Press Releases

For Immediate Release 
March 6, 2024

Media Contacts:  
Tanya Riordan, Policy and Advocacy Director, Save Our Wild Salmon, tanya@wildsalmon.org
Eric Gonzalez Alfaro, Policy Advocate, Earthjustice, egonzalez@earthjustice.org
Lisa McShane, Blue Spruce Strategies, lisa@blue-spruce.com

Washington State Legislature Funds Recreational Study Connected to Columbia Basin Restoration

The new recreation study joins three previously-funded studies on how to best replace energy, transportation and irrigation services now provided by the lower Snake River Dams

OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON: The Washington State Legislature yesterday appropriated $600,000 in its 2024-2025 Supplemental Operating Budget (SB 5950) to identify and study recreational and conservation opportunities on the Lower Snake River in advance of any future federal decision to authorize breaching of the four federal lower Snake River dams.

The new recreation study joins a set of similar studies funded by the Legislature last year to inform governing bodies and the public on infrastructure updates that could maintain and further develop energy, irrigation, and transportation options if breaching were to occur.

The Legislature’s proviso will ensure federal funds can be used as part of a cost sharing agreement between Washington state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The cost sharing agreement was one part of a December 2023 agreement on Columbia and Snake River basin restoration efforts between the Biden administration, Washington and Oregon State, four lower Columbia Basin Tribes – the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs and Yakama tribes, and Earthjustice and the fishing, conservation and renewable energy groups it represents.

Earthjustice, American Rivers, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, and allies applaud Governor Inslee for including the proviso in his budget, and the Legislature for ensuring the investment was maintained in the supplemental operating budget finalized and released today. Following are statements from these organizations:

“By funding this important study, the Legislature is investing in our communities and taking another important step toward restoring the lower Snake River, protecting endangered salmon and honoring our treaty responsibilities to Tribal Nations,” said Eric Gonzalez Alfaro, Policy Advocate with Earthjustice’s Northwest Office. “The public will need this information as we move forward with important choices for our region, and we applaud the Legislature for making this sage investment.”

“We know we can replace and modernize the transportation, energy, and irrigation services of the four lower Snake River dams, and we're grateful Washington State began those important planning processes in 2023,” said Tanya Riordan, Policy and Advocacy Director with Save Our wild Salmon Coalition. “This additional recreational analysis will identify the cultural, recreation, and ecosystem improvements of a restored lower Snake River, significantly benefiting salmon, people, and communities across the region.”

“Fisheries managers tell us that recovery to healthy and abundant fish returns would, at a minimum, have substantial economic benefits, more than doubling the economic benefits of sportfishing to rural towns throughout the region,” said Liz Hamilton, Policy Director for the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association. “In 2022, the basin’s mainstem fisheries generated $50.6 million in direct expenditures. Restoring the basin is expected to generate approximately $125 million.”

“A free-flowing lower Snake River will restore 140 miles of spawning and rearing habitat and enable salmon and steelhead to recover”, said Sarah Dyrdahl, American Rivers’ Northwest Regional Director. “Fifty years ago, before the dams were built, there were rapids in the river and farmland on the banks. Part of the river is in a deep, scenic canyon and we look forward to seeing what recreational opportunities a restored river will offer the region. American Rivers remains committed to working with everyone to find modern solutions to getting grain from SE Washington to the ocean ports, irrigating valuable crops, and generating and transmitting clean energy for the region.”

Background

Last year, the Legislature provided $2 million in its 2023-2025 Operating Budget for a study analyzing clean energy replacement services for the hydroelectric energy now provided by the four lower Snake River dams. The study is looking at how best to replace the power now provided by the dams in ways that meet projected future power demands while diversifying and improving the resilience of the power system and improving reliability and maintaining affordability. Another $5 million was allocated for an analysis of the highway, road and freight rail transportation needs and alternatives to accommodate the remaining freight that still moves by barge through the lower Snake River dams. Barge transportation, notably, has declined by over 50% over the last few decades. Finally, $500,000 in funding was allocated last year for a study looking at how to maintain irrigation services along the lower Snake River should a drawdown occur if breaching were to be authorized.

