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.
1. Our progress to defend salmon and steelhead from extinction – and support their recovery
2. Court-ordered relief to protect endangered salmon and steelhead does not imperil reliable, affordable power
3. NextGen Salmon Collective summer internship applications are now open!
4. Salmon advocacy and community-building in the Inland Northwest and Southwest Washington
5. Join SOS at upcoming advocacy events!
6. Save Our wild Salmon Coalition members and friends gather in Portland!
7. Salmon Media Round-up
1. Our progress to defend salmon and steelhead from extinction – and support their recovery
Pilgrimage © Josh Udesen, 2020, acrylic painting on birch panel, 24" x 30"
With the start of spring, salmon and steelhead have begun their ancestral migration – as recently hatched juveniles high in the Columbia-Snake River Basin swim toward the ocean and as adults return from the ocean in search of their spawning gravels. Their miraculous full-circle migration spans many thousands of miles from freshwater to salt and back again. Unfortunately, this annual ritual, which not long ago saw as many as 16 million adult fish returning each year, has shrunk today to a trickle. Some populations have been lost altogether; many others return today at just 1 or 2 percent of their historic abundance. The federal dams and their reservoirs on the lower Columbia and lower Snake rivers today are the main driver of these precipitous population declines.
Still, the Northwest native fish's persistence and fidelity to place lies at the heart of its encouraging resilience. It’s devotion to completing this journey year after year in the face of such obstacles and barriers inspires us also - to continue our work with you and many others to protect, restore, and reconnect the healthy waters and habitats across the Columbia-Snake River Basin that native fish - and all of us - rely upon and benefit from.
Thanks to your support and our collective advocacy, and despite such challenging times, we’re successfully defending against attacks coming from Washington D.C. We’re continuing to make progress, build power and maintain momentum regionally – supporting the Six Sovereigns alliance and its salmon recovery funding priorities in Congress, securing new funding from the Washington State legislature to continue to advance lower Snake River dam service replacement planning, and much more. Our successful defense work to date, as well as our policy and funding progress regionally, has been dependent on YOU – your calls, letters, and other advocacy and activism to educate your friends and family, and support and pressure on policymakers. Working together, we're demonstrating strong public support and a positive vision for present and future generations who will benefit from a healthy, resilient, and sustainable Columbia Basin, with clean water, healthy rivers and ecosystems, abundant salmon, steelhead, and orcas, and vibrant communities.
Defending the Endangered Species Act by blocking the ‘ESA Amendments Act’:
On Earth Day this year, House leadership had cynically scheduled a floor vote to pass the ‘ESA Amendments Act' (H.R. 1897). Notwithstanding its modest title, this bill would have gutted the Endangered Species Act and eliminated critical protections and recovery programs for wild salmon and steelhead, and hundreds of other imperiled species across the Northwest and nation.
Thanks to an amazing mobilization in the Northwest and across the country, hundreds of NGOs and many thousands of people called and wrote their House members to oppose this devastating legislation. As a result of the public outcry, Speaker Mike Johnson canceled the vote at the last minute when he realized that he no longer had the votes needed to pass it. This win reflects what polls consistently show: People strongly support the Endangered Species Act and strongly oppose allowing species to go extinct. Like our successful efforts last year to protect our public lands, waters, and wildlife, together we sent our representatives a message they couldn’t ignore: to protect endangered species and our nation’s special natural heritage, and to continue supporting their recovery and restoration.
Of course, this battle is far from over. The bill’s lead sponsor, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources and Arkansas Representative Bruce Westerman, commented that he will continue to work on provisions and intends to bring a similar bill to the floor for a vote soon. We will stay vigilant and continue our strong advocacy together!
After the so-called ‘Amendments’ bill was pulled and the vote canceled, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member and California Representative Jared Huffman applauded our collective and effective advocacy to protect what we love: “Americans will reject any legislation that leads to their wildlife disappearing forever. That is who we are as a country. We protect what we love, and we pass it on… We will keep fighting alongside them for an Endangered Species Act strong enough to bring these animals back for the next generation, and for a country where our children inherit the same wild beauty, we were lucky enough to grow up with.”
Washington State legislature approves additional funding to advance lower Snake River dam service replacement studies:
Earlier this year, the Washington State legislature included critical new funding in its annual budget to continue advancing the replacement planning of the energy and recreation provided by the lower Snake River dams! Governor Ferguson had included these line items in his proposed budget released in December – and the legislature supported them in its final budget as well!
