Wild Salmon & Steelhead News

Wild Salmon & Steelhead News is published regularly by the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition. Read on to learn about the Columbia-Snake River Basin’s endangered wild salmon and steelhead, the many benefits they deliver to people and ecosystems, and the extinction crisis they face today - unless we act! Find out how SOS is helping lead efforts to restore health, connectivity, and resilience to the rivers and streams these fish depend upon in the Columbia-Snake Basin and how you can get involved to help restore healthy, abundant, and harvestable populations and sustain more just and prosperous communities. To learn more and/or get involved, contact Martha Campos.

Table of Contents:

1. A summer full of activism and connection with the land, water, salmon and community!
2. Our work ahead to recover healthy salmon, orca, and rivers
3. The RECIPROCITY webinar series is back for fall 2025! 
4. Honoring Dr. Jane Goodall (1934-2025)  
5. Salmon media roundup

1. A summer full of activism and connection with the land, water, salmon and community!

In these extraordinarily challenging times, SOS staff found solace, energy and inspiration this summer in the opportunity to connect with many community members across the Northwest and the healthy lands, clean waters, and fish and wildlife we all hold dear.

In August, Tanya Riordan, Abby Saks, and Abby Dalke gathered on the banks of the lower Snake River near Lewiston to prepare for the annual flotilla hosted by our good friends and allies at Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment (read more about it below!). We were scurrying around to set up, when we were stopped in our tracks by a mesmerizing flock of swallows flying above our heads. Swooping and swirling in every which way, the birds were flying in a jumbled yet also highly coordinated and unified pattern. This spectacular sight, Tanya shared with us, is called murmuration. The birds moving en masse offer several key survival tactics – safety in numbers; leading the flock to roost, staying warmer together at night; and a visual invitation to straggling birds to join the flock. While we stood in awe, we were reminded of an important lesson: the power of the flock; the strength in community and the profound impact of collective care for one another.

This issue of the News recaps and highlights just a few of our activities this past summer - getting our hands dirty and feet wet in the Columbia Basin. Thank you to those who were able to join us at various events. As always, consider this your invitation to join our flock at future events, too. You are always welcome.

Envisioning a Restored Snake River Flotilla led by Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment - August 15-16.

In mid-August, hundreds of community members gathered at Hells Gate State Park near Lewiston, Idaho, to envision a free-flowing lower Snake River. Advocates floated along the Snake River, encircling a "Free the Snake" banner while Tribal leaders spoke to the urgent need to restore the river and uphold our nation's longstanding promises to Indigenous People in the Snake River Basin and beyond. Nez Perce Elders welcomed Tribal canoe families ashore, followed by other participants of this year's flotilla. Ashore, we heard Indigenous leaders' stories about salmon's profound significance in Tribal communities, and the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI) and how it will benefit salmon, ecosystems, and Tribal and non-Tribal communities alike. This powerful gathering culminated with a call to action - that participants contact their members of Congress and other policymakers to urge them to support the implementation of the CBRI and restore salmon abundance across the Basin.

Flights above the Snake River Basin with EcoFlight - August 13-14.

With the help of our coalition partners at EcoFlight, we hosted several flyovers of the Snake River Basin to help policymakers better understand this river and the surrounding landscape as well as the urgency and opportunity presented by lower Snake River restoration. Boarding a small six-passenger plane, we took off with policymaker staff, Tribal leaders, an energy expert, and a local farmer. Looking down at the reservoir behind Lower Granite Dam, we spotted a spreading toxic algal bloom - another sign of the river's degraded health. We veered south, flying over the Tucannon River, that flows into a warm, stagnant reservoir on the lower Snake. The Tucannon represents an urgent and compelling case study. This river demonstrates that the most advanced tributary habitat restoration efforts cannot protect imperiled salmon if out-migrating smolts must run the gauntlet through multiple, hot, stagnant reservoirs filled with non-native predator fish during their journey to the Pacific Ocean.

Huge appreciation to EcoFlight for helping us all see the Basin from a new perspective!

Sawtooth Salmon Fest hosted by Idaho Rivers United (IRU) and the Sawtooth Interpretive & Historical Association (SIHA) - August 26-28.

As August came to an end and Idaho’s salmon persevered through their 900-mile journey home to the heart of the Rocky Mountains, we joined friends and allies in Stanley, Idaho for Sawtooth Salmon Fest, an annual event hosted by IRU and SIHA celebrating this epic migration. Before the festival began, IRU’s Tom Stuart and Stephen Pfeiffer led us on a search for spawning salmon along the banks of the Salmon River and its tributaries. Originally named for the bright red sockeye that once filled its waters during spawning season, Redfish Lake and other Stanley Basin lakes that the Salmon River flows from saw a combined 14 wild salmon return in 2025. Our struggle to find any sockeye (wild or otherwise) swimming upstream was a stark reminder of the multitude of obstacles that Idaho’s salmon must overcome to return and spawn, including and especially the eight dams and 140 miles of hot, toxic, and stagnant reservoir waters on the lower Snake River between the Tri-Cities and Lewiston, ID.

Our time at Sawtooth Salmon Fest itself was absolutely energizing. We connected with all sorts of amazing community members through a very popular activity, creating beautiful works of salmon art. Over a hundred participants joined us to use Northwest Artists Against Extinction-designed stencils to create salmon prints. It was a beautiful way to end the weekend: gathering in community and creating advocacy art for salmon, while the Sawtooth Mountains stood in the backdrop and the Salmon River flowed freely right behind us.

Thank you to IRU and SIHA for hosting this amazing event, and we hope to see you all at Sawtooth Salmon Fest next year!

The Way of the Masks Journey led by Se’Si’Le - September 9-20.

In September, SOS was proud to support and participate in Se'Si'Le's 'Way of the Masks' journey as it toured through the Pacific Northwest, featuring powerful cultural events rooted in Indigenous artistry and environmental activism. The tour's message: protecting ancient forests is not just good policy — it's an integral part of Indigenous identity, our Northwest legacy, and our shared responsibility. Carved by Lummi Nation Master Carver Jewell James, a 12-foot cedar totem pole adorned with Coast Salish stories and symbols served as a striking visual and call-to-action for protecting our most sacred forests and the wild salmon that depend on them.

At each stop, local and Indigenous speakers shared heartfelt stories, prayers, music, and calls to action to protect ancient forests, wild salmon, and our Northwest home. Eight beautiful wooden masks, also hand-carved by Jewell James, was gifted in each location to a community leader who has played a key role in forest and salmon protection efforts.

Check out SOS' Events page to join events near you!  

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2. Our work ahead to recover healthy salmon, orca, and rivers

Thanks to your ongoing support and advocacy, we're making a strong and stead impression on regional policymakers and influential stakeholders and partners. Working with allies across the Northwest, we organized dozens of meetings and many thousands of grassroots/citizen contacts with Members of Congress, governors and local elected officials - urging them to defend our Northwest values and work collaboratively and consistently toward a more prosperous future for all, with healthy waters and abundant fish in the Columbia-Snake Basin.

Here are some recent developments and updates on the status of our rivers, endangered salmon and steelhead, and Southern Resident orcas, and our work ahead to protect and restore a healthier and more resilient Columbia-Snake Basin and Pacific Northwest.

Tragic death of a Southern Resident calf:

On September 12, Alki (J36) was observed by researchers at the Center for Whale Research carrying a dead female neonate calf with its umbilical cord still attached. This was not her first loss. Alki’s 2-year-old son Sonic (J52) died in 2017, and she is known to have experienced multiple miscarriages in recent years. We will never know for certain the exact cause of this calf's death, but we do know that the lack of salmon continues to be the single greatest threat to the survival of the Southern Resident orcas. Despite many years of effort to better protect Southern Resident orcas and many populations of Pacific Northwest salmon, both continue to teeter on the brink of extinction. These tragic deaths of the Southern Residents underscore the urgent need to rebuild abundant salmon populations in the Columbia-Snake Basin and across the Pacific Northwest. Scientists agree that rebuilding Spring/Summer chinook salmon in the Snake River Basin is essential priority to protect orcas from extinction. Removing the four lower Snake River dams represents our nation's greatest river/salmon restoration opportunity anywhere on the West Coast.

Dangerous water conditions in the lower Snake River:

This summer, all eight lower Columbia and Snake River reservoirs experienced sustained water temperatures above 68°F – the biological and legal limit scientists tell us is needed to protect cold water fish like salmon and steelhead from harm or death.

The hot water temperatures now regularly occurring in the summer months in the Columbia and Snake rivers impact the behavior, reproductive success, and survival of all upriver populations of salmon and steelhead. At a minimum, elevated water temperatures can significantly delay in their migration journey to Idaho. At higher temperatures, impacts can worsen and include disease, degraded egg and milt quality, and death. Hot water impacts on salmon and steelhead behavior and health can also impact Tribal and non-tribal fisheries, harming these communities and economies. 

The lower Snake River reservoirs also now routinely test positive for microcystins in the summer and fall months. Microcystins are a toxin that can harm the liver and is commonly responsible for human and animal poisonings, and habitat degradation. Already under stress due to warm temperatures in all eight reservoirs, salmon and steelhead must now also migrate through toxic algal blooms that can cause dangerous oxygen depletion and changes in pH levels.

Sovereigns and NGOs return to court to protect imperiled salmon and steelhead:

On September 11, a coalition of conservation, fishing, and clean energy groups, along with the states of Oregon and Washington and four Lower Columbia River Treaty Tribes, filed a motion with the U.S. District Court in Portland to lift a stay or pause in litigation that had been put in place as part of the historic Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA).

Across nearly three decades of litigation, three different federal district court judges have declared six federal dam management plans inadequate and illegal for protecting imperiled wild salmon and steelhead populations in the Snake and Columbia rivers as required by federal law. The most recent 2020 federal salmon/dams plan, developed during the first Trump Administration, is no exception. Plaintiffs in the case - the Nez Perce Tribe, the state of Oregon and conservation and fishing NGOs led by Earthjustice - made a decision to pause this long-running litigation in 2021 and work with the Biden Administration with the hope of developing a durable, long-term solution to protect and restore endangered wild salmon and steelhead populations. Then in December 2023, the Biden Administration and Northwest Tribes, states, and stakeholders announced the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement. The RCBA represented a first significant step toward implementing a comprehensive and collaborative plan to protect and rebuild salmon abundance, expand clean energy resources, honor Tribal treaty rights, and restore healthy ecosystems while supporting a robust Pacific Northwest economy. Importantly, the agreement included planning and funding to replace the services provided by the lower Snake River dams.

However, in June 2025, the Trump Administration suddenly terminated the RCBA and walked away from this historic collaboration to recover the Northwest's native fish, invest in communities and begin to solve some longstanding regional problems. Without the agreement in place, plaintiffs have been left with no alternative but to return to court to challenge the inadequate 2020 federal salmon plan and to ask the court to require critical near-term changes in the operations of the dams and reservoirs to provide urgently-needed survival benefits for migrating salmon and steelhead. See this factsheet for additional details on the status of fish populations.

Save Our wild Salmon Coalition deeply appreciates the leadership of the plaintiffs, and we hope the court acts expeditiously to approve the urgent measures needed to improve the dismal survival rates of salmon and steelhead in time for the upcoming 2026 spring-summer migration season.

Read more:

• Idaho River United News: IRU Returns to Court to Defend Snake River Salmon & Steelhead
• Earthjustice Press Release: Groups Return to Court to Protect Imperiled Columbia Basin Salmon
• The Oregonian Opinion: Back to court, but our regional work to protect salmon will continue

Congressional hearing on the harmful bill “Defending Our Dams Act” - Sept. 4:

On September 3, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries held a hearing for the “Defending our Dams Act” (H.R. 2073), introduced earlier this year by Rep. Newhouse (WA-04). If passed, the legislation would stop progress to restore a freely flowing lower Snake River restoration by prohibiting federal funds or activity to understand and/or study lower Snake River dam removal or service replacement. H.R. 2073 would also prevent the implementation of the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI) — the comprehensive strategy developed by the Six Sovereigns to recover salmon abundance in the Columbia basin while investing in clean and affordable energy, healthy communities, and modernized infrastructure.

