Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 17, 2026

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

Bonneville Power Administration announces plans to raise customer rates while scapegoating efforts to protect endangered salmon from extinction.

The Bonneville Power Administration formally began a process today that would allow it to raise electricity rates. The BPA is a federal agency that markets power produced by the Columbia Basin hydrosystem. It also operates much of the Pacific Northwest’s transmission network.

BPA is moving ahead to adjust its rates in order to generate an additional $250M – an amount that is expected to increase ratepayers' bills up to 6 percent or more.

Statement from Joseph Bogaard, executive director of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition:

"Today’s news is disappointing but unsurprising. Falsely blaming salmon for rising energy costs is on page one of BPA’s playbook. For years, BPA and many regional public utilities have scapegoated salmon recovery programs while neglecting the real reasons for rising energy costs – including BPA’s failure over time to maintain aging infrastructure and invest in the grid, energy efficiency, and new renewable resources. New data centers, extreme weather events, wildfire mitigation, and population growth are significant forces today causing rates to rise. While our power system has pressing needs today, pitting healthy salmon populations against a clean and affordable energy system is cynical and misleading.

The Bonneville Power Administration has a legal responsibility to make smart decisions for our regional energy system while also protecting endangered salmon and steelhead populations. It’s required to do both, but with decisions like this, it’s instead choosing to do neither. BPA’s ratepayers, all Northwest residents – and imperiled native fish populations in the Columbia Basin – deserve much better."

See more from Earthjustice here.

###

Energy and conservation groups urge the Council to prioritize clean energy resources, affordability and reliability for the region

On Tuesday, August 11, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council meets in Seattle to discuss the approval of the draft Ninth Northwest Regional Power Plan for release and public comment. See the agenda here.

The Council is composed of members representing the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, and is directed by the Northwest Power Act to update the plan every five years to ensure an adequate, efficient, economical, and reliable power supply for the region while mitigating adverse impacts on fish and wildlife. The plan steers how the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), utilities and regional decision makers choose the resources needed to meet the Northwest’s electricity demand. At a time of surging demand, affordability challenges and climate change-related pressures, it is more important than ever that the Council and the 9th Plan direct the region to a cleaner and more affordable and reliable energy future.

The Northwest is facing skyrocketing energy demand over the next 20 years, due to expansion of data centers and high-tech industries, building electrification and electric vehicles, and population growth. As a region, our electricity demand has been fairly flat for the past few decades thanks to energy efficiency and conservation. However, this new load growth will be larger than conservation alone can cover, and we need to make sure the majority of new resources built are clean in order to protect people, fish and wildlife, and the planet. A diverse portfolio of mostly renewable resources, and the prioritization of energy efficiency, demand response, and storage, will help the region in the long run to ensure bills are affordable, keep the lights on, and meet our climate goals.

“In this time of uncertainty, it is essential for the Council to lead and show the best path forward for the region on energy, fish and wildlife protection, as they are mandated to do by the Northwest Power Act,” said Tamara Kennedy, executive director of the NW Energy Coalition. “With the multiple pressures on our region, from the urgent need for affordability to drought and wildfires, the stakes could not be higher for the Ninth Power Plan, and we need to get it right. We are grateful for the Council’s leadership and look to their authority on power planning to steer us in the right direction as a region. We are facing a lot of challenges at once, but we also know we have the diverse resources we need to protect people, fish and wildlife, and we just need to accelerate.”

“With dramatic changes on the horizon for our Northwest energy system, it’s time for a powerful roadmap to ensure sustainability and reliability,” said Amanda Goodin, Earthjustice Attorney. “We need a bold vision. An energy future that is cleaner, more efficient, and less harmful to our iconic salmon is possible—and it starts with clear accountability for Bonneville Power Administration to help instead of hinder this transition. This is our chance to plan for the future we need; it’s no time for half-measures.”

“Many endangered wild salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia Basin today are less than 1 percent of historic levels, and 2026 adult returns are shaping up to be some of the lowest on record. Now more than ever, we need to develop a regional energy plan that advances reliable affordable clean energy, while also upholding our promises to Northwest Tribes and communities reliant on healthy fisheries—and protect and restore abundant salmon and steelhead populations in the basin,” said Joseph Bogaard, executive director of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition. “The Save Our wild Salmon Coalition looks forward to working with the Council to build upon its draft Ninth Power Plan to ensure it addresses the energy needs of our region and advances the comprehensive solutions necessary to rebuild salmon and steelhead populations.”

