The responsibilities of the Commission are described in an annex to the High Ross Treaty.
Under the Treaty, the Commission’s mandate is to conserve and protect wilderness and wildlife habitat, enhance recreational opportunities, eliminate mineral and timber rights consistent with conservation and recreation purposes, conduct studies and plan for the construction of hiking trails, footbridges, interpretive displays and the like.
The founding mandate of the Commission is to manage an endowment fund and to influence conservation and protection of wilderness and wildlife in the transboundary Upper Skagit watershed.
This sixteen-member Commission is responsible for the strategic direction of the organization and stewardship of the endowment fund.
The Commission consists of an eight-person Canadian delegation appointed by the Premier of British Columbia and an eight-person U.S. delegation appointed by the Mayor of Seattle.