Salmon and fishing advocates thank Representatives Huffman, Hoyle, Randall, and Stansbury of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee for attending this important hearing and voicing their strong opposition to this harmful legislation. Here are a few quotes from the hearing:

• Representative Huffman: “In December of 2023, four Tribes, two States, five federal agencies, and nonprofits all reached a historic agreement on Columbia River salmon restoration…called the Resilient Columbia Basin agreement. President Trump blew that up in June with this Presidential Memorandum entitled ‘Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Generate Power for the Columbia River Basin’... there's nothing radical about honoring tribal treaty rights or wanting functional salmon runs that people can actually fish, or building clean energy to address all climate change and salmon extinction.
• Representative Hoyle: “Unfortunately, I can't get behind the fact that HR 2073 would ban studies into what it would take to replace or modify these dams, but we shouldn't tie our own hands for being able to research their impacts, even while we acknowledge that right now, there is no other way to replace that power.”
• Representative Stansbury: “It's important to understand that there has been decades of litigation on the lower Snake River to ensure that the historic damming of those rivers that impact the salmon fisheries that are subject to numerous treaties of our Tribes and the federal trust responsibility are rectified. At the end of the day, this is not just about the restoration of that vast watershed and the river and ecosystem that it sustains, but it is also compliance with both federal law and tribal trust and treaty responsibilities. I humbly but emphatically oppose that bill.”

Nez Perce Tribal Chairman Shannon F. Wheeler also testified at the hearing, asking Congress to reject the bill. “The wild runs are indeed in dire straits,” said Chairman Wheeler. “This bill would tie the hands of federal agencies and set the United States on an unambiguous course to destroy wild Snake River salmon runs, which would abrogate our Treaty-reserved rights to fish in all our usual and accustomed fishing areas.” Chairman Wheeler reminded Congress that the dams block access to some of the most pristine salmon and steelhead habitat in the Lower 48, and that the health, culture, and treaty rights of Columbia Basin Tribes are inseparable from the survival of wild fish runs.

We thank Chairman Wheeler and all who contacted their representatives to oppose this bill and called upon them to work collaboratively to implement the CBRI, the only existing plan today that comprehensively addresses the issues facing salmon, the health of our rivers, community needs, and infrastructure. The CBRI represents an historic opportunity for the people of the Northwest and nation - and we all need to work together to support the Six Sovereigns leadership in collaboration with others in the region to move it forward.

Act Now! Petition to restore the Columbia Basin's native fish and hold BPA accountable:

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council is now working on amendments to update its region-wide Fish and Wildlife Program. As an initial step in this process, the Council solicited recommendations from state, federal and tribal fisheries managers and accepted recommendations from others, including the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). BPA recommended that the Council abandon its long-held goal of seeing 5 million adult salmon and steelhead returning annually to the Columbia Basin to spawn. BPA further called on the Council to affirm that BPA was under no legal obligation to meet any numerical goal the Council might set.

In response, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition and partners released a petition calling on the Council to reassert its intended leadership role in undoing the vast damage hydropower development has done to fish and wildlife throughout the region and to hold BPA accountable to honor its legal obligations. Please add your name to the petition! Thank you all for signing and sharing the petition!

Sign the Petition 

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3. The RECIPROCITY webinar series is back for fall 2025! 

Join Oregon Wild, Washington Wild & SOS on October 23 at 6pm PT for the second fall installment of RECIPROCITY featuring award-winning Seattle Times reporter and author Lynda V. Mapes!

Lynda Mapes recently published The Trees are Speaking: Dispatches from the salmon forests, an essential read for those with a deep interest in environmental stewardship, Indigenous land rights, sustainable communities and the urgent challenges posed by climate change. With vibrant storytelling supported by science and traditional ecological knowledge, Mapes will share a call to rethink our relationship with forests and invite us into a world where trees are kin, not commodities.

Register for the Webinar here 

Last month, we were honored to hear from Dr. Christopher J. Preston, who spoke about his latest book, Tenacious Beasts, which brings to life nature’s formidable resilience through successful recovery stories from wolves in Europe, bison on America’s Great Plains, and humpback whales in the Atlantic and Pacific. We’re grateful to Dr. Preston for sharing the evening with us, full of optimism as well as guidance about how we might live more harmoniously alongside our animal kin. If you missed it, you can watch the webinar recording here.

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4. Honoring Dr. Jane Goodall (1934-2025)

Dr. Jane Goodall is widely known for her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees and unconventional approach, by Western scientific standards at the time, to learn from nature, acknowledging, for example, that the chimpanzees were astutely watching her, too. While the salmon ecosystems of the Northwest may seem far from the forests of Gombe, her deep commitment, vision, wisdom and humanity has moved and inspired millions of people here and across the planet. Dr. Goodall had an infectious, innate love for all that is living and a deep understanding of what it means to be a part of nature. She inspired countless people to get outside, poke around in nature, and ultimately grow into strong environmental leaders. Not only did she fundamentally change the way we, as humans, understand ourselves, she also paved the way for young leaders in science. Dr. Goodall's legacy offers us all an enduring gift of perseverance, patience, and hope.

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5. Salmon media roundup

News:

• Moscow-Pullman: Tribes, states push to revive Snake and Columbia River salmon lawsuit after Trump order
• Capital Press: Governors respond to ad placed by dam advocates
• The Seattle-Times: Legal battle reignites over Lower Snake River Dams, salmon
• WA State Standard: Lawsuits against federal government over Columbia Basin dams to resume
• Daily Astorian: Oregon, tribes return to court to save Columbia River salmon from extinction
• Columbia Gorge News: Lummi Nation totem pole visits Hood River, drums up opposition to potential roadless rule recission
• News Data: Klamath River Water Temperatures Responding to Dam Removal

Opinion:

• Idaho Statesman: Opinion: Snake River salmon lawsuits were on hold. Now we have to resume
• The Oregonian: Opinion: Back to court, but our regional work to protect salmon will continue
• The Columbian: In Our View: Salmon policy ill-conceived, puts process in reverse
• NewsData: Guest Column: The Righteous Shall Prevail, or Perhaps Fail?
• The Spokesman-Review: Breach the dams save the ecosystem
• The Spokesman-Review: Clean water the answer to salmon recovery

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Wild Salmon & Steelhead News is published regularly by the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition. Read on to learn about the Columbia-Snake River Basin’s endangered wild salmon and steelhead, the many benefits they deliver to people and ecosystems, and the extinction crisis they face today - unless we act! Find out how SOS is helping lead efforts to restore health, connectivity, and resilience to the rivers and streams these fish depend upon in the Columbia-Snake Basin and how you can get involved to help restore healthy, abundant, and harvestable populations and sustain more just and prosperous communities. To learn more and/or get involved, contact Martha Campos.

Table of Contents:

1. Remembering long-time salmon advocate and SOS Board Member Joel Kawahara
2. Pilgrimage to the Klamath Basin, by Abby Dalke, SOS Outreach Coordinator 
3. Salmon and fishing advocates applaud legal challenge to BPA’s misguided markets decision 
4. What’s next for Columbia Basin salmon? Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s Fish & Wildlife Program  
5. A Majestic Matriarchy – Indigenous women shared inspiration and action for orcas and salmon 
6. Hot Water Report 2025: Snake River salmon and steelhead are in hot water – and toxic algal blooms 
7. Keeping the Pressure on Congress
8. Join SOS for The Way of the Masks Tour – September 7-20 – coming to a Northwest town near you!
9. Salmon media roundup

1. Remembering long-time salmon advocate and SOS Board Member Joel Kawahara

It is with the heaviest of hearts that we mourn the loss of Joel Kawahara, our dear friend, long time SOS board member, and tireless advocate for salmon. Joel's beloved salmon troller, the F/V Karolee, was recovered on August 13 by the Coast Guard and he was not on board.

This is a devastating loss. Joel was the very best of us – the most brilliant, generous, humble, compassionate, kind, thoughtful man and colleague and friend. He worked in service of salmon and their needs for as long as he fished. Joel was tireless as an advocate for salmon, their rivers, and the communities that salmon support, as reported in a Seattle Times article sharing the news of his passing: "They remember him as a bit of a Renaissance man, in touch with the water and deeply invested in his relationships and his duty to advocate for his industry, the salmon and habitat they rely upon. Kawahara testified before elected leaders about the impacts of hydroelectric dams on salmon, volunteered at streamside tree plantings and often fed his community with fresh-caught fish and oysters from his beach on Hood Canal or treats from his garden."

Joel served on the SOS board since the beginning in 1991, was the President of the Coastal Trollers Association, and was an active volunteer with the North Olympic Salmon Coalition. We need more Joels in the world today, not fewer. His absence will leave an immense hole in the fishing and salmon advocacy communities, and in our hearts. Joel’s guidance and leadership for our work will be deeply missed, but forever honored and remembered. A memorial site has been set up to share memories and condolences.

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2. Pilgrimage to the Klamath Basin, by Abby Dalke, SOS Outreach Coordinator

Earlier this month, I had the privilege of visiting the Klamath Basin – the ecosystem now known for the world’s largest salmon restoration project. The vision for my road trip was simple: travel from the headwaters of the Klamath River in Southern Oregon to its mouth at the ocean. Along the way, I hoped to learn from the leaders behind this historic effort, culminating in the Paddle Tribal Waters celebration in Klamath, California.

My first stop was Mt. McLoughlin. After a long day’s hike, I looked out over the basin, reflecting on the nearly 500 miles of newly free-flowing river and all the species and communities that rely on it. From there, I tried my hand at fly fishing in Spencer Creek (known for one of the first sightings of salmon returning). That night, I camped near the former J.C. Boyle Dam site, falling asleep to the sound of rushing water. The loud hum of the river filled me with gratitude and hope for the restoration I was seeing (and hearing) before me.

A few podcasts and a trail run through the Redwoods later, I arrived at the Paddle Tribal Waters Celebration, hosted by Rios to Rivers. Indigenous people from around the world gathered to share stories of preserving sacred spaces, and wisdom of honoring rights of nature. The energy of hundreds of people celebrating this historic moment was powerful beyond words.

My final stop was the estuary, where the river meets the sea. The sandbar stretched across the delta looked different from photos I had seen before – a reminder of the ever-changing landscape. I stood in awe thinking of the salmon that, generation after generation, continue to find the narrow channel, only 50 feet wide at most, to make their return to their ancestral spawning grounds.

A visit to the Klamath Basin will surely leave you feeling small in space and time, a humble and grounding reminder. After a century, the anadromous fish in the Klamath Basin can again return to their ancestral spawning grounds, and the ecosystem and river communities are rejoicing with the healing underway. This movement led by Indigenous leaders, the Yurok and Klamath Tribes, and river stewards and advocates, is guided full circle by the return of the salmon. A true testament to resilience.

Read more about the renewal of the Klamath Basin and the Paddle Tribal Waters gathering:

• Washington Post: Indigenous Teens Make First Descent of A Sacred River Finally Flowing Free
• OPB: Global solidarity at the mouth of the Klamath
• New York Times: First Time in 100 Years: Young Kayakers on a Ride for the Ages
• San Francisco Chronicle: First salmon swims all the way to Oregon after historic California dam removal

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3. Salmon and fishing advocates applaud legal challenge to BPA’s misguided markets decision

When the Bonneville Power Administration announced its intention to join an Arkansas-based energy trading market called Markets+, many observers found the decision baffling. Now, five Northwest advocacy groups have challenged the decision as unlawful.

The plaintiffs, represented by Earthjustice, have asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to review BPA’s market decision. Plaintiffs include three Save Our wild Salmon Coalition member groups: Sierra Club, NW Energy Coalition, and Idaho Conservation League.

The petition to the Court charges that by choosing a market consistently found to be more costly than the alternative California-based Extended Day Ahead Market (EDAM), BPA has violated the direction the Northwest Power Act gave Bonneville to prioritize the most cost-effective energy resources. The plaintiffs also state that BPA has failed to do a required analysis of the foreseeable environmental impacts the decision to join Markets+ would have, which the agency is obligated to do under the National Environmental Policy Act.

