Defenders of the lower Snake River dams recently placed prominent ads in the Seattle Times that grossly misrepresent the status of wild salmon populations and falsely portray salmon advocates’ return to litigation as demonstrative of our unwillingness to collaborate. Both suggestions are flatly wrong. Salmon advocates have been left with no alternative but to return to court following the Trump Administration’s sudden, unilateral withdrawal from the historic Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA) and the continuing decline of Columbia Basin salmon - a decision that pushed and then applauded by the river industrialists like Northwest River Partners.
In response to the misinformation ad, the Governors of Oregon and Washington set the record straight in a recent Capital Press article:
- “The Trump administration’s decision to walk away from the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement — without even contacting Washington, Oregon or the tribal signatories — ensured we ended up back in court. The agreement kept us out of the courtroom by creating a constructive partnership to address these issues without litigation. The administration made this choice.” – Dan Jackson, deputy communications manager with Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office
- “The state of Oregon remains committed to a negotiated solution for Columbia Basin salmon recovery; it is precisely why the state of Oregon entered the 2023 agreement in good faith. The Trump Administration chose to walk away from that partnership, not us. That said, our door remains open to anyone serious about achieving healthy and abundant salmon populations through real solutions and genuine partnership.”– Anca Matica, spokesperson for Oregon Governor Tina Kotek’s office
Earthjustice and other NGO plaintiffs (and Save Our wild Salmon Coalition member organizations) – Columbia Riverkeeper, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, and Sierra Club – also responded by placing a full-page ad and digital ads in the Seattle Times on Wednesday, October 8 (click here to view the ad). The ad states:
Extinction is Forever.
We can’t let that happen. That’s why we’re going back to court – to protect salmon and secure a better future for the whole Northwest.
Biologists are sounding the alarm about imperiled Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead runs1. Several stocks are at risk of imminent extinction2. So are the Southern Resident orcas that depend on them for food3. We don’t have any more time to waste if we want to avoid further extinctions and restore healthy and abundant salmon and steelhead for our future.
Salmon need more than just talk – they need a healthy river.
Tribes, the states of Washington and Oregon, and the federal government all agreed on a comprehensive plan to guide the recovery of these iconic fish – while also investing in affordable, reliable clean energy and planning for removal of four lethal federal dams on the lower Snake River4.
In June, the Trump administration reneged on that agreement in favor of his previous administration’s illegal 2020 plan that ignores the needs of salmon, orca, fishing families, Tribes, energy customers and communities across the Northwest5.
Special interests who applauded the decision to kill that agreement want you to believe the Northwest’s salmon are recovering without further action6. But in reality our iconic salmon runs are collapsing – choked by dams, warming rivers, and vanishing habitat7.
For most of these imperiled salmon species, by far the largest threat they face is harm caused by federal dams and their reservoirs8.
We can have affordable and reliable energy and healthy and abundant salmon populations. But first we must prevent extinction, and we can’t do that by pretending this crisis doesn’t exist. The time for action is now.
The Trump administration is giving up on Columbia Basin salmon – but we never will.
Learn more at earthjustice.org/salmonperil
Sources:
1. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/feb/25/scientists-say-removing-snake-river-dams-is-necess/
2. https://ryankinzer.github.io/SRAFS /
3. Scientists’ White Letter: Southern Resident Killer Whales & Columbia/Snake River Chinook: A Review of the Available Scientific Evidence (Feb. 2020) https://www.wildsalmon.org/images/factsheets-and-reports/2020.Salmon.Orca_Scientist.White_Paper.Feb.20.pdf
4. https://critfc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/USG-Commitments-toCBRI.pdf
5. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/stopping-radical-environmentalism-to-generate-power-for-the-columbia-river-basin/
6. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/climate-lab/trump-cancels-landmark-columbia-river-agreement-with-tribes-wa-or/
7. https://www.wildsalmon.org/images/factsheets-and-reports/2022-09-30-Rebuilding-Interior-Columbia-Basin-Salmon-and-Steelhead-ConsensusRecovery-Science-Report-1.pdf, NOAA Rebuilding Report p. 8, Table 2 (pulled from NOAA site) & pp.11-15
8. https://www.wildsalmon.org/images/factsheets-and-reports/2022-09-30-Rebuilding-Interior-Columbia-Basin-Salmon-and-Steelhead-ConsensusRecovery-Science-Report-1.pdf, NOAA Rebuilding Report p. 12, Table 3 (pulled from NOAA site)
