative (UCBEC) is a collaboration of a cross-section of environmental voices from the Upper Columbia Basin representing provincial, regional and local environmental groups.
Our member groups are:
• Provincial – Sierra Club of British Columbia, BC Nature
• Regional – Wildsight, Yellowstone to Yukon
• Local – Friends of Kootenay Lake, North Columbia Environmental Society
Context
In 1942 the Grand Coulee Dam was completed by the United States, entirely blocking the migration of salmon up the Columbia River into Canada. Earlier construction of the Bonneville Dam downstream in 1937 had already partially obstructed migration of sturgeon, although fish ladders on that dam allow migration of salmon and steelhead. The signing of the Columbia River Treaty in 1964 initiated a flurry of dam-building on the Columbia in Canada and the US. In Canada, the Hugh Keenleyside dam was completed in 1968, the Mica Dam in 1973 and the Revelstoke Dam in 1984. The Kootenay River system also received attention with the completion of the Duncan Dam in 1967, the Libby Dam in 1972 and the Kootenay Canal Project in 1976.
The Columbia River Treaty has provisions related to flood control water storage and sharing downstream benefits between Canada and the US for storage provided by dams in Canada. In the year 2024, the pre-paid flood requirement for flood storage provided by Canada will change to “called upon” flood storage. In addition the Treaty states that any time after September 16, 2024 either the US or Canada can withdraw from the Treaty with a minimum of 10 years advance notice. In addition the US and Canada have signed Non-Treaty Storage Agreements to govern how additional storage available in Canada will be managed.
Due to impending changes in the Treaty in 2024, and the recognized need to modernize various aspects of the Treaty, the US and Canada have entered into formal ongoing negotiations regarding potential Treaty changes in the spring of 2018.
UCBEC views these ongoing negotiations as an opportunity to introduce concepts of improved ecosystem function and restoration into the Treaty. It is an opportunity to widen the Treaty beyond flood control and hydro-electric power to include considerations for improving damaged aquatic, wetland, riparian and associated terrestrial ecosystems.
What We Are Working On
The primary focus of the Upper Columbia Basin Environmental Collaborative is to improve the function of Canadian ecosystems impacted by dams and reservoirs in the Columbia Basin, including those in the terrestrial, aquatic and riparian/wetland realms. Although our emphasis is on Canadian reservoirs and river reaches, we also promote ecosystem restoration in the USA, to ensure maximum ecosystem function is maintained and improved throughout the Columbia Basin as a whole.
We would like to see ecosystem restoration, creation and/or enhancement occur within, or in proximity to, all the Canadian reservoirs to the extent possible. However, we do recognize the need to balance restoration/enhancement efforts among reservoirs to achieve the greatest net ecological benefits. Salmon reintroduction is a potential component of improved ecosystem function to the extent that it is consistent with our primary focus. The successful spawning of salmon in the upper Columbia Basin is, in part, dependent on the achievement of our primary focus.
Our approach
We work to achieve our objectives through technical contributions; public engagement and outreach; participation in related initiatives, and constructive dialogue with government, non-government interests/groups and First Nations.