In a press release, SOS praised the groups challenging BPA’s decision, saying, “The Save Our wild Salmon Coalition appreciates the leadership and decision by conservation and clean energy advocates to file a lawsuit challenging the Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) decision to join the Southwest Power Pool’s Markets+ day-ahead energy trading market.”

SOS Executive Director Joseph Bogaard was quoted, saying, “BPA’s choice of Markets+ over the alternative Extended Day Ahead Market (EDAM) is inexplicable on multiple levels – system reliability, integration of new renewable energy, impacts on energy costs and imperiled Northwest salmon and steelhead – and we applaud the groups that have stepped up to advocate for the best interest of our region to take this legal action.”

The people of the Northwest need BPA to be a collaborative partner in our region rather than prioritizing the agency’s narrower interests and go-it-alone approach. Now more than ever, we need BPA leadership to be part of a holistic solution that addresses the federal hydro-system's impacts on salmon, invests in new transmission and clean energy resources, and maintains affordability. It’s unfortunate that legal action is necessary to ensure BPA lives up to its public responsibilities, honors Tribal Treaty rights, and considers the best interests of regional residents (and energy customers) and our clean energy and salmon recovery needs.

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4. What’s next for Columbia Basin salmon? Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s Fish & Wildlife Program

In June, the Trump Administration withdrew from the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA), undermining an historic and comprehensive approach to protect and recover imperiled salmon and invest in communities, clean energy and other critical infrastructure. This development was disappointing but not surprising.

Advocates for recovering endangered species, restoring healthier and more resilient ecosystems, and honoring our nation’s treaty obligations will seek progress in other arenas for the foreseeable future. One venue may very well be in court. The RCBA was an agreement reached between the federal government and six Northwest states and Tribes. One key element in the broad-reaching Agreement was a pause in litigation that was under way at the time to challenge an inadequate and illegal 2020 federal salmon plan that had been finalized in 2020 toward the end of the first Trump Administration. Although Save Our wild Salmon is not among the plaintiffs, ten of SOS’ coalition members are.

One arena that presents a critical opportunity for regional progress on salmon recovery is the update of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s (Council) Fish and Wildlife Program that is currently underway. As directed by the 1980 Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Act, that program has the mission to “protect, mitigate, and enhance” fish and wildlife populations impacted by dams and their reservoirs in the Columbia-Snake River Basin.

The Council updates its F&W Plan followed by its Energy Plan every five years. As a first step in this process earlier this year, the Council sought recommendations from federal, state, and tribal fisheries agencies and other parties. Dozens of detailed recommendations were submitted, but it was the Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) that genuinely shocked salmon and clean energy advocates.

In their recommendations, BPA claims that the Council’s well researched and widely accepted estimate of pre-development salmonid returns to the Columbia Basin – 10-16 million adult fish annually – was grossly overstated. BPA also asserted that the Council exaggerates the role played by Columbia Basin dams and their reservoirs to diminish salmon runs, and that, as a result, Bonneville is shouldering an unfair burden of responsibility by being required to mitigate for, according to the federal power marketing agency, non-hydro related sources of mortality.

In keeping with BPA’s long history of poor natural resource stewardship as outlined in a joint Op-Ed by SOS and Sierra Club, BPA told the Council it should abandon its long-standing interim goal of 5 million adult salmon and steelhead returning to the river each year in favor of “no numerical salmon abundance goal.” Finally, BPA stated that if the Council insists on maintaining a numerical goal, it should (i) lower it significantly and (ii) concede that BPA had no legal obligation to meet, or even attempt to meet, that goal.

When the Council more recently sought public comments on these recommendations that it received, SOS responded with comments rebutting BPA’s assertions and strongly opposing its recommendations. Our comments highlighted what the Council should do and concluded that “The Council’s leadership at this time is essential and appreciated.”

SOS will continue to engage in this critical process in the coming months, as will our member organizations and their activists and supporters. Stay tuned for updates and next steps!

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5. A Majestic Matriarchy – Indigenous women shared inspiration and action for orcas and salmon

In June, several hundred people gathered at St. Joseph Parish in Seattle to listen and learn from the heartfelt words, visions, and voices of Indigenous women leaders from around the Northwest.

A Majestic Matriarchy was a meditative and inspiring evening woven together by experiences from Indigenous women from across the Pacific Northwest region who are leading the effort to protect and recover imperiled Southern Resident orcas and the Snake and Columbia river salmon they depend upon. This powerful event was presented by Se’Si’Le, an Indigenous-led nonprofit based in Washington State, with support from Save Our wild Salmon and a coalition of NGOs and faith-based partners.

With bellies full of Eva’s Wild delicious sockeye salmon, we heard from artists, faith leaders, policy experts, community organizers, and change makers. Their diversity of experiences and perspectives spoke in concert to the importance of healing and renewing our connection with ourselves, our communities, and the ecosystems upon which we all – like salmon and orca – depend.

At the end of the program, we called on Washington’s Governor Ferguson and Members of Congress to ensure that Washington State remains a champion for a robust implementation of the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI). The CBRI is the comprehensive roadmap for salmon recovery and community investment recently developed by the ‘Six Sovereigns.’ It is a regionally generated plan to restore healthy and abundant salmon, to protect the Southern Resident orcas and many other fish and wildlife populations that benefit from salmon abundance, and to honor our nation’s promises to Tribal nations. You can lend your voice too – send a message to your elected leaders today!

“Art can break your heart at first, but then, it helps you see in a new way. [We can] move from sadness to understanding, and to action, and that’s how change begins.” – Fia De La O, Quechua, Artist and Third-year Bachelor of Applied Science student in Environmental Conservation at Skagit Valley College

“I’m so grateful I’m not on this trek alone. I didn’t have to start from scratch, thanks to the warriors before us and the champions that are still fighting the good fight. I already have the next generation coming forward to help pick up our pace and the orca and salmon haven’t given up yet.” – Kayeloni Scott, Spokane Tribal Member with strong Nez Perce ancestry. Executive Director, Columbia Snake River Campaign

The powerful convening will continue in September through the Way of the Masks tour, which will honor the ancestral Indigenous knowledge that all things are related to, and through, xaalh: a sacred balance of life. See below for more details on these upcoming events.

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6. Hot Water Report 2025: Snake River salmon and steelhead are in hot water – and toxic algal blooms 

In July, Save Our wild Salmon and 10 allied NGO partners kicked off our 10th annual series of the Hot Water Report. The Hot Water Report tracks water temperatures in real-time through the summer in the lower Snake and lower Columbia River reservoirs and elevates the consequences of the increasingly harmful impacts of high water temperatures and a changing climate on already-endangered cold water fish.

Three issues have been published so far this summer – the first dives into how the lower Snake and Columbia River dams have transformed a once-highly-productive healthy and free-flowing river into a series of large, warm, stagnant, seasonally toxic reservoirs that harm salmon and steelhead and severely impact their migration, reproductive success, and habitat quality.

Issue #2 focuses on the combined effects of hot, stagnant, and toxic water on salmon, humans, other animals, and ecosystems. The report also focuses on the path to recovery through the collaborative implementation of the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI).

Our current issue spotlights Idaho Department of Health's recent health advisory, warning of “dangerous levels of toxin producing algae” in Brownlee and Hells Canyon reservoirs along the Snake River. We report on the status of Columbia/Snake River salmon and steelhead, featuring the Columbia Snake River Campaign's recent webinar with Jay Hesse, Director of Biological Services, Nez Perce Tribe Department of Fisheries Resources Management.

A recent article in the Columbian highlighted the role that the Hot Water Report plays in drawing attention to the triple threat today of heat, stagnant waters, and toxic algal blooms to salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake rivers. “For [SOS executive director Joseph] Bogaard, the purpose of the Hot Water Report is explaining the extent of the crisis salmon face and highlighting solutions that government research has found will increase their survival, like removing the lower Snake River dams.”

Stay tuned for continuing coverage for the remainder of the summer.

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7. Keeping the Pressure on Congress

Chris Vertopoulos, the owner of Chris V’s Guide Service and treasurer for Northwest Guides and Anglers Association (NWGAA) and Herman Fleishman, the owner of Northwest Fishing Adventures and a member of NWGAA and Northwest Sportsfishing Industry Association, in Washington D.C.

Throughout August, Members of Congress and staff are back home in the Northwest during the Congressional Recess. We’re taking this opportunity to collaborate and coordinate with partners and allies across the region to elevate our advocacy and strategic communications to demonstrate the strong public support for funding and implementing Columbia/Snake river restoration priorities.

The Northwest’s native fish – and the great gifts they bring – are under unprecedented attack today. Strongly supported laws like the ESA and NEPA are in the crosshairs. Agency staff and funding are being slashed. And in mid-June, the Trump administration issued an order to terminate the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA).

The RCBA was the Northwest first big step forward to realize the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI) – a holistic strategy to recover Columbia Basin fish and invest in regional communities and infrastructure. It is inclusive and collaborative – a way forward that leaves no one behind. While the current administration may have walked away from the RCBA, the larger CBRI endures and will serve as a North Star to guide our region’s work forward.

We are grateful to the Six Sovereigns — the four lower Columbia River Treaty Tribes (Yakama, Umatilla, Nez Perce, and Warm Springs) and the states of Oregon and Washington — for their visionary leadership to ensure our region is on a pathway to recovery, resilience, and a more just and prosperous future. With the solutions outlined in the CBRI, we can restore salmon and other native fish to healthy and abundant levels, ensure a clean and socially just energy future, support local economic resilience, and honor long-standing federal commitments to Tribal Nations.

You can help in two ways:

1. Take action by sending a message to your elected leaders calling for a robust implementation of the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI) and the opportunity it presents to restore healthy and abundant salmon and Southern Resident orcas, and honor our obligations to Tribal nations.
2. Show strong support for the continued implementation of the CBRI by posting, sharing, and following SOS' social media pages:

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8. Join SOS for The Way of the Masks Tour – September 7-20 – coming to a Northwest town near you!

Led by Se’Si’Le and the House of Tears carvers, Xaalh: The Way of the Masks Tour will bring attention to the emergent and urgent threats of the Trump Administration to Indigenous lands, waters, forests, and lifeways in the Pacific Northwest. The Way of the Masks campaign honors ancestral Indigenous knowledge that all things are related to xaalh: a sacred trust with the balance of life.

From September 7-20, with stops around the Northwest, we'll hear from Tribal and local leaders about the interrelatedness of Treaty rights and inherent rights, Indigenous ways of knowing nature and environmental justice, healthy rivers and salmon habitat, spiritual and ecological balance, and ancient forests and climate resilience. We invite you to join us!

September 7 – Bellingham, WA
September 8 – Olympia, WA
September 10 – Portland, OR
September 11 – Eugene, OR
September 13 – Klamath River
September 15 – Hood River, OR
September 17 – Asotin, WA
September 19 – Seattle, WA
September 20 – Lower Elwha, WA

Register for a Way of the Masks event  

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9. Salmon media roundup

Here are a couple of recent stories about the urgency and opportunity today for salmon recovery and river restoration:

News:

• Lewiston Morning Tribune: RFK Jr. avoids party line – Health secretary backs breaching; says U.S. treatment of Natives amounted to genocide
• The Columbian: Columbia Basin’s salmon are in hot water, literally, says report from Save Our Wild Salmon
• The Seattle Times: Environmental groups sue BPA over power market choice
• The Seattle Times: WA’s Tribal Canoe Journey is healing, celebrating, advocating
• Spokesman Review: 50 years after the Snake River dams were completed, can they continue to coexist with salmon?
• The Oregonian: Teens from NW tribes kayak Klamath to celebrate removal of dams and return of salmon
• The Oregonian: Salmon, tribal sovereignty, and energy collide
• Oregon Capitol Chronicle: As Trump cancels Columbia River deal, promises to Indigenous American tribes are still being broken
• Grist: Salmon, tribal sovereignty, and energy collide as US abandons Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement
• Cascadia Daily News: Report: To save Puget Sound’s orcas, governments need to act fast
• News Data: Salmon Managers Begin Safety-Net Strategy for Tucannon Spring Chinook

Opinions, Editorials, and Letters to the Editor:

• Idaho Capital Sun Commentary by Pat Ford
  • Salmon extinction in motion in Washington’s and Oregon’s Snake River
  • Salmon and steelhead extinction threshold science, and the ocean fish of northeast Oregon
  • The good work underway by Pacific Northwest salmon people in northeast Oregon
• The Seattle Times: BPA plan puts progress on clean energy and salmon recovery at risk
• The Columbian: Letter: Dam removal essential for salmon
• The Daily Herald: Comment: BPA adds to long history of poor resource management
• The Spokesman Review: Sarah Dyrdahl: Reimagining the Columbia
• Everett Herald Letter: Snohomish PUD should rethink support for BPA market decision
• The Spokesman Review: Letter: Remove dams, save our salmon
• Spokesman Review Guest Opinion: Fed ignores alternatives to generate electricity that would help Columbia Basin salmon runs

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Wild Salmon & Steelhead News is published monthly by the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition. Read on to learn about the Columbia-Snake River Basin’s endangered wild salmon and steelhead, the many benefits they deliver to people and ecosystems, and the extinction crisis they face today - unless we act! Find out how SOS is helping lead efforts to restore health, connectivity, and resilience to the rivers and streams these fish depend upon in the Columbia-Snake Basin and how you can get involved to help restore healthy, abundant, and harvestable populations and sustain more just and prosperous communities. To learn more and/or get involved, contact Martha Campos.

