[6] Council OKs $70 Million In Wildlife Funding

The wildlife portion of the region's BPA-funded Fish and Wildlife Program got a boost last month after the Northwest Power and Conservation Council approved $70 million in funding over the next five years. The money will pay for 34 projects vetted by the independent science panel that reviews the merit of F&W proposals.

Two other proposals that focused on southern Idaho wildlife mitigation didn't make the cut.

The five-year time frame marks a break with the three-year allocations in past F&W budgets. The extra time will allow for greater flexibility, according to a NWPCC staff memo, "much like the flexibility of a Columbia Basin Fish Accord."

The council also approved nearly $68 million for a capital budget for wildlife projects over the next three years.

Some of the priciest proposals include nearly $700,000 a year each for IDFG and the Albeni Falls Interagency Workgroup to restore and maintain habitat compromised by the Corps of Engineers' Albeni Falls hydro project, which regulates the level of Idaho's Lake Pend Oreille.

More than $1.5 million has been allocated for Colville Tribes wildlife mitigation; $700,000-plus a year for Kootenai Floodplain assessment (Kootenai Tribe) and a similar amount for Willamette Basin mitigation (ODFW).

BPA is even spending $91,000 a year to support WDFW efforts to recover Western pond turtles. -B. R.

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