In 2023 and 2024, the Washington State Legislature allocated funding and directed state agencies to develop replacement plans in partnership with federal agencies. Four plans are needed to develop roadmaps for replacing the dams’ energy, water supply, transportation, and recreation services. These planning processes are critical near-term steps in preparation for dam removal in the future. Replacing the dams’ current services with alternatives will help ensure communities remain vibrant and everyone moves forward together. In June 2025, however, the Trump Administration terminated the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA) and withdrew the federal government’s partnership with the region. Fortunately, elected leaders in Washington State and Oregon continue to support many of the RCBA’s priorities and purposes, and have continued to advance these planning processes regionally.
Most recently, in the 2026 legislative session, even amid a state budget deficit, Washington State approved funding and designated resources to complete planning efforts for energy and recreation (transportation and irrigation planning processes are well underway, led by state agencies, and additional funding was not necessary at this time).
Salmon, orca, and fishing advocates are deeply grateful to Governor Ferguson and legislative champions for their leadership to ensure we plan for a resilient future without the four outdated and harmful lower Snake River dams, honor tribal treaties, and recover the once-great salmon runs of the Columbia and Snake River Basin.
Tribes, conservation and fishing advocates’ court win secures emergency measures to protect Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead from extinction:
This past fall, plaintiff groups led by Earthjustice and supported by the lower Columbia River Tribes and states of Oregon and Washington filed a motion asking the U.S. District Court in Portland to lift the litigation stay that had been in place as part of the historic Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA) that was unilaterally terminated by the Trump Administration last June. The court lifted the stay and plaintiff groups moved quickly to request preliminary injunctive relief in time for the 2026 salmon migration season (now underway). The plaintiffs' request asked the court to modify federal dam and reservoir operations – and other emergency actions – in order to increase survival of endangered adult and juvenile fish migrating through the lower Columbia and Snake rivers to the ocean.
Since our last newsletter, the District Court sided with the plaintiffs’ request and ordered modifications to the federal hydro-system operations starting this spring, including increased spill at all eight dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers between April 4 and August 31, when most of the juvenile salmon and steelhead are migrating downstream to the ocean.
Spill allows young ocean-bound fish to pass over the dams rather than through the lethal turbines and arrive at the ocean more quickly and safely. Spill is necessary because of repeated failures by BPA and other federal agencies to adequately protect salmon, but it is not sufficient by itself to recover imperiled Columbia basin fish populations – especially those that spawn and rear in the Snake River and its tributaries.
Salmon, orca, and fishing advocates applaud the Tribes, States, and non-governmental organizations for securing these emergency actions, and we appreciate that the court moved quickly to issue its decision. This order will improve the survival of fish imperiled by the federal dams and give us humans additional time to develop and implement a durable, long-term salmon recovery plan that must include lower Snake River dam removal.
SOS brings advocates and experts to Washington D.C. to support Fiscal Year 2027 Appropriations necessary for critical salmon recovery programs:
In March, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition hosted a team of clean energy and salmon experts to travel to Washington D.C. to meet with members of Congress and advocate for Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead. As many populations face extinction today, it is critical that we adequately fund programs and implement policies to support their recovery.
Our team met with 16 Congressional offices over 2.5 days! We thanked them for championing last year’s funding priorities from the Six Sovereigns, despite the administration's significant attacks on these programs. The Fiscal Year 2026 (FY2026) appropriations requests by the Six Sovereigns (four Lower Columbia River Treaty Tribes and the states of Washington and Oregon) were actively supported by SOS and more than three dozen NGOs. They included key federal programs that support the restoration of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin. Thanks to critical leadership from Northwest Congressional offices, these essential programs will receive funding this year at levels similar to those in 2024.
This year, the administration has once again put forward a budget proposal to Congress that slashes environmental and salmon recovery funding. As part of our ongoing advocacy in Washington D.C., we are urging members of Congress to support the Six Sovereigns’ FY2027 appropriations requests - to continue investing in restoration efforts and preventing salmon and steelhead extinction.
TAKE ACTION TODAY: Urge your Northwest members of Congress to support the Six Sovereigns’ salmon recovery appropriation requests for FY2027.
