No Net Impact: Successful Implementation of Habitat Conservation Plans to Protect Anadromous Fishes at Hydroelectric Projects

Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) were an innovative approach to protecting and enhancing productivity of salmonids affected by operations of hydroelectric projects in the Columbia River, USA. “No Net Impact” is achieved through passage improvements, tributary conservation, and hatchery compensation plans in a consensus-based framework that encourages all stakeholders to adaptively manage resources effectively. We discuss some of the great successes as well as shortcomings of the HCPs to inform others on how this framework could be applied elsewhere.