The Council's program is the largest regional effort to mitigate and protect fish and wildlife in the nation. Funded by the federal Bonneville Power Administration under the authority of the 1980 Northwest Power Act, the program mitigates the impacts of hydropower dams on fish and wildlife. It also helps direct more than $250 million each year to over 350 projects throughout the Columbia River Basin.
In October 2020, the Council concluded the fish and wildlife program amendment process, which began in May 2018 with a call for recommendations for amendments to the 2014 Program and resulted in the 2020 Addendum
