As part of an agency-wide effort to control costs, the Bonneville Power Administration has identified cuts in funding for the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, beginning in the current fiscal year. These cuts are part of BPA’s “more disciplined approach to managing the total cost” of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s fish and wildlife program, which Bonneville is required by the Northwest Power Act of 1980 to fund.
These plans include a reduction in funding for StreamNet’s fish and aquatic habitat information management and data-sharing project of $82,512. StreamNet partner agencies will see level funding with no inflationary increases this year. StreamNet’s PSMFC central staff have been reduced by one full time employee, and the program manager will be partially funded by working on other, non-BPA projects. More information is available here.