Table of Contents:

1. Our way forward to defend salmon and steelhead from extinction
2. Coming soon: 'Hot Water Report' for the lower Snake and Columbia Rivers 
3. Join Nimíipuu Protecting the Environment's 'Envisioning a Restored Lower Snake River Flotilla' August 15-16!
4. Salmon media round-up  

1. Our way forward to defend salmon and steelhead from extinction

Salmon AK © Dave McCoyThis past month brought devastating news regarding the federal government's commitments to protect imperiled salmon and steelhead populations and restore a healthier, more resilient Columbia Basin. In this newsletter, we review what has happened and the important ways you can take action.

Trump Administration withdraws from the 'Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement'

Salmon, orca, and fishing advocates are deeply disappointed by the Trump Administration’s announcement to withdraw from the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA). Announced in December 2023, this historic agreement between the federal government and the states, Tribes, and people of the Pacific Northwest created a long-sought, much-needed opportunity to collaboratively restore endangered native fish populations, invest in communities and critical infrastructure, and address a set of linked challenges concerning clean energy, irrigation, transportation, and recreation. With its Executive Order issued on June 12, the Trump Administration ignored the pressing needs, interests, and values of many Tribal and non-tribal communities that strongly support salmon recovery and necessary investments to upgrade aging infrastructure, including the replacement of the services currently provided by the lower Snake River dams.

The abrupt termination of the RCBA represents a huge missed opportunity for the people of the Northwest and nation - a chance to move beyond decades of costly, divisive litigation and conflict and toward an inclusive and collaborative approach focused on developing shared solutions and meeting the needs of imperiled salmon, their rivers, and Tribal and non-tribal communities alike.

The federal government: a 5-time loser in court. For nearly three decades before the RCBA, fishing, environmental, and clean energy groups, all represented by Earthjustice, have been in constant litigation with BPA, Army Corps, and their allies to protect wild salmon and steelhead populations facing extinction in the Columbia and Snake rivers. Five consecutive salmon plans developed by the federal government dating back to the 1990s that cost in excess of $25B were all found to be inadequate and illegal in the U.S.district court. A multi-year stay or pause of that long-running litigation that began in 2021 was a key element of the RCBA - as long as progress was being made to implement it. But now, with the Trump Administration's recent decision to abandon the RCBA, salmon and fishing advocates and their allies are assessing possible next steps, including litigation.

Our collective work with you, our NGO partners, scientists, and policymakers to defend and advocate for salmon and steelhead is more important now than ever! Our voices and coordinated action are essential to ensure a future with abundant, fishable, life-giving salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia-Snake River Basin and across the Northwest. At this very challenging time, we all have a role to play to protect and preserve the integral link between salmon and our region’s special way of life.

Thank you for your past advocacy to protect salmon, their rivers, and a healthy Columbia-Snake River Basin. Team SOS looks forward to continuing our work with you - we are always stronger together!

Take action to defend salmon and steelhead from extinction:

Advancing the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI): SOS will continue to work towards solutions outlined in the CBRI with members of Congress and other regional policymakers. The CBRI, developed by the Six Sovereigns, is a visionary, comprehensive, regionally supported roadmap to rebuild imperiled native fish populations, ensure a clean and socially just energy future, support local economic resilience, and honor federal commitments to Tribal Nations. The CBRI includes many important pieces, including a path to lower Snake River dam removal, starting with dam service replacement planning that is underway through Washington State agencies.

Urging members of Congress to support urgent Columbia Basin salmon investments in FY2026 appropriations bills: We will continue to support the leadership of regional sovereigns and fight for policies and funding needed to protect, restore, and reconnect the habitats that wild salmon and steelhead require. We are urging members of Congress to fund critical investments in the FY26 appropriations bills (supporting the same request made earlier this year by the Six Sovereigns) to recover salmon and invest in our communities—moving everyone forward together. Recently, SOS and salmon/fishing advocates from Oregon and Washington traveled to Washington D.C to meet with policymakers and their staff, sharing how the crisis facing salmon and steelhead impacts our region's economy and culture, and asking for their help to support the CBRI and fund key federal programs that support the restoration of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin. Take Action: Contact your members of Congress to secure important salmon recovery investments.

TAKE ACTION

Holding Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) accountable for its legal obligations to protect salmon and steelhead in the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC) 2026 Fish and Wildlife Plan: In 1980, with the alarming decline in Columbia River Basin salmon, Congress enacted the Northwest Power Act. With the Act, Congress created the NPCC and directed it to develop and periodically amend a fish and wildlife program in which BPA has an obligation to “protect, mitigate, and enhance” fish and wildlife impacted by hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River and its tributaries.

Currently, NPCC is in the process of developing its 2026 Fish and Wildlife Program, which includes targets for salmon abundance and details on how to achieve those targets. Since 1987, the Council has repeatedly reaffirmed a salmon abundance goal of 5 million adult fish returning annually to the Basin. In recommendations recently filed with the NPCC as it considers amendments to the Fish and Wildlife Plan, BPA requested that NPCC eliminate its longstanding target of 5 million salmon returning to the Columbia River Basin annually. BPA also argued it should not have any responsibility to help meet the targets if the NPCC decides to retain them. Clearly, BPA is attempting to abandon its legal responsibility to protect and rebuild salmon populations in the Columbia River Basin and is pushing endangered salmon and steelhead closer to the brink of extinction. Take Action: Submit a comment to NPCC’s 2026 Fish and Wildlife Plan to hold BPA accountable and protect salmon recovery goals and efforts.

SUBMIT A COMMENT BY JULY 3

Join the Hear the People, Heal the River: Virtual Action Hour: SOS recently launched a new monthly virtual action hour series to promote collective action to protect salmon and defend the historic progress our region has made towards salmon recovery. Join the action hour to hear updates from experts on issues impacting salmon recovery and the health of the Columbia-Snake Rivers, ask questions, and get resources and information about how you can take action NOW.

Save the date for the next action hour on July 22, at 12:30pm AND 5:30pm PT. Afternoon and evening sessions will be identical, so you can choose the time that works best for you! 

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER

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2. Coming soon: 'Hot Water Report' for the lower Snake and Columbia rivers 

Save Our wild Salmon and coalition partners will soon kick off our 10th annual series of the Hot Water Report.

The once-abundant anadromous fish populations in the Columbia-Snake River Basin are struggling to survive today primarily due to multiple harms caused by the federal dams and their warm stagnant reservoirs. Each summer, for the past 10 years, we have reported and tracked the rising water temperatures, which harm and kill both juvenile and adult fish as they migrate to and from the Pacific Ocean. 

These cold-water fish begin to suffer harmful effects when water temperatures exceed 68° Fahrenheit. Scientists have identified the 68°F threshold as the biological limit that water temperatures should remain under to protect salmon and steelhead. The longer and the higher water temperatures rise above 68°F, the greater the harm to the fish, including: migration disruption, increased metabolism, increased susceptibility to disease, reduced reproductive potential (by reducing egg viability), suffocation (warm water carries less oxygen), and in the worst case - death. 

Stay tuned as we launch the Hot Water Report, where we will track water temperatures in real-time and highlight related issues and challenges facing the Columbia and Snake rivers, including the opportunities to improve them in order to recover healthy, resilient fish populations and the benefits they deliver to the Northwest and nation’s culture, economy, and ecology.

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3. Join Nimíipuu Protecting the Environment's 'Envisioning a Restored Lower Snake River Flotilla' - August 15 and 16!

You’re invited to Nimíipuu Protecting the Environment's Envisioning a Restored Lower Snake River Flotilla, on August 15-16 at Hells Gate State Park in Lewiston, ID.

Join us to celebrate the profound opportunities a free-flowing lower Snake River and abundant salmon and steelhead will bring—Tribal justice, ecosystem health, community resilience, recreation, and more—while calling on our policymakers to take meaningful action for salmon recovery in the Columbia Basin.

Let's come together and take action to heal the Snake River. This special two-day event will be our biggest rally on the river in years—also featuring on-land activities including inspiring Tribal speakers, food, live music, a film screening, interactive art, and more! The Flotilla is family-friendly and open to everyone. All are welcome at this free community gathering.

REGISTER TODAY!

Join more summer events at wildsalmon.org/events 

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4. Salmon media round-up 

Here are a couple of recent stories about the urgency and opportunity today for salmon recovery and river restoration:

News:

• Seattle Times: Trump cancels landmark Columbia River agreement with tribes, WA, OR
• Lewiston Morning Tribune: Trump spikes Northwest salmon agreement
• Moscow-Pullman Daily News: Report says Snake River chinook and steelhead still in peril
• OPB: The president just unraveled years of work on tribal rights, salmon and clean energy. So what happens next?

Opinions and Editorials: 

• The Hill Opinion: Energy Secretary Wright ‘passionately’ ignorant about Northwest hydropower
• Everett Herald Editorial: A loss for Northwest tribes salmon and energy
• The Columbian Editorial:  In Our View: Move to end critical fish deal offers no solutions
• The Columbian: Letter: Salmon decision is shortsighted

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Wild Salmon & Steelhead News is published monthly by the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition. Read on to learn about the Columbia-Snake River Basin’s endangered wild salmon and steelhead, the many benefits they deliver to people and ecosystems, and the extinction crisis they face today - unless we act! Find out how SOS is helping lead efforts to restore health, connectivity, and resilience to the rivers and streams these fish depend upon in the Columbia-Snake Basin and how you can get involved to help restore healthy, abundant, and harvestable populations and sustain more just and prosperous communities. To learn more and/or get involved, contact Martha Campos.

Table of Contents:

1. In memory of Ed Chaney
2. Thank you to all who 'GaveBIG' in May!
3. Advocating for Pacific salmon from the Northwest to D.C. - and how YOU can help!
4. BPA makes confounding decision on energy market
5. Watch the 'RECIPROCITY: Envisioning a Healthy and Restored Columbia Basin' webinar recording!
6. Join SOS and friends at upcoming Salmon, Orca, and River events!
7. Salmon media round-up 

1. In memory of Ed Chaney

From the desk of Pat Ford

Ed Chaney, who inspired the start of Save Our wild Salmon Coalition in 1991-92 and led it in its early years, passed away on May 15. 

Ed had spent much of his career working on salmon, steelhead, and rivers – first as staff with the National Wildlife Federation, and then as a consultant to states, Tribes, and NGOs. In 1977, when the Snake Basin had its lowest-ever recorded flows, Ed was instrumental in enlisting Cecil Andrus, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior, to push federal agencies for more water during salmon's migration period. That's when I met him.