2. Court-ordered relief to protect endangered salmon and steelhead does not imperil reliable, affordable power
Monumental I © Rachel Teannalach, 2022 oil on canvas 48 x 48
On February 25, 2026, Judge Michael Simon of the U.S. District Court in Portland granted (salmon advocates) plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction to modify federal dam and reservoir operations to protect threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead from further harm. The court ordered increased water spilled over eight dams on the lower Columbia and Snake rivers. The court-ordered spill enables juvenile fish to pass over the dams rather than through lethal turbines, and speeds them towards the ocean.
The federal agency defendants in this lawsuit have recently filed a notice of intent to appeal the District Court decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), the federal agency that sells Columbia Basin hydropower, is not one of the federal defendants in this case but has mounted its own counterattack on the judge’s ruling. BPA recently announced it will carry out an “expedited” rate case to account for what it claims are significant revenue losses due to the court-ordered spill operations that provide critical relief for endangered fish. The agency has claimed that as much as a 6.4% increase in rates for power sold to regional utilities will be required. BPA and allied utilities have also claimed that the spill order imperils reliability and creates the risk of blackouts
These alarmist claims are grossly inflated and grievously misleading. Until the Trump Administration tore it up in June 2025, river operations had been guided by the 2023 Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA) negotiated between the Biden Administration, four Northwest Tribes, and the States of Oregon and Washington. The relevant provisions of the RCBA were broadly similar to the spill recently ordered by Judge Simon, though not identical (and included $300 million in BPA capital costs not included in the court order). In 2024, BPA Administrator John Hairston told Congress under oath that implementing the RCBA would increase BPA rates by 0.05% per year, accumulating to 0.7% over the ten-year life of the agreement. He expressed no concerns about system reliability under the RCBA. Indeed, Judge Simon explicitly recognizes long-standing operational practices that provide the federal government with tremendous flexibility to modify hydropower operations whenever there is any risk to power system reliability or during emergency conditions.
The court order does not imperil reliable, affordable energy across the region.
What is different now is that BPA, emboldened by an anti-conservation White House and Congress, is reverting to its historic prioritization of power production over salmon and steelhead production. Last year, BPA told the Northwest Power and Conservation Council that its Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, intended to “protect, mitigate, and enhance” fish and wildlife impacted by hydroelectric dams in the Columbia Basin, should eliminate its long-standing goal of doubling adult salmon and steelhead returns to the Basin and absolve BPA from any responsibilities to contribute to salmon recovery programs moving forward.
Instead of working with states, Tribes, plaintiffs, and stakeholders to ensure energy reliability, affordability, and solutions to protect and mitigate harm to our environment and imperiled salmon and steelhead, BPA is putting up roadblocks that harm our progress toward collaborative solutions for a resilient energy future.
Federal Defendants and utilities are also spreading misinformation about harm to salmon during spill operations, like gas bubble trauma (when water becomes supersaturated with gas, mostly nitrogen). Studies such as the Fish Passage Center’s Annual Comparative Survival Study (a long-running, empirically-based collaborative salmon and steelhead life cycle monitoring program) have shown that dissolved gas levels under the current managed spill conditions do not have a negative effect on smolt survival.
The real harm to Snake River salmon and steelhead? The lower Snake River dams and their hot, stagnant reservoirs. During the summer, water temperatures in the lower Snake and Columbia rivers routinely reach lethal levels between 70-73°F. The longer and the higher water temperatures rise above 68°F, the greater the harm to the fish including: increased susceptibility to disease, reduced reproductive potential (by reducing egg viability), suffocation (warm water carries less oxygen), and in the worst case - death.
Spill will not increase ratepayer rates. BPA’s reckless energy decisions will.
At the same time, BPA is making unfounded claims about rate impacts due to court-ordered measures to aid salmon survival, many ratepayers are facing higher energy bills due to BPA’s choice to join Southwest Power Pool’s Markets+, an Arkansas-based energy trading market. Without a near-term course correction, BPA will officially start to buy and sell energy in that market in October 2028. According to BPA’s own consultants, the region's households and businesses will pay more than $400 million in higher power bills each year, in a Markets+ energy market. And these losses would persist indefinitely into the future.
As a result, five Northwest groups have filed a legal challenge to BPA’s recent market choice, arguing it violates federal law. BPA would save far more money than any potential costs of the court order simply by choosing another day-ahead energy market, the California-based Extended Day Ahead Market (EDAM), rather than Markets+.
