Ed Chaney— Profile & Representative Projects/Experience

Ed Chaney founded and directs the Northwest Resource Information Center, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit scientific, educational organization established in 1976 in response to the then-perilous status of Snake River anadromous salmon and steelhead. NRIC conducts research, produces non-partisan public information to influence natural resource policies, management initiatives and investment strategies, and files lawsuits in the federal courts to challenge failure of government and betrayal of the public trust.

Ed has 50 years professional experience. He is author of numerous regional and subregional natural resource management plans, and innumerable technical reports, articles and essays. He has served as consultant to agencies of the United States Government, to agencies of state governments, to governors of states, to Native American Indian tribes, to regional inter-governmental councils and commissions in the Pacific Northwest, to the Western and Central Fisheries Boards of Ireland, and to non-governmental organizations in the United States, Mexico, Scotland and France. He has many times provided invited expert testimony before governmental bodies, including committees of the United States Congress.

Partial list of Representative Projects/actions (see also https://nwric.org/reports.html.)

Litigation

Litigant, In 1993 NRIC brought suit in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals against Bonneville Power Administration for failing to provide equitable treatment to salmon and hydropower as required by the Northwest Power Act.

Litigant, In 1994 NRIC brought suit in the Ninth Circuit of Appeals against the Northwest Power Planning Council for refusing its duty to develop a Snake River salmon restoration as required by the Northwest Power Act.

Litigant, In 2012 NRIC filed suit in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals against the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s Sixth Power Plan.

Litigant, In 2016,NRIC filed suit in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the Northwest Power and Conservation Council's 2014 Fish and Wildlife Program.

Reports/Articles/Actions

Author, The Northwest Big Short; Fact Sheet, A Northwest Energy Solution: Regional power benefits of the lower Snake River dams—Spin Doctors Hoist Bonneville Power Administration On Its Own Petard. June 2016

Petitioner, Request for U.S. Department of Energy Inspector General Investigation of Waste of Federal Funds and Violations of other Federal Laws by scofflaw Culture in Upper Management of Bonneville Power Administration. March 4, 2013.

Author, Duping The Northwest and Nation—The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Economics of Restoring Endangered Snake River Salmon. December 2000.

Author, 25 Years of Failure = Threatened Extinction & a cascade of economic and social disasters

Time to Resurrect the Unfulfilled Salmon Restoration Promise of the Northwest Power Act of 1980. February 2005.

Author, Sudden Death Overtime for Wild Snake River Salmon and Steelhead. Parts I-4. Flyfisher Magazine, 2004-2007.

— Author, analysis of legal and economic issues and Comments on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council Draft 6^th Power Plan.

— Member, Council of Elders; produced technical and economic analyses to support recommendations to the Obama Administration for Columbia River Basin salmon recovery program. For Resource Renewal Institute.

— Consultant, facilitated incorporation of the Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation and recruitment of its initial executive director. For Burns Paiute Tribe of the Burns Paiute Reservation, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation and the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation.

— Author, Estimated Cost to Acquire 42,000 Acres of Private Agricultural Land to Mitigate for the Wildlife Impacts of Five U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Projects in Southern Idaho. For Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation and Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation.

— Analysis of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Draft Environmental Impact Statement for relicensing the Idaho Power Company Hells Canyon complex of dams on the main-stem Snake River. For Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation.

— Reconnaissance of instream flow issues and opportunities in the Intermountain West. For Resource Renewal Institute.

— Author, Economic Analysis in Support of State of Oregon Alternative Section 18 Prescription for Fishways at Idaho Power Company’s Hells Canyon Hydroelectric Project (FERC 1971). For Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

— Author, Draft Framework Strategy for Reintroducing Salmon and Steelhead to the Snake River Basin Above Hells Canyon Dam. [2006] For Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation.

— Author, Analysis and Recommendations for Restoration of Anadromous Salmon and Steelhead Above the Hells Canyon Complex of Dams on the Middle Snake River. For Northwest Resource Information Center.

— Negotiator, settlement negotiations for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission relicensing of Idaho Power Company’s Hells Canyon Complex of dams. For Northwest Resource Information Center.

— Author, Idaho Economic Effects of Breaching/Not Breaching the Army Corps of Engineers’ Snake River Dams in S.E. Washington. For Northwest Resource Information Center.

