This report provides preliminary comments and recommendations of the Independent Scientific Review Panel (ISRP) and Peer Review Groups on projects submitted for Fiscal Year 2002 funding in the Columbia Plateau Province. It provides project sponsors and the public an opportunity to respond to ISRP concerns before the ISRP makes its final recommendation to the Council on August 10, 2001. This report also provides information to the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority for its use in project prioritization. The review process to develop these preliminary recommendations and comments included several elements. Each proposal received review by at least three reviewers and discussion by the larger review team to reach consensus. The ISRP heard presentations on the proposals. Following each presentation, there was an opportunity for a question and answer session between reviewers and the proponents. In addition, the ISRP review teams visited most of the subbasins in the province and were provided slide presentations for the subbasins they were unable to visit. The teams profited from informal discussions with project leaders during the visits. These discussions combined with the oral presentations were invaluable in identifying potential issues and clarifying the nature of the projects. The site visits and presentations were well organized, informative, and showed improvement over those in the Gorge, Inter-Mountain, and Mountain Columbia province workshops