As part of the planning process, the Council seeks feedback from stakeholders to consider their opinions and needs before issuing the final version of the plan, and the Ninth Power Plan comment period is expected from mid-August to mid-October 2026. The NW Energy Coalition will be hosting a public webinar on August 24 on how to make your voice heard on the power plan and will be helping members of the public engage in the comment process. Learn more at https://nwenergy.org/9th-northwest-regional-power-plan

###

The NW Energy Coalition is an alliance of over 100 environmental, civic, and human service organizations, utilities, and businesses in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia, plus many individual members.

Save Our wild Salmon is a coalition of northwest and national conservation organizations, recreational and commercial fishing associations, clean energy and orca advocates, businesses, and individuals committed to protecting and restoring abundant, self-sustaining fishable populations of salmon and steelhead to the Columbia-Snake River Basin for the benefit of people and ecosystems.

Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.

NWEC Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 17, 2026

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

Hot water temperatures in the lower Snake River are harming salmon, wildlife, and communities

SEATTLE (July 17, 2026) — Water temperatures are rising to harmful levels in the lower Snake and Columbia rivers. Save Our wild Salmon Coalition and 11 NGOs have released their 11th annual Hot Water Report: Warming Waters in the lower Snake and Columbia rivers.

Many 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, especially in the lower Snake River. The four lower Snake River dams between Tri-Cities and Lewiston, Idaho—Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite—have transformed a healthy, cold water, and free-flowing river into 140 miles of large, hot, stagnant, toxic reservoirs. As a result, we have a sick river that can not support healthy and abundant salmon, steelhead, wildlife, and communities.

In each of the Hot Water Reports this summer, we will present a summary of the highest water temperatures recorded in each of the eight reservoirs in the lower Snake and Columbia rivers and the number of days the reservoirs reached above the 68°F “harm” threshold—the biological and legal water temperature threshold under the Clean Water Act to protect salmon and steelhead. See current water temperatures here.

For decades, federal agencies have resisted meaningful action to reduce the dams’ water temperature pollution. Washington Department of Ecology is using its Clean Water Act authority to require the Army Corps to study all possible ways to cool the lower Snake River and prevent the dams and reservoirs from heating it to levels that kill endangered salmon and steelhead.

Army Corps and Bureau of Reclamation’s most recent draft plan to address high water temperatures in the lower Snake reservoirs would continue to violate the Clean Water Act and Washington State water quality rules, and fail to provide solutions to the dams’ hot water pollution, also known as heat pollution. The federal agencies have until September 7, 2026 to revise their plan and identify solutions to prevent the dams and reservoirs from heating up.

With on-going attacks from the federal government, including weakening the Endangered Species Act, salmon and steelhead need every measure available to provide a lifeline. They are simply running out of time, and the hot, stagnant, toxic river cannot support rebuilding healthy and abundant salmon and steelhead populations.

Due to the dams’ harmful impacts on native fish populations and water quality, current efforts to preserve the status quo and retain 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. We have a great opportunity - and urgent need as well - to restore ecosystem health in the basin and recover salmon and steelhead abundance by removing the four lower Snake River dams and replacing the dams’ services.

The Hot Water Report is a project of: Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Association of Northwest Steelheaders, Columbia Riverkeeper, Earthjustice, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, National Wildlife Federation, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Orca Network, Pacific Rivers, Sierra Club, and Snake River Waterkeeper.

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 17, 2026

CONTACTS:
Joseph Bogaard, executive director, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition 
joseph@wildsalmon.org, (206) 300-1003

Tanya Riordan, policy and advocacy director, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition. 
tanya@wildsalmon.org , (509) 990-9777

Northwest Power and Conservation Council adopts 2026 Fish & Wildlife Program without August “spill” as imperiled Columbia Basin fish populations face growing threats

Portland, OR – The Northwest Power and Conservation Council (Council) adopted a new 5-year Fish & Wildlife Program (Program) at its meeting this week in Portland. The Program comes at a time when imperiled salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia Basin continue to decline due to significant federal hydro-system impacts and climate change. The Northwest’s emblematic fish also faces threats from Trump Administration efforts to weaken federal environmental laws and reduce funding for science agencies and critical recovery programs.

