Nez Perce Tribe Official Statement on Trump Decision to Withdraw from Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement

Nez Perce Tribe Official Statement on Trump Decision to Withdraw from Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement

“This action tries to hide from the truth. The Nez Perce Tribe holds a duty to speak the truth for the salmon, and the truth is that extinction of salmon populations is happening now,” stated Shannon Wheeler, Chairman of the Nez Perce Tribe. “People across the Northwest know this, and people across the Nation have supported us in a vision for preventing salmon extinction that would at the same time create a stronger and better future for the Northwest. This remains the shared vision of the states of Washington and Oregon, and the Yakama, Umatilla, Warm Springs and Nez Perce tribes, as set out in our Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative. It is a vision we believe is supported, publicly or privately, by most people in the Northwest. And it is a vision underlaid by the treaties of our Northwest tribes, by the U.S. Constitution that protects those treaties, and by the federal statutes enacted by Congress to protect salmon and other species from extinction.”