Columbia Basin Law Enforcement Council (CBLEC) -- 

Regional Fisheries Enforcement Coordination

In 1978, the the Columbia River Law Enforcement Committee (CRLEC) was formed by the following entities:

• National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) law enforcement division -- now known as NOAA Fisheries, Office for Law Enforcement (OLE)
• US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS),
• Oregon Department of State Police, Fish & Wildlife Division (OSP),
• Washington Department of Game, and Washington Department of Fisheries (since merged into the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife), and
• Idaho Department of Fish and Game 

Wayne Lewis, former NMFS Special Agent in Charge of the NW Region, conceived the idea for an ad hoc entity to enhance inter-agency cooperation and coordination of fisheries enforcement throughout the Columbia Basin -- and is thus considered to be the founder of CRLEC.

In 1983, the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission’s enforcement department came into existence and it became a member of CRLEC that same year.

In 1992, the name of this regional fisheries enforcement coordination group was changed from CRLEC to the Columbia Basin Law Enforcement Council (CBLEC).  From 1992 to 1997, CBLEC served as the primary multi-agency coordination mechanism for the system-wide Columbia Basin Law Enforcement Project 92-024 funded by the Bonneville Power Administration.

The Council consists of representatives from each of the member agencies. Each year, one representative is selected by the others as chairperson. Meetings were historically held on a monthly basis; however, the schedule was changed to quarterly in 2005.  Although the enforcement focus, emphasis, and/or strategies have changed through the 27 year history of CRLEC/CBLEC, the goal has remained the same: to provide protection of anadromous salmonids, resident fish, and their essential habitats throughout the Columbia River Basin.

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