We need BPA to commit to its public responsibilities and ensure it develops a more sustainable energy system that also safeguards salmon, bolsters orcas, and upholds tribal treaty rights. The Columbia-Snake hydro-system today is the single greatest source of human-caused mortality for these endangered salmon and steelhead, and we need to change how we manage and steward the Columbia and Snake rivers in order to protect and rebuild sustainable fish populations, including the restoration of the lower Snake River.
Read below for information on BPA’s failures:
- Washington State Standard: Guest Opinion: Salmon are not to blame for Bonneville Power Administration failing to meet its responsibilities
- Idaho Capital Sun: Guest Opinion: BPA follows time-worn pattern: Blame salmon for its own failings to adapt
- Seattle Times: Guest Opinion: Ruling on Columbia, Snake dams was a lifeline for salmon
3. NextGen Salmon Collective summer internship applications are now open!
Calling all students who care about environmental justice: Be a part of NextGen Salmon Collective! Applications for NextGen 2026 summer internship are now open!
NextGen Salmon Collective is a space for young advocates to develop their community organizing and advocacy skills with the goal of rebuilding abundant wild salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia-Snake River Basin by protecting and restoring the healthy, resilient rivers and streams they depend upon.
This team-based internship will support passionate and creative students to educate and mobilize their peers on the importance of Columbia-Snake River restoration and the benefits they bring to people and ecosystems. Interns will plan and execute strategic community outreach projects and advocacy initiatives in collaboration with other youth organizers across the region.
Hear from a NextGen student leader about their experience joining the collective:
"Being in a cohort of young people who are so incredibly passionate about salmon restoration has been an amazing opportunity to learn about grassroots organizing. My favorite part was traveling to D.C. with advocates from across the region to talk to lawmakers about the importance of salmon to so many communities in the PNW. As a dual Politics and Environmental Analysis major, I loved the chance to put what I've learned in class into practice with what I've learned in NextGen and really feeling my confidence and advocacy skills grow along the way." - Marin P.
Learn more about NextGen Salmon Collective and apply here. Deadline to apply is May 11th! Stipends are available. If you have any questions, please reach out to Abby Dalke abby@wildsalmon.org
4. Salmon advocacy and community-building in the Inland Northwest and Southwest Washington
By Abby Saks, Inland Northwest Grassroots Organizer &
Tyler Troelsen, Western Washington Organizer
SOS staff members Abby Saks and Tyler Troelsen are leading community organizing and advocacy activities in the Inland Northwest and Southwest Washington!
Together, advocates are building public support and political leadership to restore the lower Snake River and its imperiled wild salmon and steelhead. Here is more from Abby and Tyler on recent and upcoming projects to educate and engage people and support and pressure our elected officials to become champions for salmon and orca recovery and help to uphold our nation’s promises to Northwest Tribal Nations.
Abby Saks, Inland Northwest Grassroots OrganizerINLAND NORTHWEST: After a mild but gray winter, the Inland Northwest has begun to warm up and see the sun, meaning it’s time for outdoor event season! I always enjoy this time of year, as it means I can get outside at events and talk with community members across the region about salmon, SOS, and how they can get involved in supporting salmon recovery.
As industry groups continue to propagate misinformation about salmon, we are actively working to disseminate accurate information into Inland Northwest communities through letters-to-the-editor, community events (such as film screenings and salmon walks), and presentations to various community groups and college classes/clubs. Education like this is crucial for building well-informed public support for science-based solutions, like 'dam spill' and lower Snake River restoration. We’re excited to join partners in hosting a couple of events in May and June, including our Spokane Book Club (May 6), the Yakima Environmental Justice Film Series (May 15), and a Salmon Bike Ride and Kayak in Yakima (June 6). We'll have a tabling presence at community gatherings throughout the spring and into Pride Month, and we are also excited to begin our Get Out the Vote work through poster distribution, launch events, and more.
As always, if you’re interested in learning more about volunteering with SOS in the Inland Northwest, reach out to me at abbys@wildsalmon.org, or join us on Zoom or in-person (in Saranac Commons, Spokane) on May 12 at 5:30pm for our May Salmon Advocate meeting.
Tyler Troelsen,
Western Washington OrganizerSOUTHWEST WASHINGTON: Over the past several months, my organizing work in Southwest Washington has focused on building a strong, connected base of environmental advocates through consistent relationship-building and accessible entry points for engagement. We've launched our SW WA Environmental Advocacy Brunches, which serve as informal but highly effective spaces for coalition-building across organizations and issue areas. These gatherings bring together a diverse mix of community members, from long-time advocates to those newly getting involved. At these brunches, we share ideas, align priorities, and strengthen collaboration around conservation, climate, and public policy. If you would like to join our May Environmental Advocacy Brunch, please feel free to reach out, I would love to see you there!