Like many of us, Ed thought the fish provisions of the Northwest Power Act, passed by Congress in 1980, would help restore salmon and steelhead. But after a decade of much noise but little real action by the newly-created Northwest Power Council, Ed was among those who gave up on the Council, which was hopelessly split politically when it came to what salmon really needed. He cheered when Endangered Species Act petitions were filed for Columbia and Snake salmon in 1989-91. Sensing an opportunity, he pushed to create an umbrella organization, focused on the Columbia and Snake rivers, to represent sport fishers, commercial fishers, and conservation-minded people with one voice on dam operations, which could also work closely with Tribes. Ed had worked with nearly all of them, watched them fight over ever fewer fish, and realized that only together the region could possibly change the salmon/dam status quo. The Save Our wild Salmon Coalition came into being, and the new-at-the-time Bullitt Foundation (thank you, Emory Bundy!) provided seed money for its first few years.

Ed became director of the new coalition, with two staff members - myself in Boise and Tim Stearns in Seattle. It took a couple of years to sort out, scientifically and internally, what Save Our wild Salmon would do and how it would operate. Ed's great contributions were his long list of leader contacts across every salmon constituency, and his sharp focus on the Columbia and Snake rivers. He realized that a pro-salmon coalition working on all salmon matters in the entire Northwest would be spread too thin. It was a tough decision, but I think the right one.

A couple of years into the new coalition, Ed decided he was not the organization man the coalition needed to work through its tensions and mature workings. SOS was a real coalition, with real differences among its member constituencies. Ed was an inspiration, a goad, a very good writer, and the man you wanted on stage debating with utility executives and Bonneville Power Administration leaders. He was not fond of management, so he bowed out in 1993-4. He inspired the coalition to form, and to take on its powerful opponents. He couldn't take the coalition where it had to go internally, but Save Our wild Salmon Coalition would not have begun without him.

Ed was delightful and sometimes difficult to work with. He was funny, shading to mordant. He quickly spotted flaws in the arguments of friends and opponents alike. He was often inspiring, with quick wit and deep knowledge. He had a fighting style that could, at times, approach slash-and-burn.

I spoke to Ed for the last time this January. I interviewed him about Bill Platts, a great river ecologist, Ed worked with on livestock grazing. Ed's voice was weak, but he was the same synthesizer and thinker I remembered from 30 years before. He was looking forward to more hunting and fishing, which were lifelong passions.

I remember Ed for many qualities, memories, good works for salmon and rivers, and above all, the creation of Save Our wild Salmon. We haven't won yet, Ed, and there's been a reverse or two lately. But it's a long game, as you knew. I'm glad you lived to see the Klamath River restored as its four dams came down. Now, on to the lower Snake, as you would so earnestly wish us to keep on.

Ed leaves his life partner Charlotte, his two sons Eric and Mark, his brother Timothy, and Eric’s two grandchildren, James and Ann.

Pat Ford grew up in Idaho Falls. He worked for the Idaho Conservation League for seven years, and he worked for the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition for 22 years. He retired in 2014 and lives in Boise with his wife, Julia Page.

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2. Thank you to all who 'GaveBIG' in May!

Earlier this month, Save Our wild Salmon participated in GiveBIG, Washington State's nonprofit giving campaign. Big thanks to everyone in the SOS community who helped us meet and exceed our $30,000 goal! Over 90 online and offline supporters contributed to our GiveBIG campaign this spring, which was superpowered by a very generous donor who offered a $15,000 matching grant, allowing donors to double their impact.

Your generous financial support ensures that SOS will persevere with our vital policy, communications, outreach, and community organizing work! Thanks to you, we'll continue engaging stakeholders, policymakers, and people to support the Six Sovereigns' alliance and its comprehensive plan to recover salmon and invest in communities, known as the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI), including the urgently-needed removal of the four costly lower Snake River dams and the replacement of their services with modernized alternatives.

We're very grateful to all of you who care so deeply about wild salmon and steelhead, and their rivers and streams in the Columbia-Snake Basin. Your strong support - and your advocacy - energizes us in these challenging times, and makes a huge difference for our capacity, programs, and impact on behalf of these amazing fish. Thank you!

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3. Advocating for Pacific salmon from the Northwest to DC - and how YOU can help!

From left to right: Ginna Owens (NextGen), Marin Plut (NextGen), Linda Behnken (Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association), Abby Dalke (SOS), Tanya Riordan (SOS), Keenan Sanderson (Tlingit Haida), and Amy Grondin (Duna Fisheries)

Just a few weeks ago, a powerful team of salmon advocates from Alaska, Washington, and Oregon flew to Washington, DC to meet with members of Congress and press for policies to support healthy abundant salmon populations and the many benefits they bring to communities, cultures, and ecosystems across the entire Pacific Northwest.

Click the image for a closer look at the map.Our team included two youth advocates with our NextGen Salmon Collective, two female commercial salmon fishermen, and a Tlingit & Haida member, along with Abby and Tanya from the SOS team. While geographically diverse, the unique, sacred thread that tied our team together was Columbia Basin salmon. As this map shows, many of the stocks of salmon that spawn in the Columbia and Snake rivers migrate through the Pacific Ocean to as far north as southeast Alaska. They cycle nutrients from the Columbia Basin to the coastal waters of southeast Alaska. With a unified voice, our diverse team of advocates asked policymakers to protect and restore these cherished species that connect and nourish us.

We asked Northwest Members of Congress to support the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI) - the comprehensive plan to recover salmon and invest in communities developed recently by the "Six Sovereigns," (the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, the Nez Perce Tribe, and the states of Oregon and Washington). The CBRI is our best path forward to restore Columbia and Snake River salmon and other native fish populations, ensure a clean and socially just energy future, support local economic resilience, and uphold our nation's longstanding, still unmet, commitments to Tribal Nations. Implementation of this historic, regionally supported plan will bring salmon abundance, and the prosperity that accompanies it, to communities from Idaho to Alaska.

While we were in D.C., we urged Members of Congress to oppose harmful attacks that would undermine important progress and implementation of the CBRI, and to secure critical funding in the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget for appropriations requested by the Six Sovereigns Alliance.

You can be a part of this important advocacy work by urging your members of Congress to support the Six Sovereigns' FY26 Appropriations request to support the implementation of the CBRI.

Learn More and Take Action!

Thank you for your continued support!

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4. BPA makes confounding decision on energy market

Columbia Map, © Claire WaichlerOn May 9, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) issued its Day-Ahead Market Policy, which established the agency's intent to pursue participation in Southwest Power Pool's Markets+ day-ahead market. This announcement was unfortunate, but unsurprising; BPA has been signaling this direction for more than a year. Given the high costs anticipated for the Northwest and lack of any urgency, BPA's decision strikes salmon and clean, affordable energy advocates as premature and wrong-headed. Unless they change course, BPA's decision is expected to harm communities and the salmon of the Pacific Northwest for many years to come.

Let's step back and consider this decision and its implications. Organized energy markets exist to facilitate energy trading among utilities and power marketers. Properly organized, these markets can deliver significant benefits to people and businesses, as well as natural resources and the climate. Using powerful computers and complex algorithms, these markets can match up entities with surplus power to those seeking to purchase power.

BPA already participates in one such market – the Western Energy Imbalance market (WEIM). That market is operated by California's Independent System Operator (CAISO). The WEIM's advanced market system automatically finds low-cost energy to serve real-time consumer demand across the west. Since its launch in 2014, the WEIM has enhanced grid reliability and generated big cost savings for its participants. In addition to its economic advantages, the WEIM improves the integration of renewable energy, which leads to a cleaner, greener grid. At this time, BPA and most Western utilities participate in that market.

Now, two different entities are developing new "day ahead" energy markets. CAISO is working on an Extended Day Ahead Market (EDAM), while the Southwest Power Pool, based in Little Rock, Arkansas, is developing a day ahead market, Markets+. EDAM is scheduled to go live in 2026 while Markets+ targets 2028 as its launch date.

BPA had no compelling reason to commit to an energy market at this time. It could have: (1) announced a nonbinding intention to join Markets+, or (2) announced an intention to participate in EDAM, or (3) continued to participate in the WEIM while awaiting further market design and governance developments in both day ahead markets before making any decision.

Advocates for salmon and for clean and affordable energy urged BPA to choose Door #3 above, as did the four U.S. Senators from Oregon and Washington, plus the governors and utility regulators of both states. These parties pointed to better economic returns from either WEIM or EDAM, compared to Markets+, according to consultant studies paid for by BPA itself. For the year 2026, for example, this new economic analysis favors EDAM over Markets+ by $69-$221 million per year. These significant savings will mean real benefits (e.g. lower bills) for many families and businesses. This considerable difference in benefits between Markets+ and EDAM remains sizable even in later years (2030 and 2035). BPA would achieve $79-$129 million in greater benefits annually by continuing participation in the WEIM than it would from joining Markets+ —even if all other regional market participants join a day ahead market.

The larger market footprint or geographic reach of WEIM or EDAM, compared to Markets+, would also enhance reliability and reduce pressure on Northwest hydropower operations - and thereby allow some greater space in the Columbia and Snake rivers for salmon and steelhead.

So, what can BPA be thinking in making this confounding choice? The key fact is this: Without BPA participation, Markets+ is probably not viable. If BPA, which owns 75% of Northwest transmission (those large lines that move electricity from the places it is generated to places where it is consumed), joined EDAM, other potential northwest Markets+ participants, like Puget Sound Energy, the Mid-Columbia PUDs, and BC Hydro's marketing arm, PowerEx, would have very limited ability to deliver or receive energy from the rest of the far-flung footprint of Markets+. In other words, without strong participation by key Northwest entities and access to their hydropower, Markets+ would be too scattered and constrained to succeed.

BPA knows that their participation is a life-or-death matter for Markets+, as does the Southwest Power Pool. This gives them a degree of governance leverage they would not have as a participant of EDAM.

What this all means is that BPA is effectively subordinating economic benefits to its customer utilities, and their retail customers (e.g. people like you) to its desire to exercise maximum control over this emerging energy market.

Fortunately, BPA's decision is far from final. As noted above, Markets+ will not go live before 2028. A lot can and will happen in the next 2 ½ years as market design and governance evolves in both day ahead markets. Save Our wild Salmon and allies will continue to advocate for smarter choices by BPA that support affordable power, investment in clean and renewable energy resources, and salmon recovery.

In the media:

• PNS: Bonneville Power energy market choice impacts NW environment

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5. Watch the 'RECIPROCITY: Envisioning a Healthy and Restored Columbia Basin' webinar recording!

This spring, we hosted a new webinar series: RECIPROCITY! It focuses on respecting and caring for salmon and their special relationship to the health of our ecosystem, land, water, species, and people! In our third installment of our webinar series, we were thrilled to have an engaging conversation that envisions the benefits of a healthy and restored Columbia Basin. 

The Columbia Snake River Basin once annually sustained 10-18 million salmon, steelhead, and native fish, and was rich in diverse native wildlife, plants, and healthy waters and rivers. However, the Basin has experienced significant changes in the past 150 years, pushing salmon to the brink of extinction. Restoring health to the Columbia Basin - including lower Snake River dam removal - offers big opportunities for communities to connect with thriving ecosystems, sustainable economic opportunities, healthier communities, and a balanced web of life.

Our featured guests each spoke about their unique relationships with the salmon and the Columbia and Snake rivers, and they shared their perspectives on many benefits for all people that will come from healthier lands, waters, fish, and wildlife in the Columbia Basin.

Watch the Recording

Thank you to our featured guests!

• Kayeloni Scott, Executive Director, Columbia/Snake River Campaign
• Liz Hamilton, Policy Director, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association
• Tom O’Keefe, Pacific Northwest Stewardship Director, American Whitewater
• Reggie Westgate, NextGen Salmon Collective student leader

Watch the recordings of previous RECIPROCITY webinars. Thank you all for joining the series, and we hope you will join us in the fall as we continue with the series!

Thank you to the Natural Encounters Conservation Fund for their ongoing support of this webinar series!

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6. Join SOS and friends at upcoming Salmon, Orca, and River events!

Mark your calendar for upcoming summer events! Visit wildsalmon.org/events for a list of events near you.

