Introduction and Background[Home | Help | Comment ]
Welcome to the website of the Columbia/Snake River Interagency Technical Management Team (TMT). The purpose of this service is to facilitate communication among participants in the TMT through timely access to data and information, enhanced mechanisms of online communication, and archival and retrieval of historical information. What is the TMT?In the Biological Opinion on the "Reinitiation of Consultation of 1994-1998 Operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System and Juvenile Transportation Program in 1995 and Future Years" the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) called for the establishment of a Technical Management Team to advise the operating agencies on dam and reservoir operations to optimize passage conditions for juvenile and adult anadromous salmonids. The TMT consists of representatives from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW), Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), Corps of Engineers (Corps), Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), and state and tribal sovereigns. A list of TMT members is available. The TMT is a year-round technical body with three periods of operation:
The TMT meets weekly, or more often if necessary, to conduct in-season management during the anadromous fish migration season. The TMT holds weekly meetings on Wednesdays between the last week of March and 31 August. These meetings normally start at 1:00 p.m., and are open to interested parties. They are held at the Corps' Reservoir Control Center in Portland, OR. Conference call-in is available for those that cannot attend the meeting. Meeting notes and agendas are available. TMT recommendations are made to the Corps and Reclamation, which have authority to operate the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) projects, and to the Corps and BPA, which have the authority to make agreements with Canada regarding storage in Canada. Recommendations of the TMT are made by consensus when possible. If consensus is not reached, issues are elevated to the Implementation Team (IT). The IT includes senior managers from the same federal agencies and state and tribal sovereigns represented on the TMT. The IT, which normally meets at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, forwards its final recommendation to the operating agencies. The Corps and/or Reclamation makes an agency decision and provides the decision, along with a written description, to the TMT by close of business Thursday (when possible). Information on agency decisions is also posted on the TMT home page, under Recommended Operations. To provide TMT access to the best and most current operational, biological, and administrative information needed for sound management decision-making, the TMT uses the Internet as the primary medium for documentation and timely coordination. Any interested party that has no access to the Internet should notify the TMT chair for alternate distribution method(s). Further description of the TMT's activities, methods, and goals are documented in the TMT Guidelines. Other Background Information File TMT/intro.html Last Modified 11/04/99
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