All of those studies allocated by the Legislature are ongoing and are scheduled to be completed within the next few years.

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Judge rejects requests by opponents to disapprove agreement

February 8, 2024

CONTACTS
Elizabeth Manning, Communications, Earthjustice, emanning@earthjustice.org, (907) 277-2555
Amanda Goodin, Attorney, Earthjustice, (206) 629-8525
Jacqueline Koch, Communications, National Wildlife Federation, (206) 687-8546

PORTLAND, OR — A federal judge in Oregon today approved a long-term pause in Snake River litigation. The ruling by Judge Michael Simon means a tribal-state plan and U.S. government commitments to restore the Columbia River Basin will continue as planned and announced in December.

“This is great news allowing our collaborative work to advance Columbia River restoration to move forward,” said Earthjustice Senior Attorney Amanda Goodin. “We have agreed to pause our litigation for five and up to 10 years to work in partnership to restore the Columbia Basin. With salmon on the brink of extinction, this new approach is desperately needed. We’re grateful to the Biden administration for helping us chart this new path forward.”

The restoration work, based on the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI) proposed by four Columbia Basin Tribes (Nez Perce, Yakama, Umatilla, and Warm Springs) and the states of Oregon and Washington, includes U.S. commitments totaling more than $1 billion in federal funding. The agreement includes measures to protect and restore Columbia and Snake River salmon, steelhead, and other native fish populations along with strategies and funding to replace the energy, transportation, irrigation, and recreation services provided by the four lower Snake River dams, paving the way for dam breaching.

The region will benefit significantly both ecologically and economically by replacing the lower Snake River dams’ services with more robust, resilient, and reliable energy, transportation, and irrigation systems and by restoring healthy and abundant salmon and other fisheries. The federal government has already committed significant funding for Columbia Basin restoration, with commitments to work to secure further funding in the months and years to come.

“This landmark agreement, based on a plan developed by Tribes and States, offers critical forward momentum after more than 25 years of litigation,” said Sierra Club Snake/Columbia River Salmon Campaign Director Bill Arthur. “Restoring these fisheries is essential for honoring Tribal Treaty rights but will also benefit the entire region.”

“This plan and the accompanying federal commitments will allow the Pacific Northwest to modernize energy services while restoring Columbia and Snake River fish and meeting our climate goals,” said Nancy Hirsh, executive director of the NW Energy Coalition. “This agreement offers tremendous opportunity for Northwest communities, Tribes and our fisheries. We’re excited to see this moving forward.”

The joint motion approved today pauses litigation that had challenged flawed dam operations on the Columbia Basin for failing to protect endangered Snake River salmon and steelhead. The litigation stay was requested by a coalition of fishing, conservation and renewable energy groups, represented by Earthjustice, along with the States of Oregon and Washington, four Columbia Basin 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 of Oregon and the Nez Perce Tribe — and federal defendants in the case.

Earthjustice represents National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Northwest Energy Coalition, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Columbia Riverkeeper, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Institute for Fisheries Resources, and Fly Fishers International. The Nez Perce Tribe and the State of Oregon are also aligned with these groups in litigation. A broad group of supporters and advocates are pushing to restore the Snake River and save wild salmon.

The groups that opposed the litigation stay include the State of Idaho, the Public Power Council and the Inland Ports and Navigation Group.

Download Legal Document 

Sun sets on a dammed section of the Snake River in between Lower Granite dam and Lewiston, ID, near Chief Timothy Park. (Chris Jordan-Bloch / Earthjustice)

Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces Ten-Year Partnership with Tribes & States to Restore Wild Salmon, Expand Clean Energy Production, Increase Resilience, and Provide Energy Stability in the Columbia River Basin

Historic Agreement Honors Tribal Treaty Rights, Addresses Long-Running Litigation Against the Federal Government’s Operation of Dams in the Columbia River Basin

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Biden-Harris Administration today announced a historic agreement to work in partnership with Pacific Northwest Tribes and States to restore wild salmon populations, expand Tribally sponsored clean energy production, and provide stability for communities that depend on the Columbia River System. Building on President Biden’s direction to Federal agencies, the agreement, when combined with other funding that the Administration is anticipated to deliver to the region, will bring more than $1 billion in new Federal investments to wild fish restoration over the next decade and enable an unprecedented 10-year break from decades-long litigation against the Federal government’s operation of its dams in the Pacific Northwest.