June is Orca Action Month!
Orca Action Month is an annual series of events intended to raise awareness about the threats facing critically endangered Southern Resident orcas, educate the public on what we can all do to protect them, and build a community to celebrate these magnificent beings. This year’s theme, Threads of Life: Connecting Orcas, People, and the Future We Share, reminds us that we’re all woven into the same web of life. From the rivers that feed our salmon to the actions we take each day, everything is connected. When we protect orcas, we protect the future for all of us. Visit orcamonth.org for a list of upcoming virtual and live events throughout the month of June.

June 14: All Our Relations: A Majestic Matriarchy (Seattle, WA)
 Please join us for A Majestic Matriarchy on Saturday, June 14, from 6:30 – 8:30pm at St. Joseph Parish, Seattle, WA, with a Netse Mot: A Gathering Meal from 5:00-6:30 pm! This event will feature a powerful lineup of Indigenous women who will bring attention to the plight and importance of the Southern Resident orcas. Join us to listen, learn, and be inspired by the heartfelt words, visions, and voices of Indigenous women leaders from around the Northwest.

Tickets are available on a sliding scale basis and free for Indigenous Peoples. Learn more and register. A Majestic Matriarchy is presented by Se'Si'Le, an Indigenous-led nonprofit in Washington State, and supported by a coalition of NGOs and faith-based partners.

August 5: Salmon Life Cycle (Portland, OR)
Join Greater Hells Canyon Council, Pacific Rivers, and Save Our wild Salmon on a bike ride to show support for a free-flowing lower Snake River and the recovery of Columbia Basin salmon on August 5, 2025, 6pm!

Let’s get together for a fun bike ride centered on environmental activism and a shared love of free-flowing rivers! RSVP!

July 31-August 5: Snoqualmie Tribe Canoe Journey, Paddle to Lower Elwha
Dams Removed – A River Reborn – Spirits Renewed.

The Snoqualmie Tribe’s Culture Department is hosting this year’s Canoe Journey, Paddle to Lower Elwha: ʔéʔɬx̣ʷaʔ nəxʷsƛ̕áy̕əm̕ Strong People (July 21, 2025 – August 5, 2025). Learn more about the Canoe Journey and route here.

August 15 - August 16: Envisioning A Restored Lower Snake River Flotilla (Hells Gate State Park, ID)
Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment is hosting a Flotilla on August 15 – 16th! 

The two-day event will include an outdoor evening film screening The Grand Salmon, live music, interactive art, food, and a Flotilla with speakers highlighting the benefits and impact of a restored, healthy, and vibrant river. RSVP coming soon!

August 22 - August 24: Sawtooth Salmon Festival (Stanley, ID)
Join a free community celebration of the 900-mile journey of salmon from the ocean to Redfish Lake in Stanley, Idaho! Visit sawtoothsalmonfestival.org to learn more about the festival, hosted by Idaho Rivers United and Sawtooth Interpretive & Historical Association.

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 7. Salmon media round-up 

Here are a couple of recent stories about the urgency and opportunity today for salmon recovery and river restoration:

News: 

• NewsData: Lower Returns for Sockeye, Coho, Steelhead Predicted in 2025
• The Spokesman-Review: Columbia River salmon restoration hit hard by $1.5B cut to Army Corps of Engineers
• Fast Company: These stunning photos show how nature came back after the world’s largest dam removal project

Opinion:

• The Columbian: Local View: Now is not the time to weaken a law that works
• The Oregonian: Opinion: A surge of salmon – and hope – after Klamath dams’ removal 

LTE:

• Lookout Eugene-Springfield: Northwest Energy Security Act ‘fails not only salmon, ecosystem but tribal communities’
• The Spokesman-Review: Abundant salmon return: A vision
• The Spokesman-Review: Investing in salmon would boost regional economy
• Tri-City Herald: The Snake River dams are killing salmon. Time for them to go

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Wild Salmon & Steelhead News is published monthly by the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition. Read on to learn about the Columbia-Snake River Basin’s endangered wild salmon and steelhead, the many benefits they deliver to people and ecosystems, and the extinction crisis they face today - unless we act! Find out how SOS is helping lead efforts to restore health, connectivity, and resilience to the rivers and streams these fish depend upon in the Columbia-Snake Basin and how you can get involved to help restore healthy, abundant, and harvestable populations and sustain more just and prosperous communities. To learn more and/or get involved, contact Martha Campos.

Table of Contents:

1. Honoring Earth Month and salmon's sacred journey!
2. Watch 'RECIPROCITY: Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative' webinar recording!
3. NextGen Salmon Collective summer internship applications are now open!
4. The Power of Art: An interview with Gabriel Newton
5. Get that GIVING feeling - to recover salmon and restore their rivers!
6. Salmon media round-up

1. Honoring Earth Month and salmon's sacred journey!

Ocean Spiral, © Heidie Ambrose Each year, salmon return to their native spawning grounds after spending up to 8 years in the ocean, completing their beautiful life cycle and bringing a new generation of salmon to Earth. The salmon's journey is magnificent and mysterious. Their migration delivers critical marine nutrients hundreds of miles from oceans to support a diversity of life in inland rivers, streams, and forests. Throughout this amazing journey, they bring energy and nutrition to more than 130 other species, including people.

Since time immemorial, salmon have played a profound role for many Pacific Northwest Tribes’ spiritual traditions, cultural identity, economic prosperity, and food sovereignty. Each spring, Tribes across the Northwest celebrate the return of the adult salmon from the ocean to rivers with traditional First Food ceremonies.

With the return of salmon in spring and the celebration of Earth Month, it is an appropriate time to reflect on the journey of wild salmon and steelhead and re-commit to our collaborative work with many others to protect, restore and reconnect the healthy waters and habitats across Columbia-Snake River Basin that native fish - and all of us - rely upon and benefit from. The dams on the lower Snake River in southeast Washington State—Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite—and their stagnant reservoirs are heating up this historic river, disrupting its natural flow, and blocking salmon's productive access to more than 5,000 miles of ancestral, once highly productive upstream spawning and rearing habitat. Still, salmon persevere and continue their ancient journey from river to ocean to river - to spawn after laying the seeds for the next generation.

Their magical journey also inspires - and remind us of our collective responsibility to work with others to protect salmon and steelhead, and their rivers and ecosystems for the benefit of present and future generations.

“Along the Columbia River plateau, our sacred responsibility to protect salmon, water, roots, berries, and game remains unbroken despite centuries of challenges. These First Foods are not simply resources but relatives deserving of respect and reciprocity. We invite all people to join in this Indigenous perspective—recognizing that caring for Mother Earth is not a once-yearly commitment but a daily practice of gratitude, respect, and responsible action for future generations.”—Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission

During Earth Month this year, SOS participated in numerous events across the Northwest to celebrate and honor all life on Earth. We were filled with hope to see so many people gathering together, deepening relationships with one another and with nature, and mobilizing collectively to protect the Earth and restore health to its lands and waters.

We are especially grateful to the Seattle Kraken and The Latona Pub for their generosity and partnership this Earth Month to celebrate and support our work on behalf of healthy lands and waters, abundant salmon and steelhead populations, and sustainable communities and economies here in our Pacific Northwest home!

We're currently in DC meeting with Members of Congress to recover Columbia-Snake Basin salmon.Joseph Bogaard and LeeAnne Beres at an Earth Week fundraising benefit hosted by The Latona Pub!  

SOS and supporters enjoyed a great game of hockey during Seattle Kraken's "Green Night!"SOS joined Children of the Setting Sun's Wake Up, Stand Up Rally to honor and protect the Earth. 

Abby Saks joined the Earth Day Block Party in Spokane, WA, which featured a special animal marching band!Next Gen Salmon Collective student leader, Ginna Owens, tabling at Gonzaga University’s Rock the Planet.

Thank you all for your commitment to honor salmon and all of life this Earth Month and every single day! To close, we share this poem from I Sing the Salmon Home anthology edited by former Washington State Poet Laureate Rena Priest and published by Empty Bowl Press.

The Genius of Salmon by Julie Robinett

Salmon, how do you know how to
travel all the way from the sea,
hundreds of miles (to exactly where you began)
with no map or directions to guide you
(aside from those written in memory,
and the earth's gentle pull)?

And what is it like to possess
a sense of scent so precise that
you can detect one drop of fragrance
in water so vast it could fill ten
Olympic-sized swimming pools?

How do you know
(you just know) how to build
a watery nest for your eggs,
without one speck
of exterior guidance?
(You get by on instinct and grace.)

Generation after generation,
you have been swept into
your beautiful dance. We humans
(and the earth, with its creatures
and plants) ... yes, we are grateful! 

About Julie Robinett: Decided (on a whim) in late 2011 that I would memorize one poem for each week in 2012. While doing that, I fell in love with poetry. A few years later I began attending a local open mic ("just to listen") —and was soon swept into writing (and sharing) my own poetry. In addition to poetry, I love books, chocolate, shade, spiders, walking, dancing, and many kinds of music (including and especially Zimbabwean marimba music). I have lived in the Pacific Northwest for most of my life; currently my family and I (including occasional spiders) live in Everett.

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2. Watch the 'RECIPROCITY: Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative' webinar recording!

Sierra Club and Save Our wild Salmon recently co-hosted the second installment of RECIPROCITY - our 2025 webinar series. We were honored to have representatives of the Six Sovereigns present on the development, purposes, and goals of the groundbreaking, collaborative, and comprehensive plan to restore salmon abundance while investing in healthy communities — the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI).

Thanks to the vision and leadership of the 'Six Sovereigns' — the four lower Columbia River Treaty Tribes (the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, the Nez Perce Tribe) and the states of Oregon and Washington — the Pacific Northwest communities are moving down a new path to recovery and resilience, and a more just and prosperous future. With the solutions outlined in the CBRI, we have a comprehensive plan to restore salmon and other native fish to healthy and abundant levels, ensure a clean and socially just energy future, support local economic resilience, and honor our nation's promises to Tribal Nations.

WATCH THE WEBINAR RECORDING

“This has been a long and beautiful journey. This is an important moment, we are united together, as we all should be on important issues. We need everyone to help with this effort here to show the region and our future generations that this is possible. It's very emotional to our communities that still acknowledge this way of life. It's meaningful, and it's about our youth, it's about our children, their grandchildren, the ecosystem, the different animals that rely on these native anadromous species.” —Jeremy Takala, Chair, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission

Thank you to our featured presenters:

• Jeremy Takala, Chair, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
• Austin Smith Jr., General Manager, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Branch of Natural Resources
• Kate Marckworth, Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation Senior Staff Attorney
• Michael Garrity, Special Assistant at Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

Thank you to Bill Arthur, Chair of the Sierra Club Columbia-Snake River Salmon Campaign and Keyen Singer, NextGen Salmon Collective leader and member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), for their inspiring opening and closing remarks.

Please join Save Our wild Salmon and Sierra Club and TAKE ACTION in support of the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative, and oppose legislation that undermines important solutions, opportunities, and progress.

In January, Sen. Jim Risch (ID) and Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-4) introduced legislation, which they dubbed the “Northwest Energy Security Act,” that, if it becomes law, will deal a devastating blow to important salmon recovery progress in the Columbia River Basin. Please ACT NOW: urge your members of Congress to oppose this legislation and instead to support full implementation of the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative to recover imperiled salmon populations with solutions that replace existing lower Snake River dam services, create jobs, and invest in clean energy and modern infrastructure. We have a huge opportunity today to advance durable, comprehensive solutions that recover salmon and invest in our communities - and move everyone forward together!

We hope you will join us for the third webinar of our RECIPROCITY series on May 22! Stay tuned for additional details!

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3. NextGen Salmon Collective summer internship applications are now open! 

Since NextGen Salmon Collective launched last year, student leaders have taken salmon, orca, and justice advocacy to a whole new level!

NextGen Salmon Collective leaders are organizing strategic and timely letter writing parties targeting decision-makers, advocacy events, educational tabling activities, and other initiatives engaging new people to work together to advocate for the protection of Columbia River Basin salmon and steelhead. Most recently, student leaders organized a petition advocating for Gov. Bob Ferguson’s leadership to protect and restore Snake River salmon and Southern Resident orcas. They wrote to the Governor:

“As youth of the Pacific Northwest, we will see the consequences of the decisions you make today. We will either see a bright future with abundant salmon, a healthy ecosystem, and prosperous communities, or we will be faced with the unacceptable outcome of salmon extinction. We ask that you choose abundance over extinction, and that you strongly support the continued implementation of the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative.”

