The construction of Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams in the US and the dams built on the Canadian side of the border have had significant impacts on fisheries – including the extirpation of ocean going salmon - for First Nations on the Upper Columbia. Compass and Value Scope were hired to design and implement a survey to understand and better characterize the significance of these impacts to 8 First Nation communities and to help prioritize short term mitigation and compensation strategies to redress these effects. Key tasks associated with this work included:

• Documenting the historic and current status of important resident fish and anadromous salmon
• Characterizing fish species according to their conservation, food & trade, social, ceremonial, and cultural importance to First Nations
• Developing a series of mapping products to support the survey and mitigation efforts
• Identifying and assessing the suitability of various mitigation and compensation options
• Designing a survey to test the preferences for each participating community
• Training survey technicians to conduct the survey in their communities
• Analyzing and compiling the results from the surveys
• Developing a short term mitigation and compensation plan

This project is part of a longer term initiative by participating First Nations to develop fish management plans for their traditional territories and specifically redress the salmon loss impacts on the Upper Columbia.