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Improving Ecosystem Function in the Upper Columbia Basin Discussion Paper (Version 2)

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Improving Ecosystem Function in the Upper Columbia Basin Discussion Paper (Version 2) Improving Ecosystem Function in the Upper Columbia Basin Discussion Paper (version 2) Prepared by: Upper Columbia Basin Environmental Collaborative (UCBEC) April 17, 2020 Improving Ecosystem Function in the Upper Columbia Basin Upper Columbia Basin Environmental Collaborative (UCBEC) Discussion Paper (version 2) Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Why This Discussion Paper? ............................................................................................................ 4 1.2 Context .......................................................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Ecosystem Function and Ecosystem Services.................................................................................... 7 1.4 Climate Disruption .......................................................................................................................... 9 2.0 General Proposals for Restoring Ecosystem Function under the CRT ........................................ 9 2.1 Addition of Ecosystem Function as a Third Purpose of the CRT ......................................................... 9 2.2 Governance .................................................................................................................................. 10 2.3 Active Adaptive Management ....................................................................................................... 10 3.0 Specific Proposals by Reservoir and River Reach ................................................................... 11 3.1 Columbia and Pend d’Oreille Rivers ............................................................................................... 11 3.1.1 Kinbasket Reservoir – Mica Dam ..................................................................................................................... 13 3.1.2 Revelstoke Reservoir – Revelstoke Dam .......................................................................................................... 13 3.1.3 Columbia River between Revelstoke Dam and Arrow Reservoir (i.e. Revelstoke Reach) ................................ 13 3.1.4 Arrow Reservoir ............................................................................................................................................... 14 3.1.5 Columbia River downstream from Keenleyside Dam ...................................................................................... 14 3.1.6 Pend d’Oreille River System ............................................................................................................................. 14 3.2 Kootenay River ............................................................................................................................. 15 3.2.1 Koocanusa Reservoir – Libby Dam ................................................................................................................... 16 3.2.2 Kootenay River between US border and Kootenay Lake ................................................................................. 16 3.2.3 Duncan Reservoir – Duncan Dam .................................................................................................................... 16 3.2.4 Duncan River between Duncan Dam and Kootenay Lake ................................................................................ 16 3.2.5 Kootenay Lake .................................................................................................................................................. 17 3.2.6 Kootenay River between Kootenay Lake and Columbia River ......................................................................... 17 4.0 References ........................................................................................................................... 17 Cover photo: Jim Lawrence Ecosystem Function Discussion Paper v2 April 17, 2020 2/18 Upper Columbia Basin Environmental Collaborative 1.0 INTRODUCTION The Upper Columbia Basin Environmental Collaborative (UCBEC) is a partnership, comprised of a cross-section of Canadian environmental voices from the Upper Columbia Basin. We represent provincial, regional and local environmental organizations, supported by select scientific, technical and policy experts. Current membership includes the Sierra Club of British Columbia, BC Nature, Wildsight, Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, Friends of Kootenay Lake Stewardship Society and the North Columbia Environment Society. Martin Carver serves as the UCBEC Lead, coordinating and facilitating Committee activities. Greg Utzig serves as UCBEC’s Technical Advisor1. UCBEC began meeting in late 2016 to provide a unified environmental voice for consideration by all parties engaged in the modernization of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty (CRT) and other related processes. Our primary focus is to improve the function of Canadian ecosystems impacted by dams and reservoirs in the Columbia Basin, including those in terrestrial, aquatic and riparian/wetland realms. In particular, we identify science-based perspectives and describe technically robust proposals to support full incorporation of ecosystem function within a modernized CRT. Although our emphasis is on Canadian reservoirs and river reaches, we also promote ecosystem restoration in the US 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 Canadian reservoirs and downstream river reaches to the extent possible. We also recognize the need to balance restoration and enhancement efforts among reservoirs and affected river reaches to achieve the greatest net ecological benefit. Our ongoing work includes participation in the Columbia Basin Regional Advisory Committee (CBRAC), along with presentations to that group regarding adaptive management and UCBEC’s proposals2. UCBEC is also actively participating in the process led by First Nations within the Canadian negotiating team to integrate ecosystem function into the CRT. UCBEC’s Technical Advisor is on the CRT Ecosystem Function Subcommittee for this work and is contributing to various studies developing performance measures for analyzing potential benefits to ecosystem function that may result from various future CRT scenarios. UCBEC also maintains close contact with the CRT Local Governments Committee (LGC) and shares many CRT renewal objectives with that group3. Additionally, UCBEC is contributing to periodic teleconferences and local conferences with First Nations, tribes and US environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) organized by the international Columbia River Roundtable4. These activities offer opportunities to maintain communication and coordinate with other organizations with similar objectives to incorporate ecosystem function into a renewed CRT. UCBEC has been actively researching, refining, discussing and promoting the ideas presented in this Discussion Paper. In both Canada and the US, representatives and members of UCBEC have participated in and/or presented at numerous forums related to the renewal of the CRT. Examples of these include: • the International CRT Modelling Working Group in Vancouver BC and Portland OR (2016-2017) • a CRT ecosystem function workshop in Nelson BC (Jun 2017) • the Lake Roosevelt Forum in Spokane WA (April 2018) • the Canadian Water Resources Association’s CRT Symposium in Victoria BC (May 2018) • the Pacific Northwest Economic Summit in Spokane WA (Aug 2018) • the Adaptive Management in the Columbia Basin Workshop in Berkeley CA (May 2019) • the Regulated Rivers II conference in Nelson, BC (May 2019) • the One River: Ethics Matter conference in Castlegar, BC (May 2019) • the Columbia Basin Transboundary Conference: One River, One Future in Kimberley BC (September 2019) Further details on UCBECs work and some of our presentations and publications (including this Discussion Paper and a summary) can be found at: http://www.kootenayresilience.org/columbia-river-treaty. 1 For further information contact Martin Carver [email protected] or Greg Utzig [email protected] 2 See https://engage.gov.bc.ca/columbiarivertreaty/2019/05/08/april-15-16-2019-meeting-9/. 3 See LGC draft recommendations, available at http://akblg.ca/columbia_river_treaty.html. 4 See https://celp.org/columbia-river-roundtable/ Ecosystem Function Discussion Paper v2 April 17, 2020 3/18 Upper Columbia Basin Environmental Collaborative 1.1 Why This Discussion Paper? Like other river developments from the same era, the CRT values the Columbia River and its tributaries exclusively for the purposes of maximizing hydropower generation and minimizing flood risk in support of downstream human development. However, in both formal documents5 and public communications, the governments of British Columbia, Canada, and the US have, to varying degrees, endorsed the need to prioritize ecosystems in a modernized CRT. Negotiations over the future of this agreement began in May 2018. As negotiations proceed, each country’s negotiating team may be privately evaluating what ecosystem function could look like in a modernized CRT to inform its own negotiation agendas. However, there is also a need to advance research and discussion on this topic in the public realm. Alongside its narrow economic focus, another core feature of the original CRT was its neglect for
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