The agreement was filed in the Federal District Court in Oregon and sets commitments made by the Federal Government and implemented through a Memorandum of Understanding between the United States; the States of Oregon and Washington; the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Yakama Tribes; and environmental non-profit organizations.

Implementation of the agreement will diversify and develop affordable, clean, and reliable energy options for the region. Investments under this agreement will help to ensure continued energy reliability and affordability, transportation, recreation, irrigation, and other key services, including in the event that Congress decides to authorize breaching of the four Lower Snake River dams.

Today’s agreement follows a Presidential Memorandum issued by President Biden in September that – for the first time ever – directed Federal agencies to prioritize the restoration of healthy and abundant salmon, steelhead, and other native fish populations in the Columbia River Basin. It also builds on a historic agreement earlier this year to support Tribally led efforts to restore salmon in blocked habitats in the Upper Columbia Basin.

“President Biden understands that the Columbia River System is the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest, and for the first time under his direction, federal agencies are putting all hands on deck to support regional and Tribal efforts to restore wild salmon in the region. This agreement charts a new path to restore the river, provide for a clean energy future and the jobs that come with it, and live up to our responsibilities to Tribal Nations,” said Brenda Mallory, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

“Today’s historic agreement marks a new direction for the Pacific Northwest. Today, the Biden-Harris Administration and state and Tribal governments are agreeing to work together to protect salmon and other native fish, honor our obligations to Tribal nations, and recognize the important services the Columbia River System provides to the economy of the Pacific Northwest,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation.

“The Pacific Northwest’s iconic salmon and steelhead are essential to our ecological and economic wealth, and a sacred part of Tribal ceremonial, spiritual, and subsistence practices since time immemorial. The Columbia River treaty reserved tribes exemplify steadfast leadership in salmon restoration and stewardship, forging a strong partnership with our states in a shared commitment to comanaging this precious natural resource for generations to come. This successful and unprecedented partnership between the six sovereigns and the United States government has established a shared vision and pathway forward for restoration in both the lower and upper Columbia River Basin. Oregon looks forward to continued collaboration on a successful restoration,” said Oregon Governor Tina Kotek.

“Leaders across the region have long recognized that inaction on the Columbia-Snake River would doom our iconic species, do irreversible harm to Tribal communities, and diminish our region’s economic future. This agreement between the U.S. government and the Six Sovereigns and NGO plaintiffs is that path forward. It is a durable, comprehensive product of determined leadership by all parties to help secure the long term economic, energy, and salmon recovery needs of our region,” said Washington Governor Jay Inslee.

This agreement honors Tribal treaty rights. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to honoring and respecting Tribal sovereignty, protecting Tribal homelands, and incorporating Indigenous Knowledge and robust Tribal consultation into planning and decision-making.

“As Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) we are bound to the salmon and the rivers – these are our life sources. We will not allow extinction to be an option for the salmon, nor for us. The United States is bound to salmon and to us by Treaty where we reserved all our fisheries – our Treaty is the supreme law of the land under the United States Constitution,” said Chairman Shannon F. Wheeler, Nez Perce Tribe. “The federal dams on the lower Snake and mainstem Columbia rivers have had – and continue to have – devastating impacts on the salmon and our people, burdening our Treaty partnership. So today, as Six Sovereigns joining together with the United States to advance salmon restoration throughout the Basin – including preparation for breach of the four lower Snake River dams – we are also witnessing the restoration of Tribal Treaties to their rightful place under the rule of law. We appreciate President Biden’s commitment to honor Tribal Treaties, and to work in partnership to restore healthy, abundant salmon throughout the Columbia Basin.”

