Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project
Columbia-Cascades Area Office

Conservation Advisory Group

Title XII of the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Water Rights Settlement Act, Public Law 103-434, Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project (YRBWEP) of October 31, 1994, required a Federal Advisory Committee chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act and appointed by the Secretary of the Interior.

Mission

The Yakima River Basin Conservation Advisory Group (CAG) was established to provide recommendations to the Secretary and the State of Washington (State) on the structure and implementation of the Yakima River Basin Water Conservation Program. 

The basin conservation program is structured to provide economic incentives with cooperative Federal, State, and local funding to stimulate the identification and implementation of structural and nonstructural cost-effective water conservation measures in the Yakima River basin. Improvements in the efficiency of water delivery and use will result in improved streamflows for fish and wildlife and improve the reliability of water supplies for irrigation. 

CAG has prepared the following publications to provide basin conservation guidance to agencies and others:

• Basin Conservation Plan for the Yakima River Basin Water Conservation Program, April 1998;
• Appendix to the Basin Conservation Plan for the Yakima River Basin Water Conservation Program, April 1998; 
  
• Water & Land Acquisition Program of the Yakima River Basin Water Conservation Program, October 15, 1998;  
  
• Establishment of a Permanent Plan for Measuring & Reporting, Yakima River Basin Washington Report to Secretary of the Interior and State of Washington, November 16, 1998;
  
• Plan of Study for the Yakima River Basin Wetlands, Riparian, and Floodplain Habitat Plan, December 1998;
  
• Process for Streamlining Water Transfers in the Yakima Basin, 2001 - 2004;
  
• Water Master Function: Measuring, Monitoring, Reporting and Enforcement May 2005.

Membership

To be eligible for appointment to the CAG, a person must:

1. be qualified through education, knowledge, or experience to give informed advice on water supply and diversion; delivery facilities and their operation and management; structural and nonstructural opportunities to improve water efficiency and use; and the environmental aspects of such opportunities as specifically related to the preservation of wetlands and wildlife habitat; and
2. have the capability to constructively work in a group setting toward a common objective to structure a mechanism for program implementation.

CAG is nonvoting and seeks a consensus whenever possible.

Timothy McCoy
(509) 575-5848 x209
(509) 454-5611 FAX
tmccoy@usbr.gov

Bureau of Reclamation
Columbia-Cascades Area Office
1917 Marsh Road
Yakima, WA 98901-2058

Last Update: July 27, 2012 8:39 AM