With over 200 student signatures, five NextGen Salmon Collective leaders traveled to Olympia to deliver the petition to the governor’s office and spent a day in Olympia meeting with policymakers to advocate for salmon, orcas, and all the communities that depend on and cherish these iconic species. Read more about the first inaugural NextGen Legislative Advocacy Day here.

We deeply appreciate their leadership to ensure salmon abundance and healthy Southern Residents for future generations.

Be a part of NextGen Salmon Collective! Applications for NextGen 2025 summer internship are now open! This team-based internship will support highly passionate and creative students to educate and mobilize their peers on the importance of Columbia-Snake River restoration. Interns will lead community outreach projects and advocacy initiatives in collaboration with other youth organizers across the region.

Hear from NextGen student leaders about their experience joining the collective:

“The most useful aspect of NextGen so far is getting to hear from experts and people with a lot of experience in a small group setting that was very helpful, tailored to us.”

“I now feel confident in my knowledge about the lower Snake River dams and why they should be removed. I am comfortable talking about this topic and explaining it to people.”

“The best part of NextGen is having a large group of people ready to listen, collaborate, and support each other no matter what the question or event is.”

Learn more about NextGen Salmon Collective and apply here. The deadline to apply is May 8th! Stipends are available. If you have any questions, please reach out to Abby Dalke abby@wildsalmon.org.

APPLY TODAY

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4. The Power of Art
An interview with Gabriel (Gabe) Newton
By Britt Freda, Creative Director of Northwest Artists Against Extinction

Celebration, ©Gabe Newton

It has been just over a month since Gabe Newton, renowned professional kayaker, artist, and dedicated orca advocate, embarked on a three-day, 65-mile sea kayaking journey from downtown Seattle to Olympia. Gabe personally delivered an original painting from his SUPERPOD collection, along with more than 1,500 postcards and petition signatures to Governor Ferguson urging his bold leadership and commitment to decisive actions to protect the critically endangered Southern Resident orcas and the Chinook salmon they depend on for survival.

“There are so many petitions these days, it's easy for them to fall through the cracks or be dismissed,” said Gabe. “The Governor's office wasn’t going to accept the delivery of the signatures from me directly. From the steps of the Capitol building, they asked me to mail them in.” Ultimately, the key to an in-person conversation with the governor’s staff was the gift of art. (Governor Ferguson was in Seattle the day Gabe arrived in Olympia.)  

Gabe gifted Governor Ferguson with his original painting titled Celebration, in honor of the day the dams are breached. It now hangs in the Governor's office—where it serves as a beautiful and inspiring launching point for further discussion for all who visit the Governor there. (Gabe received a letter of thanks, praise and gratitude from Governor Bob Ferguson, for “your advocacy and for your kindness in sharing your talent with others.”)

“Celebration, refers to the moment when the dams come down. The orcas will celebrate, and so will the rest of us.”—Gabe Newton

“The combination [of art, advocacy, and action] was really successful! I feel good about how the journey and the project made the pressing issue of wild salmon and Southern Resident orca extinction more visible to more people.” This journey illustrates the role art plays in “connecting with people in ways so that they’re more open to the message and what needs to be heard. We need more creative ways to capture people’s attention, imagination, and hearts.” 

“There are currently a lot of fires to be put out, but it is important not to lose hope. It is crucial that we do not lose sight of the future we want for salmon and orca restoration and maintain the vision that we can still make the changes that are so needed, that are so necessary. We need people working on all of these pieces. Not everyone can be focused on climate; we need dedicated people working on all of these fronts.” 

When asked what gives Gabe hope these days, he enthused, “How majestic the orcas are! They’re awe-inspiring.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “and also the salmon. It's so miraculous how these salmon swim 900 miles upriver into the mountain streams of Idaho, where I grew up. But if you put eight concrete walls in front of them, it's no longer possible. We really need to get out of the way, if we want to witness the miraculousness of life. And every time a thread in the web of life is broken, our own capacity to thrive is diminished. Orcas and salmon are both very integral threads.”

As we wrapped up our conversation, I wondered whether there was a predominant thought or contemplation that circled through Gabe’s mind as he paddled from Seattle to Olympia. “It was that I was plying the same waters the Southern Resident orcas have been plying for thousands of years,” said Gabe.

Gabe continues to work on an addendum to his SUPERPOD collection, painting all of the Southern Resident orcas who have died over the past 10 years, which is an astounding 30 whales—11 calves, 19 adults. "That really puts this crisis into perspective," Gabe said. Seven of those deceased whales were painted by Gabe before they passed.

We thank Gabe for embarking on this journey, calling on elected representatives for their bold leadership to safeguard the future of these endangered orcas and salmon, and all who depend on them. Watch a recap of Gabe’s journey here. 

Selected pieces from Gabe’s SUPERPOD exhibit are currently on view outside the Highline Heritage Museum in Burien through the end of June. An additional group is in the works to be exhibited for three months at SeaTac City Hall, late spring to early summer.

To learn more about Gabe’s work, visit nwaae.org, GabrielNewton.com, or follow him @kvkinship on Instagram.  

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5. Get that GIVING feeling - to recover salmon and restore their rivers!

Early giving for GiveBIG 2025 is now open!

Save Our wild Salmon is participating in GiveBIG, Washington State's nonprofit giving campaign, which is running now through Wednesday, May 7! GiveBIG is an annual opportunity to be part of a groundswell movement of generosity, where we come together to celebrate and invest in our community. By donating to SOS, you will help advance our work to protect and restore abundant, healthy, and harvestable salmon and steelhead populations to the rivers, streams, and marine waters of the Pacific Northwest.

We are living in an especially challenging time. Your generous support today will help us to protect wild salmon and their rivers – and defend the historic progress we've made in the past several years. We'll continue to organize, advocate, and work closely with allies and communities to uphold our values. In 2025, SOS is focused on advancing our program work to support the leadership of Northwest Tribes; educate, inspire, and mobilize our supporters and the public; strengthen our relationships with stakeholders; and engage – and push on when needed! – policymakers to develop and deliver effective, durable solutions for salmon and steelhead, Southern Resident orcas, and our communities.

Finally, thanks to a very generous SOS donor, we now have a $15,000 Challenge Match for GiveBIG this spring!

Give generously before May 7 and you will double your gift and help us take full advantage of this opportunity!

DONATE TO SOS FOR GIVEBIG!

Thank you, as ever, for your advocacy and generosity in defense of Northwest salmon and the many gifts they offer.

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6. Salmon media round-up

Watch: EcoSense for Living: SNOW & FLOW episode with a segment featuring Nez Perce Tribal leaders and scientists and National Wildlife Federation speaking of the fate of salmon and their role as a life source that connects us all.

“When we look out to the future, we want to see a free-flowing Snake River once again. We want to be able to hand out to the next generation, we want to leave things better off for them, so that they can go out to all these places that were guaranteed to us by treaties.” —Joseph Oatman, Manager of Nez Perce Tribe’s Deptartment of Fisheries Resource Management

Read:

• PNS: Bonneville Power energy market choice impacts NW environment
• Vashon Beachcomber: Kayactivist, after island stop, take message to Olympia
• Boise State Public Radio: How tribes in the Columbia River Basin are protecting lamprey 
• King 5: New orca calf spotted with J pod 
• Everett Herald Guest Opinion: BPA Should rethink decision affecting ratepayers

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Wild Salmon & Steelhead News is published monthly by the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition. Read on to learn about the Columbia-Snake River Basin’s endangered wild salmon and steelhead, the many benefits they deliver to people and ecosystems, and the extinction crisis they face today - unless we act! Find out how SOS is helping lead efforts to restore health, connectivity, and resilience to the rivers and streams these fish depend upon in the Columbia-Snake Basin and how you can get involved to help restore healthy, abundant, and harvestable populations and sustain more just and prosperous communities. To learn more and/or get involved, contact Martha Campos.

Table of Contents:

1. Envisioning a free-flowing lower Snake River 
2. Progress to prevent Snake River dams from driving salmon and steelhead to extinction 
3. "Envisioning a restored river is an exercise in joy." An interview with Mark Titus, NWAAE Artist 
4. Take Action: Protect endangered salmon, orcas, rivers, and the ecosystem we depend on 
5. Celebrate salmon, orcas, and rivers in upcoming spring events!
6. Salmon & River media roundup and resources

1. Envisioning a free-flowing lower Snake River 

Pilgrimage, © Josh Udesen

The pristine, clear, cold waters of the Columbia-Snake River Basin were home to millions of adult salmon and steelhead. For millennia, wild Snake and Columbia River salmon and steelhead have delivered vast cultural, economic, nutritional, and ecological benefits to the people, fish, and wildlife of the Northwest.

Salmon and steelhead returning from the Pacific Ocean, swim against the current in search of their natal spawning gravels. When the Columbia and Snake Rivers flowed freely, juvenile salmon and steelhead took as few as five days to complete their migration to the ocean—due to the swiftly moving current of the Columbia and Snake Rivers. As a keystone species, healthy salmon and steelhead populations are a critical nutrient link between healthy oceans, rivers, streams, forests, and wildlife. Over 130 species, including critically endangered Southern Resident orcas, benefit from and utilize the ocean-origin nutrients that salmon and steelhead deliver.

The state of salmon populations and rivers reflects the overall health of the ecosystem and shapes our future. However, the lower Snake River dams are damaging the Northwest’s way of life. The future of the Columbia and Snake Rivers, salmon, and communities, must include access to clean water and an ecosystem with a balanced web of life, healthy rivers, oceans, and lands.

With your strong support and advocacy, we’ve made truly historic progress to advance salmon and steelhead recovery, lower Snake River restoration, and dam service replacement planning. On this month’s Wild Salmon and Steelhead News, we are inspired to dive into our collective vision of a restored Columbia and Snake Rivers!

Read on to learn more about the urgency to restore river conditions, updates on lower Snake River dam replacement planning, an exciting opportunity to share your vision on what a restored lower Snake River would mean to you, and ways to take action to defend our progress to recover salmon and a healthy ecosystem! 

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2. Progress to prevent Snake River dams from driving salmon and steelhead to extinction 

A Litany of Salmon, © Eileen Klatt

Habitat destruction from the construction and operation of the four lower Snake River dams is the single greatest cause of mortality for the basin’s native fish today. The dams transformed a healthy and free-flowing river into a series of large, warm, stagnant reservoirs, creating conditions that harm and kill both juvenile and adult fish, restrict access to clean water, and disrupt Tribal sacred sites and homes:

Hot Water Temperatures: The dams elevate river water temperatures to exceed 68° F, causing salmon to suffer harmful effects, including migration disruption, increased susceptibility to disease, suffocation, and, in the worst case, death.

Toxic Algal Blooms: The dams are creating warm and stagnant water conditions allowing for toxic algal blooms to grow and make the river sick, unsafe, and dangerous for people, pets, communities, the environment, and salmon. These toxic algal blooms are also straining the limited recreational and fishing opportunities on the lower Snake River.

Inundated Tribes’ Sacred and Cultural Sites: In the "Historic and Ongoing Impacts of Federal Dams on the Columbia River Basin Tribes" analysis, the Department of the Interior reports how the dams and reservoirs have flooded hundreds of "historical Tribal housing, fishing, cultural, and burial sites." Tribal treaty rights require the federal government to restore salmon populations and access to historic fishing grounds.

Oil Spills: The lower Snake River dams have a history of spilling oil and lubricants (oils that cause cancer and have adverse health effects on the human body) into the river. In 2022, a turbine system at the Little Goose Dam spilled hundreds of gallons of oil into the Snake River for over 90 days.

Dams Wasting Water: The lower Snake River dams waste roughly 30,400 acre feet of water every year due to evaporation from the reservoirs. The Stockholm Environment Institute’s study showed the water lost to evaporation each year could meet the residential needs of over 240,000 Washingtonians or grow over 8,000 acres of Washington apples.

