MANAGING THE COLUMBIA RIVER: INSTREAM FLOWS, WATER WITHDRAWALS, AND SALMON SURVIVAL by National Research Council of the National Academies

Author:National Research Council of the National Academies
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Agriculture : Aquaculture and Fisheries. Earth Sciences : Water and Hydrology
Publisher: NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Published: 2004-07-30T00:00:00+00:00

Yakama Nation/Yakima Indian Reservation (Washington)

The Yakima River flows from the northwest and empties into the Columbia River at Richland, Washington. Water rights established on the Yakima River affect water availability downstream on the Columbia River mainstem. The Yakima River has been the subject of the ongoing Yakima River adjudication, originally filed by the State of Washington in 1977. The water rights of the Yakama Nation have been asserted in the adjudication, and several important decisions have been reached. In November 1990 the Yakima County Superior Court granted a partial summary judgment establishing the quantity and priority of treaty-reserved water rights for irrigation within the Yakama Reservation and for fishing purposes both within the reservation and off-reservation in the Yakama Nation’s “usual and accustomed” fishing area. The court determined that federal legislation passed in 1914 and subsequent federal legislative, executive, and judicial actions had reduced the amount of water claimed by the tribe under its treaty. Consequently, the court ruled that the tribal fishing right was limited to the instream flow necessary to maintain fish life in the river. The case was appealed to the Washington Supreme Court, which in April 1993 affirmed the lower court decision.

Significance for the Columbia River middle reach: The Yakima River adjudication is nearing conclusion. In addition to the quantification of the Yakama Nation’s water rights, major non-Indian irrigation claims have been resolved through litigation and settlement. As a result of this adjudication, the state has acquired reasonably current and accurate information regarding the use of water on this Columbia River tributary stream. The tribal fishing right, although less than claimed, remains a “time immemorial” instream flow right that must be protected by the state in future permitting decisions.

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