“The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative and the U.S. government’s commitments list represent many, many hours of collaboration. They not only address goals for healthy, abundant populations of fish to support Tribal treaty and non-tribal harvest, they also respect the future needs of the Columbia Basin in terms of preparing for climate variability, providing clean, reliable energy, transportation, and recreation. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is very appreciative of the collaboration with the Six Sovereigns and our Federal partners, and looks forward to working together to advance the goals of healthy and abundant salmon for the benefit of current and future generations,” said Corinne Sams, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Board of Trustees Member, Fish & Wildlife Commission Chair and Chair of the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission.

“For too long we have seen the federal government try to do the minimum amount necessary to pass legal muster under the Endangered Species Act,” said Jonathan W. Smith, Sr., Warm Springs Tribal Council Chairman. “This minimum effort approach has resulted in our fish populations limping along at depressed levels, oftentimes near-extinction and leaving us without enough salmon for our ceremonies, culture, and subsistence. We are optimistic that this first of its kind Presidential Memorandum on the Columbia Basin will chart a new course for the federal government that will lead to true restoration of our fisheries. There is no time to waste, and the Warm Springs Tribe is committed to working with the federal agencies, our fisheries co-managers and Columbia Basin stakeholders through this agreement to make sustainable healthy and abundant fish returns a reality.”

“Since time immemorial, the strength of the Yakama Nation and its people have come from Nch’í Wána – the Columbia River – and from the fish, game, roots and berries it nourishes. We have fought to protect and restore salmon because salmon are not just a natural resource, they are a cultural resource,” said Gerald Lewis, Yakama Nation Tribal Council Chairman. “Today the Biden Administration has announced its commitment to partner with us, our sister tribes, and our neighbors in the work that we have been doing, and will continue to do, to restore healthy and abundant salmon runs to the Columbia River. We can, and must, restore our salmon; and working together we can, and will, do so in a way that ensures our communities will have the energy and other resources they need for generations to come.”

As part of the agreement, the Biden-Harris Administration will invest $300 million over 10 years to restore native fish and their habitats throughout the Columbia River Basin, with added measures to increase the autonomy of States and Tribes to use these funds. The Administration will also facilitate the build-out of at least one to three gigawatts of Tribally-sponsored renewable energy production, increased flexibility for the hydrosystem, and studies of dam services.

The agreement keeps energy affordable by avoiding potentially significant rate increases from court ordered dam operations. The Bonneville Power Administration estimates that today’s agreement will have an annual average rate impact of 0.7 percent.

“The Columbia River System is an invaluable natural resource that is critical to many stakeholders in the Basin, including the Tribes who have relied on Pacific salmon, steelhead, and other native fish species for sustenance and their cultural and spiritual ways of life since time immemorial,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “As we commemorate today’s historic milestone, the Biden-Harris Administration remains committed to comprehensive and collaborative Basin-wide solutions to restoring salmon and other native fish populations. At every step of the way, Tribes will continue to have a seat at the table and be integral in our efforts to restore and protect these precious ecosystems.”

“For generations, the Columbia River Basin ecosystem has served as an integral economic and cultural cornerstone for communities and businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest — especially tribal communities,” said U.S. Deputy of Secretary David M. Turk. “Today’s historic agreement reinforces the Biden-Harris Administration commitment to honoring the Federal government’s treaty and trust responsibilities to Tribal Nations, and will provide long-term stability and operational reliability so that communities across the region can prosper for generations to come.”

“In the agreement signed today, BPA sought to provide our ratepayers operational certainty and reliability while avoiding costly, unpredictable litigation in support of our mission to provide a reliable, affordable power supply to the Pacific Northwest,” said John Hairston, Administrator and CEO of the Bonneville Power Administration.