"Inaction will result in the catastrophic loss of the majority of Columbia River basin salmon and steelhead stocks," states NOAA in their "Rebuilding Interior Columbia Basin Salmon and Steelhead" report. The dams have negatively impacted the river and caused a steep decline in wild salmon and steelhead runs, with 37% of Snake River Spring/Summer Chinook populations and 19% of Snake River steelhead populations below critical quasi-extinction thresholds, according to a Nez Perce fisheries study updated in 2024. As NOAA writes, restoring Snake River salmon and steelhead to healthy and abundant levels would require restoration of the lower Snake River and its migration corridor by breaching the four lower Snake River dams as part of a comprehensive suite of actions. 

Restoring a healthy and resilient Columbia and Snake Rivers

SOS is working closely with our coalition member organizations to support, defend, and help advance key elements of the historic Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA) announced by the Biden Administration and the 'Six Sovereigns': a powerful new regional alliance with four Tribes: the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Yakama Nations and two states: Oregon and Washington. The RCBA is the first significant step forward to realize the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI)—the visionary, comprehensive, regionally supported roadmap to rebuild imperiled native fish populations, honor Tribal treaty rights, meet regional energy and decarbonization goals, and restore healthy ecosystems while supporting a robust Pacific Northwest economy. The CBRI includes many important pieces, including a path to lower Snake River dam removal, starting with dam service replacement planning that is now underway.

A few key takeaways from the lower Snake River dam replacement planning:

Water Supply Study: The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) and Washington Department of Ecology released a draft Lower Snake River Water Supply Replacement Study, providing clear evidence that there would be plenty of water in a free-flowing lower Snake River to support farmers, cities, and industries—even in low-water years. The report identifies practical solutions for replacing irrigation infrastructure and ensuring uninterrupted water access. Each solution considered had to be technically feasible, able to be constructed and operational before dam breaching, to avoid environmental, cultural, social, and water availability fatal flaws, and to make economic sense. With smart investments, we can continue to use water from the Snake River while restoring salmon and steelhead populations, honoring treaty obligations, and healing our ecosystems. Learn more about the study.

Transportation Study: The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) released a Phase 1 status report on transportation in the lower Snake River region. The study confirmed barge traffic on the four lower Snake River dams has declined over the years, and rail lines through the Columbia Gorge would likely have capacity to handle additional freight. In future phases, WSDOT will develop a detailed transportation model to analyze how freight may move using railroads, highways, and rivers when the lower Snake River is restored. By investing in rail infrastructure, upgrading roads, and leveraging multimodal transportation options, we can ensure a thriving agricultural industry and a restored river for future generations. Learn more about the study.

Recreation Study: Earlier this year, the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) sought public input on a survey intended to capture insights on current and potential future recreation activities, preferences, accessibility needs, and historic and cultural preservation and protection along a free-flowing Snake River. All input received will be summarized in a final report assessing future recreation demand and will be shared with state, federal, and Tribal partners. Thank you to all who submitted a survey response on expanding and diversifying recreation opportunities for current and future generations!

Recovering abundant salmon populations by restoring the lower Snake River through dam removal is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Northwest and nation. Replacement planning process and collaborative implementation of the CBRI puts us one step closer to solutions for a healthier Columbia-Snake River Basin, upholding our nation's promises to Tribes, and reconnecting this endangered fish to 5,500 miles of pristine, protected rivers and streams in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. 

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3. "Envisioning a restored river is an exercise in joy." An interview with Mark Titus, NWAAE Artist 

Britt Freda, creative director of Northwest Artists Against Extinction (NWAAE, a project of SOS), recently caught up with Mark Titus, filmmaker and founder of August Island Pictures and Eva’s Wild, and a new NWAAE partner artist!

Britt: "Mark, you’ve spent decades creating intimate and inspiring documentary films focused on salmon and some of the greatest threats to the species. In your films—The Wild, The Breach, and the third of the trilogy, the soon-to-be-released, The Turn—you ask your viewers the question, 'How do you save what you love?' This month’s WSSN is focused on Envisioning a Restored River. What does that mean to you? What do you envision when you imagine ‘saving what you love?'"

Mark: "Envisioning a restored river is an exercise in joy. Rivers are like gravity; mountains; trees and salmon. They do what is in their nature. For rivers, that is, feel the pull of gravity and find the path home to the ocean. This, of course, only happens when they are free to flow.

Like an artery might be blocked in the heart of a person, the 140 mile stretch of the Snake River is currently blocked by four salmon-killing dams. And like a person gets with a blockage to their heart, this blockage on the Snake has made the river sick. Consequently, this has threatened the very existence of salmon for future generations.

When I close my eyes and see a Snake River flowing unhindered, I see healthy baby salmon flowing down-river to begin their great life in the sea in a matter of days, not weeks. I see healthy riverside communities on-level with a dynamic, free-flowing clean river—with healthy economies benefitting from visitor dollars in-flowing from people wanting to fish, raft, hike, hunt, and play in and next to a healthy river. And I see the very symbol of life-renewal itself, wild salmon, returning to their thriving, healthy, cold, wilderness birth-houses to lay down their lives for more than 130 different creatures—and create new life with their ultimate sacrifice.

This is joy. This is necessary. This is possible. We can do this."

What would a restored lower Snake River mean to you?

We are deeply inspired by discussions across the region to shape a vision and identify opportunities and priorities for accessing and experiencing a healthy restored river—and what it means to you, your family, your community, and/or your business. Share your vision by submitting your comments below, as well as any photos or videos of you recreating on or near a river. Thank you for sharing your vision with us!

Submit your comment

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4. Take Action: Protect endangered salmon, orcas, rivers, and the ecosystem we depend on  

We are in a moment right now of urgency to protect salmon recovery efforts in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Take Action: we need your help to continue our region’s work to recover salmon, restore healthy rivers in the Columbia-Snake Basin, and honor treaty rights and federal commitments made to Tribes.

Action 1. Stop the "Salmon Extinction" legislation by Sen. Risch and Rep. Newhouse!

Lower Monumental, © Rachel TeannalachIn late January, Sen. Jim Risch (ID) and Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-4) introduced harmful legislation in Congress, which exaggerates the importance of the four lower Snake River dams' energy production and ignores the salmon extinction crisis facing the Pacific Northwest today.

If the bill becomes law, it will permanently require federal agencies to follow an illegal and outdated 2020 dam operations plan that would harm all salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia-Snake River Basin that migrate above Bonneville Dam, impede opportunities to develop a cleaner, more reliable energy system, and violate the U.S. government’s obligations to Tribal Nations whose treaty rights have been undermined by the dams.

Washington, Idaho, and Oregon Residents: Please urge your members of Congress to reject this damaging legislation and work together on effective and affordable solutions outlined in the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI) that recover salmon and invest in our communities—moving everyone forward together!

Take Action

Action 2. Help shape the future of salmon recovery and the restoration of the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

Headwaters, © Rachel TeannalachThe same illegal and outdated 2020 dam operations plan that Sen. Risch and Rep. Newhouse are trying to keep, is up for review! We have the opportunity to tell the federal government and members of Congress about all the harm the lower Snake River dams and their reservoirs have caused to endangered salmon and steelhead and the Columbia-Snake Basin.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation have initiated a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) to revise the 2020 Columbia River System Operations Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), as agreed to in the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA), signed in December 2023 by federal agencies, the states of Oregon and Washington, four lower Columbia River Tribes, Bonneville Power Administration, and plaintiffs.

The SEIS comment period seeks to gather new information and circumstances since the previous Columbia River System Operations EIS completed in 2020. Litigation by salmon advocates challenging the woefully inadequate and certainly illegal 2020 plan was paused as part of the RCBA when it was announced in late 2023. Under the federal agencies’ own analysis, the 2020 operations, in combination with the foreseeable effects of climate change, will lead to the extinction of many salmon populations in the coming years.

Your comments will shape the federal government’s decision to develop a new federal plan that aligns with the CBRI to recover healthy and abundant salmon across the Columbia Basin, uphold U.S. Government commitments to Tribes, and invest in a future where salmon and communities thrive together.

Submit a comment

Action 3: Urge BPA to join an energy market that fosters a reliable and resilient energy future!

Columbia Map, © Claire WaichlerThe Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which sells power from federal dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers, has been evaluating two very different energy markets to join: Extended Day Ahead Market (EDAM) or Markets+.

Salmon, orca, and fishing advocates strongly support BPA joining EDAM because it would allow BPA to generate less power from the federal hydrosystem limiting the harm to endangered migrating salmon and steelhead, and encourages the development of new carbon-free resources and transmission. Unfortunately, BPA has published a draft decision to join Markets+, which will create significant problems for regional electric prices, decarbonization, and salmon recovery.

Please send a message to BPA and Northwest elected officials to unify the west and choose an energy market that fosters reliability and affordability for customers while also protecting our environment—including the salmon that define our Northwest way of life.

Take Action

 Thank you for taking action on behalf of salmon, rivers, and future generations! 

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5. Celebrate salmon, orcas, and rivers in upcoming spring events!

SOS and our coalition partners and allies are organizing events and activities across the region. Join us to speak up for the Columbia-Snake River Basin, its salmon and steelhead, and the Southern Resident orcas who depend on them! Check out upcoming events on SOS' Events page!

Spring & Fall 2025: RECIPROCITY Webinar Series

This year, SOS is hosting a new webinar series: RECIPROCITY! Throughout the series, we will spend time with experts and storytellers who share their experiences, collaborative work, and stories of reciprocity to help recover healthy and abundant salmon populations in the Columbia and Snake Rivers and the benefits they bring to the Northwest and the nation. Thank you to Natural Encounters Conservation Fund for their generous support in sponsoring RECIPROCITY and Annie Brulé for sharing her artwork as part of the webinar series!

Watch the first installment of RECIPROCITY: Advancing Sustainable and Just Energy AND Healthy, Abundant Salmon here. Our special gratitude goes to NW Energy Coalition, Nancy Hirsh, Executive Director and Ben Otto, Consultant, for their captivating conversation about the Northwest energy landscape and the opportunities to address the historical harm to Tribes, salmon, and our ecosystem while advancing clean renewable energy. Thank you to Jess Ludwig, NextGen Salmon Collective leader, an inspiring call to action to hold Bonneville Power Administration accountable to secure a resilient energy future, and to Britt Freda, Northwest Artists Against Extinction, who read poetry from I Sing the Salmon Home: Poems from Washington State, edited by Rena Priest & published by Empty Bowl Press.

April 13, 2025: Watch All Our Relations: Tribute to the Orca at the Social Justice Film Festival 

We are excited to announce the All Our Relations: Tribute to the Orca film will screen at the Social Justice Film Festival! The film highlights Indigenous communities' ancient kinship with orcas and salmon, and the importance of reciprocity in our relationship with our caretaker: Mother Nature. A special focus is on the Southern Resident orcas whose survival, like the survival of Indigenous lifeways here in the Pacific Northwest, depends on scha’enexw (the Salmon People). 

The film is a project of Se'Si'Le, an Indigenous-led nonprofit organization, in collaboration with Salish Sea and Northern Straits Native Nations, Save Our wild Salmon, Washington Conservation Action, and Eva's Wild.

Buy your ticket to watch the film at the Social Justice Film Festival in Seattle, WA, or watch the film online today!

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6. Salmon & River media roundup and resources

As we end our March Wild Salmon & Steelhead News focused on envisioning a restored lower Snake River, we leave you with a recent story about the urgency today for salmon recovery and river restoration and two visual maps of the lower Snake River that outlines the future opportunities of a free-flowing river and the benefits a healthy river will bring:

• ICT News: New studies may lead to removal of Snake River dams

• Imagining a New Future for Lower Snake River, created by Save Our wild Salmon and Defenders of Wildlife, exploring the opportunities of a restored Snake River corridor.

• Beneath the Lower Snake River, created by National Parks Conservation Association, is a visual map of lower Snake River's past landscapes to re-imagine the resources that could once again become part of its future in a free-flowing river.

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