The new Program includes many recommendations submitted last year by regional fishery experts – but with one controversial exception. Contrary to the advice of State and Tribal fisheries managers, the Council failed to include “spill” at the eight federal dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers during the month of August. Scientists broadly support spill as one of our most effective near-term tools to aid imperiled salmon and steelhead.

“August spill has strong support of scientists, including our region’s state and Tribal fish managers. With this omission, the Council has missed a critical opportunity to boost struggling fish populations in the basin,” said Joseph Bogaard, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition’s executive director.

“Columbia-Snake River salmon and steelhead are in deep trouble today, and they will encounter especially challenging river conditions this summer. We need to be doing absolutely everything we can right now to provide them emergency relief and a lifeline to the future,” added Bogaard.

The adoption of the 2026 Fish & Wildlife Program comes at a time when fish are encountering drought conditions, a low snowpack, and the anticipated return of a strong El Niño that can bring extreme heatwaves, produce toxic algal blooms, and increase ocean temperatures that harm salmon’s growth and survival. As a result, many scientists fear high mortality for juvenile and adult salmon and steelhead in 2026 across the Northwest.

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and public power utilities began this Fish & Wildlife Program process last year with official comments urging the Council to eliminate its long-held 5 million annual adult fish return goal for the Columbia Basin and to absolve BPA of any legal requirement to help to meet that goal.

“Salmon advocates are grateful for the Council’s hard work to update its Fish & Wildlife Program – and for rejecting BPA’s cynical request to abandon salmon recovery goals in the Columbia Basin,” said Bogaard. “BPA and the operation of the federal hydro-system are among the most significant contributors to declining fish populations and river health in the basin. We need them both contributing to salmon recovery rather than working to undermine it.”

“Tragically, the Northwest has not made meaningful progress in the past 20+ years to meet the Council’s interim goal of 5 million fish annually. Stronger policies and higher levels of funding will be needed in the years ahead if we hope to protect imperiled salmon from extinction and begin rebuild abundant and fishable populations. We’ll need increased leadership not only from the Council, but from Congress and federal agencies as well,” Bogaard added.

###

BACKGROUND: Regional fishery managers are forecasting low adult returns for salmon and steelhead throughout the Columbia Basin in 2026. Current predictions for returning Spring Chinook, for example, have been downgraded twice recently. Here’s a snapshot of expected returns in the Columbia Basin from the 2026 Fishery Managers Joint Status Report:

• Upriver (above Bonneville Dam) Spring Chinook preseason forecast anticipated approximately 7,000 less adults returning than 2025 actual returns.
• Overall sockeye salmon return to the mouth of the Columbia River is forecast to be 274,000 - about 40,000 lower than the current 10-year average. Highly endangered Snake River sockeye are expected to contribute just 1.2% of this total return this year.
• Upriver Summer Steelhead forecast is “poor” and fishery managers are planning for another low return. No exact forecast yet.
• Wild winter steelhead forecast (at the Columbia River mouth) is similar to last year - at just 17,400 fish.
• Upriver Fall Chinook forecast is approximately 50,000 less than last year's return.
• The Columbia River coho forecast is 112,000 lower than the actual 2025 return.

BACKGROUND: The Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC) began updating its five-year Fish and Wildlife Program in 2025, released a draft plan in December 2025, and provided opportunity for public comments in early 2026. The Council was created by the Northwest Power Act of 1980. A key element of the Council’s mission: to “protect, mitigate, and enhance” fish and wildlife populations impacted by hydropower operations in the Columbia Basin.

With federal salmon recovery policies and funding under attack, this updated Fish and Wildlife Program represented a key opportunity to develop a regionally-supported plan to mitigate harm to salmon and steelhead caused by the Columbia Basin dam operations and ensure future energy planning prioritizes their recovery. With the adoption of a final 2026 Program, the Council is now turning its focus on developing its 9th Regional Power Plan.

“The Northwest needs an updated energy strategy that also supports robust salmon populations. The 9th Power Plan must include significant improvements to our energy system as well as necessary hydro measures identified by regional fishery managers to address the impacts and challenges facing endangered fish populations in the Columbia Basin,” said Bogaard.

