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.

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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.