“The Army Corps is proud to implement actions that will help restore habitat and fish populations in the Columbia River Basin while continuing our support for the regional economy. It is incredibly important that we do this work collaboratively with Tribal Nations to produce results that honor their treaty rights and our trust obligations, producing durable solutions that withstand the impacts of climate change,” said Michael Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. “The Columbia River provides vital economic and environmental benefits to Tribal Nations, communities and businesses of the Pacific Northwest,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, PhD. “This path forward focuses on the restoration of healthy and abundant salmon, steelhead, and other native fish to meet the needs of the Columbia River Basin while helping ensure the United States upholds its treaty and trust responsibilities to the Tribes.”

White House Press Release Link 

For Immediate Release
December 14, 2023

Media Contact
Tanya Riordan, Policy and Advocacy Director
Save Our wild Salmon Coalition
tanya@wildsalmon.org
509-990-9777

Biden administration commits significant federal resources to rebuild Columbia Basin salmon, honor obligations to Tribes, and prepare for lower Snake River dam breaching

SEATTLE, WA –  The new federal commitments announced today by the White House, the States of Oregon and Washington and four Columbia Basin Tribes are an important first step toward a comprehensive solution to restore healthy and abundant salmon populations, and essential to honoring Tribal Treaty obligations.

The agreement provides a multi-year pause in litigation to allow for implementation of commitments, actions, and federal investments advancing the recovery of salmon, steelhead and other Native fish populations throughout the Columbia River Basin, including more than half a billion dollars in NEW federal funding to the region and additional resources for habitat restoration and fish passage infrastructure.

These federal commitments are a turning point in the long-standing litigation to protect and restore Snake River salmon, and they build on comprehensive bi-partisan efforts, conclusive science, regional planning, public input, and State, Federal and Tribal leadership.

The federal commitments, actions, and investments identified respond directly to The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI), a groundbreaking, comprehensive and visionary joint proposal from the “Six Sovereigns” (the states of Washington and Oregon and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Spring Reservation, and the Nez Perce Tribe).

The CBRI offers a comprehensive roadmap to rebuild imperiled native fish populations, honor Tribal treaty rights, and restore healthy ecosystems while supporting a robust Pacific Northwest economy. The CBRI explicitly calls for the services of the lower Snake River dams to be replaced and then the dams breached within two fish generations (approximately 8 years) to avoid extinction and begin rebuilding salmon populations to healthy and harvestable levels.

Federal investments to restore the lower Snake River and replace and modernize irrigation, energy, and transportation infrastructure provide significant economic benefits to Tribes and communities throughout the Columbia and Snake River Basins, while addressing the impacts of climate change and the crisis facing salmon and orcas.

“Save Our wild Salmon Coalition applauds the Tribal, State, Federal, and NGO partners collaborative efforts in advancing a comprehensive solution, and securing important investments to begin to recover imperiled fish populations, honor Tribal treaty rights, and restore the lower Snake River. We must work together, urgently and effectively, to implement and build on these important steps forward – to prevent salmon and steelhead extinction. Urgent action, leadership and strong support from stakeholders and policymakers across the Northwest is essential - to seize this historic opportunity, end the harmful status quo, and move forward a comprehensive plan and investments - benefiting the entire region and future generations.”  Tanya Riordan, Save Our wild Salmon

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 27, 2023

CONTACTS:
Tanya Riordan, tanya@wildsalmon.org, 509-990-9777 (Spokane, WA)
Joseph Bogaard, joseph@wildsalmon.org, 206-300-1003 (Seattle, WA)

Save Our wild Salmon Coalition applauds today’s Presidential Memorandum prioritizing the federal government’s salmon recovery commitments - and directing immediate actions to protect and restore 'healthy and abundant' salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia-Snake River facing extinction today.

“Conservation and fishing advocates from across the Northwest and the nation applaud the historic Memorandum issued by President Biden today”, said Tanya Riordan, Save Our wild Salmon’s Policy and Advocacy Director. “With this directive, the President is sending a clear message to the Bonneville Power Administration, Army Corps of Engineers and other relevant agencies and leaders within the federal government that business-as-usual is no longer acceptable, a “whole of government” approach is required, and agencies must immediately align priorities, plans, and actions to ensure the United States is meeting its Treaty obligations to Pacific Northwest Tribes. Protecting and restoring healthy, harvestable and abundant populations of wild salmon and steelhead and other native fish populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers is a national priority.”