February 25, 2026

Court Orders Emergency Actions to Protect Imperiled Columbia Basin Salmon

Victory — Federal defendants ordered to change Columbia Basin hydropower operations to protect endangered salmon and steelhead

CONTACTS
Amanda Goodin, Senior Attorney, Earthjustice, agoodin@earthjustice.org
Elizabeth Manning, Communications, Earthjustice, emanning@earthjustice.org
Jacqueline Koch, Communications, National Wildlife Federation, kochj@nwf.org

LEGAL DOCUMENT

Portland, OR — A federal court in Oregon today ordered federal agencies to change operations of the Columbia Basin hydropower system in critical ways to help improve salmon survival.

The Court unequivocally recognized the dire situation of Columbia Basin salmon, noting that “one of the foundational symbols of the West, a critical recreational, cultural, and economic driver for Western states, and the beating heart and guaranteed resource protected by treaties with several Native American tribes is disappearing from the landscape.”

To help imperiled salmon and steelhead, the Court ordered the federal agencies that operate the hydropower system to increase spill over eight dams on the lower Columbia and Snake Rivers, allowing juvenile fish to pass over the dams instead of through lethal turbines. The court-ordered spill includes additional water flow over the dams in the spring and summer, when increased spill is critical to aid in the recovery of wild Chinook salmon.

The Court found that similar emergency measures had been implemented before and were needed again: “The Court recognizes the dire situation these species are facing. … It appears that the 2020 BiOp and 2020 FEIS follow this disappointing history of avoidance and manipulation instead of sincere efforts at solving the problem and genuinely remediating the harm.”

The Court also said it was not persuaded by information from federal defendants, saying evidence challenging the benefits of spill to salmon “primarily was created for this litigation and is contrary to the scientific evidence in the record.” The Court also noted that, “the majority of the spill has been implemented over the years without such negative repercussions, and the Court does not anticipate such calamities will ensue from the current spill order.”

Conservation, fishing and clean energy groups represented by Earthjustice, joined by the State of Oregon, requested these changes in a preliminary injunction request that was also supported by the State of Washington, the Nez Perce Tribe, and the Yakama Nation who joined as amici (friends of the court). The parties returned to court in October, ending a four-year pause in litigation, after the Trump administration last summer unilaterally and abruptly ended the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement aimed at restoring imperiled native fisheries to healthy abundance while investing $1 billion over a decade in the region.

Following are quotes from plaintiffs and Earthjustice:

“The changes to the hydropower system ordered by the court today are immediate and reasonable steps to prevent salmon extinction,” said Earthjustice Attorney Amanda Goodin. “Salmon need help now, and we’re encouraged the court has granted immediate, commonsense relief that will help protect imperiled Northwest salmon and steelhead.”

“Because the federal government threw out a comprehensive plan that would have restored the Columbia Basin while investing in the region, returning to court is the only tool we have left to prevent the collapse of imperiled salmon and steelhead populations,” said Mike Leahy, senior director of wildlife, hunting and fishing policy for the National Wildlife Federation. “While these emergency measures are implemented, we’ll keep our eye on our long-term goal of helping the Tribes and the states restore Snake River salmon for the generations to come.”

“This court decision secures badly needed improvements to hydropower operations to protect the Columbia Basin’s iconic salmon and steelhead runs that are essential to Tribal cultures and our Northwest heritage,” said Sierra Club Snake/Columbia River Salmon Campaign Director Bill Arthur. “We can avoid extinction and restore healthy salmon runs while making long-term investments to provide ample, reliable, affordable energy for the region. Since the Trump administration reneged on the Resilient Columbia Basin agreement, we are seeking other ways to achieve these goals. This court decision helps protect salmon and keeps us on that path.”

“These are the immediate and decisive actions we need to help prevent salmon and steelhead extinction,” said Idaho Rivers United Conservation Director Nick Kunath. “The court recognizes that we must listen the advice that fisheries managers and scientists have been sharing for decades before it’s too late.”

“These emergency measures required by the Court of the federal government will help prevent salmon extinction while we continue our work with others in the region toward a comprehensive solution to restore the Columbia Basin,” said Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association Policy Director Liz Hamilton. “These emergency measures granted by the court will increase survival for the young salmon leaving the river next year and provide hope for those whose livelihoods and culture depend on Columbia River Fisheries.”