— Author, Estimated Economic Damage to the Skokomish Indian Tribe from Unregulated Construction and Operation of the City of Tacoma’s Cushman Hydroelectric Project, 1926-1997. For Skokomish Indian Tribe.

— Author, Duping the Northwest and the Nation—The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Economics of Restoring Endangered Snake River Salmon. [2000] For Northwest Resource Information Center and Resource Renewal Institute.

— Comprehensive watershed/estuary/salmon restoration master plan for the Skokomish River Basin in the Hood Canal Basin of Puget Sound in western Washington. For Skokomish Indian Tribe.

— Reconnaissance investigation of the ecological/economic effects of the European Union sheep subsidy program on northwestern Ireland Atlantic salmon-producing watersheds. For Western and Central Fisheries Boards of Ireland.

— Author, South Fork Salmon River Five-Year Enhancement Plan – Special Initiative. For USDA-Forest Service, Payette and Boise National Forests and Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station.

— Author, Endangered Snake River Spring & Summer Chinook Salmon – Causes & Effects. [1994] For Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus.

— Author, Strategies for Recovery of Snake River Salmon, Recommendations for Endangered Species Act Pre-decisional Management Plan. For Idaho Governor Cecil D. Andrus.

— Author, Snake River Salmon, National Treasure at Risk of Extinction. [1993] For Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus.

—Author, Coho Salmon Status Report. For Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife.

— Author, Salmon and Steelhead Improvement Initiatives, John Day, Umatilla, Grande Ronde and Imnaha Drainages. For Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

— Author, Perspective on Management of Ocean Chinook and Coho Salmon Fisheries Within the Fishery Conservation Zone off California, Oregon and Washington. [1982] For Pacific Fishery Management Council.

— Author, Perspective on the Economic Impact of the Cushman Hydroelectric Project on the Skokomish River Estuary and Delta and Hood Canal Basin of Puget Sound. For Skokomish Indian Tribe.

— Author, Entrepreneurial Approach to Global Settlement of Cushman Hydroelectric Project Issues and Related Matters Among the Skokomish Indian Tribe, United States, and City of Tacoma. For Skokomish Indian Tribe.

— Author, Reconnaissance of Entrepreneurial Opportunities To Enhance Watershed/Anadromous Fish Conditions in Oregon’s John Day River Basin. For U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Grant and Monument Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

— Planner/Negotiator, Developed strategy for, produced numerous reports and led negotiations supporting construction of >$200 million salmon restoration/water development program in the Umatilla River Basin of eastern Oregon. For Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

— Author, Economic Values and Social and Economic Impacts Projected for Alternative Bureau of Reclamation Projects in the Umatilla River Basin, Tributary to the Columbia River. For U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

— Author, Pacific Fishery Management Council 1977-1978 Progress Report. For Pacific Fishery Management Council.

— Author, Snake River Birds of Prey, illustrated field guide. For U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

— Author, Snake River Birds of Prey, illustrated synthesis of 13 multi-year research projects used to marshal public and political support for establishing the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area. For United States Department of Interior.

— Author, Livestock Grazing on Western Riparian Areas, and Managing Change, two nationally distributed publications designed to transfer technology to improve livestock grazing and restore the economic productivity of ecologically impoverished watersheds throughout the western United States. For U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Conceived/Initiated, ~ $100 million in Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program-funded initiatives.

— Member, initial Scientific and Technical Advisory Team established to advise the Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Council on implementation of the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980.

— Co-Initiator, the salmon restoration provisions of the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980 which established the world’s largest, multi-billion dollar, fish and wildlife restoration program in the 673,400 km2 Columbia River Basin.

— Negotiator and member of Administrative Committee, Northwest regional Salmon Summit convened by then U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield, Oregon. For Idaho salmon sport fishing interests.

— Author, Changing Course, A New, More Business-like Approach to Joint Production of Columbia River Basin Anadromous Fish and Hydroelectric Energy, recommendations for recovery of Snake River Basin anadromous fish petitioned for review under the Endangered Species Act. For Salmon Summit convened by then U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield, Oregon.

— Planner/negotiator, National Salmon and Steelhead Advisory Committee, established to develop recommendations for a new management structure for Pacific Northwest salmon fisheries. For State of Oregon.

— Author, Recommendations for a New Management Structure for Northwest Salmon Fisheries. For National Salmon and Steelhead Advisory Committee.

