The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation of Washington are preparing to break ground on the $41 million Chief Joseph Hatchery.

The hatchery will return salmon to the Columbia River. The tribe depends on the fish for subsistence and ceremonial use.

“Everybody wants salmon,” Joe Peone, the director of the tribal Fish and Wildlife Program, told The Spokesman Review. “The salmon have cultural significance for the tribes, but they’re also an icon for the Northwest.”

The Bonneville Power Administration is paying for the hatchery. Groundbreaking will take place in spring 2010.

The Yakama Nation recently began an effort to restore salmon in the Yakima River basin.

Get the Story:
Colville tribes look forward to opening of Columbia River salmon hatchery (The Spokesman Review 7/26)
Tribe reintroduces sockeye to Lake Cle Elum (The Seattle Times 7/27)

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Yakama Nation holds ceremony to release salmon