“There’s no surprise that the federal government’s decision to walk away from a comprehensive agreement, without any alternative plan, resulted in a serious setback for the Northwest,” said Idaho Conservation League Salmon Program Senior Associate Abbie Abramovich. “These emergency measures offer wild Columbia and Snake River salmon populations a much-needed lifeline.”

“We absolutely can have clean energy and restored salmon runs, and today’s ruling is an important step in the right direction,” said NW Energy Coalition Regional and State Policy Director Zachariah Baker. “The ruling helps protect salmon, while the region continues to collaborate on the comprehensive, strategic solutions envisioned in the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement the administration withdrew from, including how to ensure abundant, affordable, and reliable clean energy across the Northwest.”

“The hydropower interests that convinced Trump to break the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement got what they wanted,” said Miles Johnson, Legal Director for Columbia Riverkeeper. “Because of their actions, today’s ruling is necessary to protect fish and fishing in the Columbia River — and it will not disrupt energy production or reliability in the Northwest.”

Background

Earthjustice has represented conservation, fishing, and renewable energy groups, who have fought alongside the Nez Perce Tribe, other Columbia Basin Tribes, and the State of Oregon, in successful court battles for more than 30 years to protect threatened and endangered salmon in the Columbia River Basin. These groups are the National Wildlife Federation, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Institute for Fisheries Resources, Sierra Club, Idaho Rivers United, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, NW Energy Coalition, Columbia Riverkeeper, Idaho Conservation League and Fly Fishers International, Inc.

The changes to the hydropower system ordered today by the Court affect the following lower Snake and lower Columbia River dams: Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, Lower Granite, Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day and McNary.

Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead, particularly those that return to the Snake River to spawn, persist at dangerously low abundance and many continue to decline toward extinction. Of the 16 salmon and steelhead stocks that historically return to spawn above Bonneville Dam, four are extinct, and seven more are listed under the Endangered Species Act as endangered or threatened, including all that return to the Snake River. For most of these ESA-listed salmon species, by far the largest threat in their freshwater life stage is the harm caused by federal dams. These dams kill and harm salmon as they attempt to migrate past each dam and by transforming the river into a series of slack water, warm reservoirs.

The Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement, which stemmed from mediation efforts with the federal government, was based on a comprehensive salmon recovery plan developed by the states of Washington and Oregon and four lower Columbia River Treaty Tribes — the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Nez Perce Tribe, and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. That plan is called the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative and remains the guiding document for Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead recovery.

Earthjustice Press Release: Court Orders Emergency Actions to Protect Imperiled Columbia Basin Salmon

CONTACT:
Jacqueline Koch, Communications, National Wildlife Federation, kochj@nwf.org

Court-Ordered Emergency Actions Put Pacific Northwest on Course to Protect Imperiled Columbia Basin Salmon, Steelhead

Federal court in Oregon grants essential emergency measures to protect
endangered salmon and steelhead runs

PORTLAND, Ore. (February 25, 2026) — Court-ordered emergency measures to the operations of the Columbia Basin hydropower system not only will help protect imperiled salmon and steelhead, but also underscore the need for longer-term measures to recover the species. The decision is the latest chapter in the 30-plus year legal fight to restore Columbia River Basin salmon and steelhead runs, which are rapidly swimming toward extinction largely due to the cumulative, negative impacts of the four lower Snake River dams. Plaintiffs in National Wildlife Federation v National Marine Fisheries Service returned to court after the federal government unilaterally ended the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement.

“Because the federal government threw out a comprehensive plan that would have restored the Columbia Basin while investing in the region, returning to court is the only tool we have left to prevent the collapse of imperiled salmon and steelhead populations,” said Mike Leahy, senior director of wildlife, hunting and fishing policy for the National Wildlife Federation. “While these emergency measures are implemented, we’ll keep our eye on our long-term goal of helping the Tribes and the states restore Snake River salmon for the generations to come."

Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead, particularly those that return to the Snake River to spawn, persist at dangerously low abundance and many continue to decline toward extinction. Of the 16 salmon and steelhead stocks that historically return to spawn above Bonneville Dam, four are extinct, and seven more are listed under the Endangered Species Act as endangered or threatened, including all that return to the Snake River.

For most of these endangered and threatened salmon, the largest threat in their freshwater life stage is by far the harm caused by federal dams. These dams kill and harm salmon as they attempt to migrate past each dam and by transforming the river into a series of slack water, warm reservoirs.

###