— Co-analyst/author, Columbia River Basin Salmon and Steelhead Management Framework Plan. For Columbia River Fisheries Council (composed of Oregon, Washington and Idaho state fishery agencies; Columbia River Inter–Tribal Fish Commission; National Marine Fisheries Service; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).

— Coauthor, Areal Distribution of Marked Columbia River Basin Spring Chinook Salmon Recovered in Fisheries and at Parent Hatcheries. For National Marine Fisheries Service, in Marine Fisheries Review.

Author, A New Management Structure for Anadromous Salmon and Steelhead Resources and Fisheries of the Washington and Columbia River Conservation Areas – Preliminary Findings of the Salmon and Steelhead Advisory Commission. For National Salmon and Steelhead Advisory Commission.

— Member, planning team of the National Salmon and Steelhead Advisory Commission established to develop a new management structure for salmon and steelhead fisheries in the Washington and Columbia River Conservation Areas. For Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

— Author, Cogeneration of Anadromous Salmon and Steelhead and Hydroelectric Energy in the Upper Columbia River Basin; an Economic Perspective on the Question of Balance. For U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

— Member, initial Endangered Species Act Technical Review Committee for Columbia River Basin anadromous fish. For National Marine Fisheries Service.

— Author, A Question of Balance – Water/Energy–Salmon and Steelhead Production in the Upper Columbia River Basin. 1978. For U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Columbia River Inter–Tribal Fish Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service and Pacific Northwest Regional Commission (comprised of Governors of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana).

— Author, Columbia River Basin Salmon & Steelhead Analysis which led to creation of what is now the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority. For Pacific Northwest Regional Commission, composed of governors of Oregon, Washington and Idaho, and a federal representative.

— Author, The Desert Land and Carey Acts in Idaho – Economic Implications for Existing Farmers and Ranchers. Analysis of interrelated energy, water, agricultural, environmental and economic implications of converting 850,000 acres of public land on the Snake River Plain to private irrigated agriculture under the federal Desert Land and Carey Acts. This report triggered virtual elimination of converting public land to private ownership under these two laws. For Idaho Conservation League.

Prior to becoming an independent consultant in 1973 and forming NRIC in 1976, Ed worked on staffs of the following organizations:

— Environmental Defense Fund, Washington, D.C.

Consultant on a variety of national environmental issues.

— National Wildlife Federation, Washington, D.C.

Information Director and principal analyst on numerous national issues including lead shot effects on waterfowl, mercury contamination of waterways, public land conservation, Atlantic and Pacific salmon conservation, and water and air pollution.

Initiated several landmark lawsuits in the federal courts, e.g., Calvert Cliffs v. Atomic Energy Commission, the U.S. Court of Appeals decision that created the template for federal agency compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act.

Authored the bimonthly newsletter Conservation News with a circulation of 50,000 distributed nationwide to newspapers, electronic news media, periodicals, government agencies, NGOs and the general public.

— Fish Commission of Oregon, Portland, Oregon. Information Director and analyst of issues associated with hydroelectric development, with culture and management of commercial fisheries on anadromous salmon and steelhead of the Columbia River Basin.

— Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Indianapolis, Indiana. Information Supervisor.

Awards:

In 1982 the Western Association for the Valuation of Ecosystems (an association of economists) awarded Ed the John A. Radovitch Award for his analysis of the social and economic benefits of cogenerating Columbia River Basin anadromous fish and hydroelectric energy.

In 1983 the Idaho Wildlife Federation named him Conservationist of the Year for his years of work to reconcile economic/ecological issues attendant to regional anadromous fish and hydroelectric conflicts.

In 1987 the Henry’s Fork Foundation presented him the Henry’s Fork Conservation Award for his role in resolving economic and environmental conflicts between livestock grazing and the internationally renowned trout fishery on Idaho’s Henry’s Fork River.

In 1992, based upon nominations by Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus and U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon, Ed was awarded the National Chevron Conservation Award for his salmon conservation work.

In 1993 he was awarded The Nature Conservancy’s “Gem State Award” for his salmon conservation work.

In 2008 The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation honored Ed with an award for “Leadership with Vision and Courage” on the 20^th anniversary of the >$200 million Umatilla Basin Project which restored extirpated river flows and salmon in accordance with treaty-reserved rights while protecting the valuable non-Indian irrigated agriculture economy.

In 2008 and again in 2009 he received the “River Warrior” award for his Columbia and Snake Rivers salmon advocacy from the Resource Renewal Institute, international NGO headquartered in San Francisco.