With this Memorandum, President Biden is directing action by all relevant federal agencies to leverage and prioritize existing authorities and resources to restore abundant native fish populations, on an urgent timeline. The President is also directing the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to explore opportunities to develop partnerships with Tribal Nations and States in the Pacific Northwest to ensure that Federal, Tribal, and State entities work together to achieve this obligation.

Restoring healthy, fishable wild salmon and steelhead populations and the irreplaceable benefits they bring to communities, other fish and wildlife species including endangered Southern Resident orcas, and freshwater and marine ecosystems is critical for maintaining and strengthening our region’s economy, culture and ecosystems.

Our coalition of conservation and fishing advocates believes that durable solutions must right historic wrongs and restore healthy, self-sustaining fish populations across the Columbia Basin. It should re-establish passage and reintroduce salmon in blocked areas, and protect, restore and reconnect degraded mainstem and tributary habitat, including the removal of the four lower Snake River dams.

In addition to federal action and investments to restore the lower Snake River, a comprehensive plan must support ongoing Washington State efforts to plan for and replace the limited services provided by these four dams. We can effectively modernize our energy, transportation, and irrigation infrastructure as we also work to stop the extinction of Snake River salmon and steelhead.

Restoring a freely-flowing lower Snake River is not only essential for protecting its imperiled anadromous fish populations. It also represents one of our nation’s very best salmon recovery opportunities today. Lower Snake River dam removal will restore 140 miles of mainstem river habitat in southeast Washington State and re-establish productive access for endangered fish to more than 5,500 miles of pristine, protected, high elevation upstream habitat in northeast Oregon, central Idaho and southeast Washington State. It will significantly increase survival of salmon and steelhead in the Snake River Basin by reducing water temperatures, dam powerhouse encounters, disease, reservoir predation, energy expenditure and out-migration travel time.

Steep declines in these wild fish populations are harming communities and businesses across the Northwest. Dozens of populations and sub-populations of salmon and steelhead have already been driven to extinction. Many populations that remain return are at less than 5 percent their historic levels. In 2023 and in countless other years, record or near-record low fish returns to the Columbia River and its tributaries have caused Tribal, recreational and commercial fisheries to be severely constrained and/or cancelled, causing significant economic loss across our region.

Conservation and fishing advocates appreciate the focused efforts recently to develop a lawful plan to restore salmon abundance in the Columbia and Snake rivers, but must emphasize that many populations, including all stocks remaining in the Snake River Basin – sockeye, spring/summer and fall chinook, and steelhead – face certain extinction without immediate, meaningful, science-based recovery actions. Salmon and steelhead – and the orcas and other fish and wildlife that depend upon them – are simply running out of time.

Presidential Memorandum on Restoring Healthy and Abundant Salmon, Steelhead, and Other Native Fish Populations in the Columbia River Basin

Presidential Memorandum Fact Sheet: President Biden Takes Action to Restore Healthy and Abundant Wild Salmon and Steelhead in the Columbia River Basin

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 19, 2023

CONTACTS:
Joseph Bogaard, joseph@wildsalmon.org, 206-300-1003
Tanya Riordan, tanya@wildsalmon.org, 509-990-9777

Rising River Temperatures Take a Toll on Snake River Salmon

SEATTLE (Sept. 19, 2023) — Throughout this summer, temperatures have been rising to lethal levels in the Columbia River Basin. Save Our wild Salmon Coalition and 16 NGOs released a weekly Hot Water Report, tracking water temperatures in the lower Snake and lower Columbia river reservoirs and reporting how increasingly hot waters impact cold-water-reliant salmon and steelhead leading to their low returns each year. The once-abundant anadromous fish populations in the Columbia-Snake River Basin are on the brink of extinction today due primarily to harms caused by federal dams and their warming reservoirs. The four reservoirs on the lower Snake River are large, stagnant pools that absorb enormous amounts of solar radiation that cause the water to warm. These waters inundate and destroy diverse micro-habitats that healthy rivers support, including cold-water refuges that salmon and steelhead rely upon during their migration.

