(You will be introduced by Julie Keli, director of hydro licensing at Portland General Electric)

Beautiful day; beautiful place

The heart of the Settlement Agreement we are signing today is a plan to protect and restore tribal and endangered fisheries and wildlife habitat in the Deschutes River Basin.

The challenge was to accomplish this while continuing to provide the vial, low-cost power produced by the Pelton Round Butte Hydroelectric Project.

I believe the parties have succeeded.

The settlement is a triumph of collaboration over conflict among the 22 agencies and groups that sat down together to negotiate for over 10 years.

The agreement required 19 months of intensive negotiations among tribal, local, regional and national interests.

The parties have demonstrated to the region and the nation how communication, consultation and cooperation-all in the name of conservation-can enable communities to avoid conflict and resolve complex natural resource issues.

I commend the Warm Springs Tribes and Portland General Electric for bridging their differences and signing-a Global Settlement Agreement in April 2000 that resulted in co-ownership of the project.

That agreement assured diversification of the Tribes' economy through this major economic resource and strengthened the Tribes ability to manage their resources and chart their own future.

The collaborative relations, begun in the joining of PGE and the Tribes in their business venture, were extended to the settlement negotiations just concluded.

The importance of this project to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the people of Oregon was a guiding principle driving the settlement process.

The project is the first major hydropower operation in the United States jointly owned by an American Indian tribe and a public utility. It also is the largest hydroelectric facility completely within the State of Oregon.

The project annually produces about 1.5 billion kilowatt hours of clean, renewable energy. That's enough electricity to supply more than 137,000 homes or a city the size of Salem, Oregon. The energy provided is "peaking power," available when the people of Oregon need it most.

The revenue the tribes receive from power generation has diversified their economic base and supported tribal programs ranging from public safety to health and education.

In the settlement process, the Department of the Interior and other federal agencies worked with the project owners, state and local government agencies, and private groups to develop a solution that fulfilled government responsibilities and met the needs of all parties.

Under the Federal Power Act, the Department is responsible for ensuring "adequate protection and utilization" of federal reservations as well as providing appropriate fish passage in licensing hydroelectric projects.

The opportunity created by the settlement process allowed Interior to meet its obligations to protect tribal trust resources affected by the project while also supporting another important Department goal-economic development for Indian tribes.

The Settlement Team faced significant environmental and economic issues in developing its solution.

The Deschutes River is the lifeblood of Central Oregon, supporting unique fisheries of national significance.

Reaches above and below the project are designated federal Wild and Scenic Rivers, and Oregon State Scenic Waterway and are protected under the Warm Springs Tribes' Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

The river and project reservoirs and facilities sustain varied economies in Oregon by generating electricity, irrigating agricultural land, providing a fish harvest for the Tribes, and supporting recreation and tourism.

The key challenge facing the team was finding a way to allow salmon and steelhead to migrate through the project.

The original system of fish ladders and pipelines failed mainly because contrary currents and confusing eddies in the upper reservoir-Lake Billy Chinook-prevented young salmon, steelhead and other fish from reaching the intake mechanism for transport downstream.

No migratory fish have passed through the system since 1968.

The settlement's fish passage plan seeks to restore spring Chinook and sockeye salmon as well as steelhead runs above the project.

It also aims to reconnect thriving populations of bull trout in the Metoluis (Muh-TOH-lee-us) River and Lake Billy Chinook with other populations downstream of the project. In addition, the agreement supports and advances efforts to study and promote habitat for Pacific lamprey.

Chinook salmon, steelhead, and lamprey are important resources for the Tribes. The Deschutes River's run of summer steelhead is listed as threatened.

The settlement also calls for water quality improvements, habitat restoration, increased in stream flows, protection of cultural resources and management of shoreline erosion.

The Warm Springs Tribes and Portland General Electric are prepared to spend more than $135 million on the initiative. More than $121 million of that is planned for the fishery-related measures, including habitat improvements on tributaries of the Deschutes River.
The solution to passing fish at the project exemplifies how environmental protection is served by utilizing sound science and cutting-edge technology.

A 270-foot underwater tower will be constructed by the year 2008 to redirect currents in Lake Billy Chinook. The tower will be topped by a 130-foot wide wedge that will collect fish for transport downstream-from where they can find their way to the ocean.

These improvements will-over the long term-reopen 226 miles of stream to salmon and steelhead, including vital ancestral spawning grounds.

By the year 2010, reintroduced salmon and steelhead-and possibly sockeye salmon-could begin their return trip from the Pacific, up the Columbia and Deschutes Rivers.

Initially, they will be collected at the Reregulating Dam and trucked upstream past the project's three dams to complete their life cycles.

Eventually, they may be able to pass through the project without collection, using the fish ladders according to their natural migratory pace.

The tower will also improve reservoir and Deschutes River water quality, keeping the reservoir cooler in the summer and helping to maintain appropriate downstream temperatures for fish.

Stream improvements will help birds as well, enriching nesting areas for bald and golden eagles, prairie falcons, ospreys and tropical migratory song birds.

The resource protection measures devised in the settlement use cutting edge technology and allow for adaptive management to adjust to changing circumstances or new information.

These measures also represent a commitment of all the parties, especially the project owners, to the resources of the Deschutes River Basin.

The Department hopes that the strength of these fisheries and habitat restoration initiatives will allow the project to be relicensed for the maximum term-50 years.

A maximum term would enable the Tribes to fully realize their economic investment and help to ensure their economic future.

The tribes also will have the opportunity to buy additional shares of the project during the term of the license. If the Tribes desire, they can expand their current one-third ownership interest to majority control.

Ownership of the project gives the Tribes a much more active role in determining how the Project can minimize its impact on tribal resources and the surrounding landscape.

Central Oregon communities that depend on recreation and tourism also benefit from the settlement. The project provides one of the most popular recreational destinations in the State of Oregon.

The Deschutes River draws white water rafters and sport fishermen from all over the region. The project's reservoirs provide a wide variety of recreational activities, including boating, camping, hiking, wildlife observation, and photography.

Several Interior agencies worked with the Settlement Team, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and Office of the Solicitor.

My Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Dave Anderson, is here today to reemphasize our commitment to working cooperatively with tribal leaders to fulfill Interior's responsibilities for tribal self-determination, self-governance and economic development.

I was pleased to meet and talk with members of the Warm Springs Tribal Council this morning. Dave will be meeting with them this afternoon to discuss a range of topics.

Other federal agencies that made important contributions to the settlement were NOAA-Fisheries, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce; and the U.S. Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture.

Finally, the settlement is a triumph of vision-a belief in wise river management that offers environmental restoration and protection while also ensuring economic progress.

The agreement demonstrates how water management and hydroelectric operations can be carried out in innovative ways that protect tribal trust resources, enhance the environment and aid in the recovery of threatened species.

The settlement underscores President Bush's belief-one that I and hundreds of millions of Americans share-that with sound science, cutting-edge technology and creative solutions, we can have healthy rivers and landscapes as well as thriving communities.

Thanks to all of you, this settlement has provided a model for other American communities faced with similar challenges-a model of river restoration based on vision and commitment. The Tribes' efforts have also been a model of tribal self-determination and self-governance.

You have shown that these problems are not insoluble; that with trust, good will, and perseverance, we can restore and protect our lands and waters while continuing to benefit from their productive use and wise management.

Thank you.