This fall, thousands of friends of salmon, steelhead, and salmon-dependent Southern Resident orcas came together to encourage the Northwest Power and Conservation Council to reassert its intended leadership role in undoing the vast damage hydropower development caused to fish and wildlife throughout the region. In the petition below, over 1,600+ advocates called on the Council to represent the region and its interest – economic, cultural, and spiritual – in the recovery of healthy and abundant populations of these iconic Northwest creatures. Our partners at the Sierra Club also circulated the same petition to their NW members and separately submitted another 834 signatures to the Council. Thank you to those who raised their voice for salmon, steelhead, and communities in the Columbia Basin!
Background: In 1980 Congress passed and President Carter signed legislation known as the Northwest Power Act, triggered by the rapidly declining salmon populations in the Columbia-Snake Basin amid fears that salmon could be listed under the ESA.
The Act gave the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) new authorities and new responsibilities. The agency, already marketing power from 31 federal dams, was given the authority to acquire new power resources to meet the forecasted increase in demand. They were also given a new responsibility: to “protect, mitigate, and enhance” fish and wildlife populations impacted by dams in the Columbia River Basin.
But Congress also wanted to assure that BPA would carry out the new responsibilities in a manner that met the needs of the region it served. To accomplish that end, Congress authorized the four NW states – Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington – to create the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. The council consists of eight members, two appointed by each of the region’s governors. The Council was responsible to:
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Develop and regularly update a twenty-year Regional Energy Plan. Any resource acquisitions by BPA were to be consistent with that plan.
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Develop and regularly update a Fish and Wildlife Program to “protect, mitigate, and enhance” fish and wildlife populations in the Columbia Basin impacted by dams. BPA’s fish and wildlife actions and investments were to be consistent with the program.
Right now, the Council is working on amendments to update its fish and wildlife program and is in the early stages of updating the energy plan. As an initial step in the fish and wildlife program, the Council solicited recommendations from state, federal and tribal fisheries managers, and others. BPA’s recommendations were shockingly obtuse and retrograde. Bonneville told the Council it should abandon its long-held goal of seeing 5 million adult salmon and steelhead returning annually to the Columbia Basin to spawn. BPA further called on the Council to affirm that BPA was under no legal obligation to meet whatever numerical goal the Council might set.
In June 2025, the Trump Administration unilaterally rescinded the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA), which had previously committed State, Federal, and Tribal governments to work together on a package of comprehensive investments and actions to advance the recovery of salmon, steelhead and other native fish populations throughout the Columbia-Snake River Basin. With the RCBA now gone and no other regionally approved path forward arising, a strong NWPCC Fish and Wildlife Plan is imperative to protect and recover imperiled Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead.
This winter, we anticipate a draft Fish and Wildlife Amendment to be released, followed by an additional comment period. SOS and our coalition partners are tracking this closely and will reach out with more information about this process and opportunities for your advocacy.
Thank you to those who took action for fish & wildlife, and communities in the Columbia Basin!