Below, we present a summary of the highest water temperatures recorded in each of the 4 reservoirs in the lower Snake River and the number of days the reservoirs reached above the 68°F “harm” threshold—the legal and biological limit scientists identified to protect salmon.

• Ice Harbor Dam: On 8/19/23, the reservoir behind the Ice Harbor Dam registered the highest temperature recorded this summer—72.73°F over 4 degrees above the 68°F threshold. The Ice Harbor reservoir registered above 68°F for 62 days.
• Lower Monumental Dam: On 8/20/23, the Lower Monumental reservoir registered a high water temperature of 71.71°F. The Lower Monumental reservoir registered above 68°F for 60 days.
• Little Goose Dam: On 8/20/23, the Little Goose reservoir registered a high water temperature of 71.24°F. The Lower Monumental reservoir registered above 68°F for 60 days.
• Lower Granite Dam: The Lower Granite reservoir was the first reservoir to reach 68°F this summer. This reservoir registered a high temperature this summer of 71.20°F on August 22, 2023. Lower Granite reservoir registered above 68°F for 32 days, fewer days compared to other reservoirs, due to the US Army Corps of Engineers' annual release of cold waters from the Dworshak reservoir. However, the benefit of this cold water release does not last long in the heat of the summer and does not cool the other three downstream lower Snake reservoirs.

For over 60 days, salmon and steelhead migrated through water temperatures between 68°F - 72°F on the lower Snake River. Migration stops altogether when water temperatures reach 72 to 73°F. Salmon that have stopped or slowed their migration, and languish for days or weeks in warm water, begin dying from stress and disease. This summer, due to hot water in the reservoirs of the lower Columbia and lower Snake rivers, roughly 80% of the returning adult Snake River sockeye that entered the mouth of the Columbia River died before spawning.

Since the completion of the dams on the lower Snake River, wild Snake River fish returns have plummeted and are far below the levels required to delist them from the Endangered Species Act, much less meet their Columbia Basin Partnership recovery goal. According to Nez Perce Tribe fishery scientists, nearly half of Snake River salmon and steelhead populations have reached quasi-extinction thresholds—a critical threshold signaling they are nearing extinction, and without intervention, many may not persist. In addition, without big improvements in water quality, federal scientists predict that adult Snake River sockeye survival will further decline by 80% in coming years, likely resulting in extinction.

A restored lower Snake River would provide the largest availability of high-quality free-flowing, cold-water habitat for salmon populations to recover to significant levels of abundance, mitigating the impacts of changing ocean conditions and climate change. The benefits of dam removal would improve the ability of migrating fishes to access high-elevation, groundwater- and snowmelt-fed freshwater refuges, likely increasing survival and productivity in what will be an otherwise inhospitable future climate.

Salmon and steelhead—and endangered Southern Resident orcas and other fish and wildlife that highly depend on salmon—are running out of time. The current status quo to keep the lower Snake River dams violates our nation’s 150-year old Treaty commitments to Northwest Tribes, the Endangered Species Act, and the Clean Water Act to reduce heat pollution known as hot water temperatures. At this moment, we have an urgent opportunity to restore ecosystem health across the basin and recover salmon and steelhead by removing the four lower Snake River dams and replacing the dams’ services. We must develop and deliver a comprehensive solution to restore a healthy, and resilient lower Snake River, protect the Northwest native fish from extinction, and uphold our nation's promises to Tribes by reconnecting this emblematic fish to 5,500 miles of pristine, protected river and streams in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

The Hot Water Report is a joint project of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, American Rivers, Association of Northwest Steelheaders, Columbia Riverkeeper, Earthjustice, Endangered Species Coalition, Environment Oregon, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Wildlife Federation, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Orca Network, Sierra Club, Snake River Waterkeeper, Wild Orca and Wild Steelhead Coalition.

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