November 8, 2026
By Don Sampson

For more than 100 years, salmon were absent from the Umatilla River. Generations of our tribal people grew up without the opportunity to fish, practice our traditions, or put salmon on their families’s tables. The return of salmon has meant more than restoring fish to a river. It has helped restore our culture, our treaty rights, and an important part of our local economy. I’ve spent much of my life working to restore salmon and protect the natural resources that sustain our communities. One thing I’ve learned is that real progress happens when tribes, farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and government agencies work together.

The Umatilla River is proof. Over the past 40 years, we’ve restored water flows, improved irrigation, rebuilt habitat, and brought back three species of salmon. Farmers continue to irrigate their fields, salmon are returning, and our communities benefit. That’s what successful collaboration looks like. But collaboration alone isn’t enough. The federal government must uphold its legal responsibilities.

Salmon populations throughout the Columbia River Basin remain in serious trouble. The Bonneville Power Administration and federal agencies responsible for managing our rivers and hydropower system must be held accountable for their obligations to protect fish and wildlife and honor tribal treaty rights.

Congress recognized these responsibilities when it passed the Northwest Power Act, requiring equitable treatment of fish and wildlife alongside power production. That wasn’t a suggestion. It was a commitment established in federal law, and it must be honored.

Too often, we’re told we must choose between salmon and affordable electricity. I reject that argument. Through my work in salmon restoration and with renewable energy companies across the country, I’ve seen that we can protect our natural resources while building a reliable, affordable energy future.

We also need to recognize that salmon restoration is an investment in our local economies. Restoration projects employ local contractors, equipment operators, construction crews, and suppliers. They improve irrigation systems, protect water supplies, and support farming and ranching. Healthy rivers bring fishermen and visitors who spend money in our communities.

I’ve seen these benefits firsthand in Pendleton, Joseph, and throughout Eastern Oregon. When we allow rivers to deteriorate, we don’t just lose fish. We put agriculture, recreation, tourism and our way of life at risk.

That’s why the federal government must maintain meaningful investments in salmon recovery, including efforts like the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative. These investments aren’t optional favors to tribes or rural communities. They are essential to meeting federal responsibilities and protecting our shared economic future.

As a former tribal chairman, fisherman, and longtime advocate for natural resource protection, I’ve worked with people from many backgrounds. We don’t always agree, but most of us want healthy rivers, productive farms, good jobs, affordable electricity, and a future for our children and grandchildren.

BPA and the federal government need to stop treating salmon recovery as something that can be postponed or sacrificed whenever budgets or power priorities change. They must fulfill their responsibilities, honor treaty rights and invest in lasting solutions.

We have already demonstrated what’s possible when we work together. Now it’s time for the federal government to do its part.

Healthy rivers and strong local economies go hand in hand. We should demand nothing less than both.

Don Sampson is a former chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and former executive director of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. He is a fisheries scientist and has spent decades working on salmon restoration, tribal treaty rights, and natural resource protection. He lives in Pendleton and Joseph.

East Oregonian: Guest commentary: BPA must do more to protect local economies