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. 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.
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
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.
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!
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.
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.
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:
- 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.
- Show strong support for the continued implementation of the CBRI by posting, sharing, and following SOS' social media pages:
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
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
- 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
