Environmental and cultural consequences
The dam had severe negative consequences for the local Native American tribes whose traditional way of life revolved around salmon as well as for the original shrub steppe habitat of the area. Grand Coulee Dam permanently blocks fish migration (barring construction of a fish ladder)[20] removing over a thousand miles of spawning grounds.[21] By largely eliminating anadromous fish above the Okanogan River, the Grand Coulee Dam also set the stage for the subsequent decision not to provide for fish passage at Chief Joseph Dam (built in 1953)[11]. Chinook, Steelhead, Sockeye and Coho salmon (as well as other important species including Lamprey) are now unable to spawn in the reaches of the Upper Columbia Basin. The extinction of the spawning grounds upstream from the dam has prevented the Spokane and other tribes from holding the first salmon ceremony since 1940.[11] Grand Coulee Dam flooded over 21,000 acres (85 km²) of prime bottom land where Native Americans had been living and hunting for thousands of years, forcing the relocation of settlements and graveyards.[22] Kettle Falls, once a primary Native American fishing grounds, was inundated. The average catch went from a historical average of over 600,000 salmon a year to nothing. In one study, the Army Corps of Engineers estimated the annual loss was over a million fish.[23] The town of Kettle Falls, Washington was relocated. The Columbia Basin Project has affected habitat ranges for species such as whitetail and mule deer, pygmy rabbits and burrowing owls resulting in decreased populations, however, it has created new habitat in the form of wetlands, reservoirs, and riparian corridors.[24] The environmental impact of the dam effectively ended the traditional way of life of the native inhabitants. The government eventually compensated the Colville Indians in the 1990s with a lump settlement of approximately $52 million, plus annual payments of approximately $15 million.[11]

It's nuts to think selective fishing is going to recover the Columbia river runs but what the hell its keeps everyone busy and that's the real plan..