This spring, we raised our collective voices to protect our land, water, salmon, and communities at large events like the No Kings III rally and the Roadless Rule Area Conservation Act happy hour and town hall, where I met many of you from the Southwest Washington region!
Looking ahead, I am working on 'Get Out the Vote' activities as well as leading outings on threatened public lands and rural listening sessions to connect and work together for a healthier and more sustainable Southwest Washington.
I hope you will join us at these opportunities to expand our movement-building: connecting with our ecosystem, wildlife, and each other, and channeling our energy into meaningful advocacy and political action. If you’re interested in learning more or to volunteer with me in Southwest Washington, reach out at tyler@wildsalmon.org!
5. Join SOS at upcoming advocacy events!
May 21: RENEWAL webinar featuring Kiliii Yüyan!
This spring, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Braided River, and NGO partners are co-hosting RENEWAL, a webinar series that invites you to renew and reimagine our commitment to each other, our non-human neighbors, and the special places we all call home.
Join us as we share stories of renewal, positive change, and resilience, and spotlight inspiring work under way to repair and recover the lands, waters, and wildlife in the Columbia Basin, across the Northwest, and beyond.
May 19: Hear the People, Heal the River Action Hour
You're invited to Hear the People, Heal the River Virtual Action Hour! Join to hear updates on issues impacting salmon recovery and the health of the Columbia-Snake rivers!
On our May 19th Action Hour at 12:30pm PT, we will cover how to get involved with SOS' collaborative ‘Get Out the Vote’ community organizing project - to elevate the upcoming election and encourage others to vote with salmon and orca and our Pacific Northwest home in mind. We’ll also provide a policy update and opportunities to get more involved and help defend keystone environmental policies and funding under threat today.
September 11-12: Free The Snake Flotilla
SAVE THE DATE: Join SOS and many other NGOs at Nimíipuu Protecting the Environment's Free The Snake Flotilla, on September 11-12 at Hells Gate State Park in Lewiston, ID. Gather in community, meet fellow advocates, learn from Tribal leaders and other experts, and 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. Join forces with hundreds of others to call on our policymakers to become champions of salmon recovery in the Columbia-Snake River Basin.
Let's come together and take action to heal the Snake River and its imperiled salmon and steelhead populations!
We hope to see you at these events and check out wildsalmon.org/events for updates on future events.
6. Save Our wild Salmon Coalition members and friends gathered in Portland!
Save Our wild Salmon Coalition member organizations from across the Northwest region came together for a day full of connection, celebration, and planning for the advocacy ahead.
Coalition members approved an updated board of directors, including three new leaders: Abbie Abramovich (Idaho Conservation League’s Salmon Program Senior Associate), Lia Brewster (Sierra Club’s Conservation Campaign Strategist), and Amy Grondin (co-owner of Duna Fisheries and F/V Arminta). Please join us in welcoming Abbie, Amy, and Lia! You can learn more about our board members here!
During this especially challenging time, together, we paused and reflected on our mission and work with others to protect and restore wild salmon and steelhead and the benefits they bring to our lands, waters, and communities. We are thankful to our coalition member organizations for their support and many valuable contributions and to supporters like you, who bring your energy, ideas, and action to realize a more sustainable and resilient future for the Columbia-Snake River Basin and Northwest!
Here are a couple of recent stories about the urgency and opportunity today for salmon and orca recovery and river restoration:
News:
- Spokesman Review: Judge orders hydropower changes on Columbia, Snake to help salmon
- CLEARING UP: Simon Orders More Spill, But No Drawdowns or Conservation Measures
Op-eds and LTEs:
- Washington State Standard Commentary: Salmon are not to blame for Bonneville Power Administration failing to meet its responsibilities
- Seattle Times Guest Opinion: Ruling on Columbia, Snake dams was a lifeline for salmon
- Idaho Statesman Opinion: Running out of time: Breach the Snake River dams not to save salmon
- Lewiston Tribune LTE: Need for healthy rivers
- Spokesman-Review LTE: Hydropower changes to help salmon
- Spokesman-Review LTE: Breach the dams
- Seattle-Times LTE: Salmon: Much-needed progress
