EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
- Hot Water Temperatures and Toxic Algal Blooms in the Lower Snake River: All lower Columbia and Snake River dams and their reservoirs reached water temperatures above 68°F, ranging from 69°F - 73°F. 2026 marked the fourth consecutive year toxic algae have been detected in the lower Snake River. Read more.
- On The Brink Of Extinction: Despite billions of dollars and decades of efforts to restore Southern Resident orcas, salmon, and steelhead, they are all close to extinction:
- Status of Salmon and Steelhead: Fishery managers have reported historically low 2026 adult returns for Snake River sockeye, Spring Chinook, and steelhead returning to the Columbia and Snake rivers, with fishery closures and emergency intervention measures. Only 8 endangered Snake River sockeye have successfully swam back to their spawning areas in the Stanley Basin. Read more.
- Status of Southern Resident Orcas: There are only 76 southern residents remaining (according to the Center for Whale Research’s annual census). The recent tragic deaths and successful births of orca calves underscore the urgent need to restore abundant salmon throughout the range of the Southern Residents and year-round. Read more.
- Make Your Voice Heard: The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has released a draft Water Quality Management Plan for public comment. Oregon's draft plan tells the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop and implement management strategies to reduce heat pollution (hot water) from the federal dams and reservoirs on the Lower Columbia. We need your support to advocate for salmon and the people and cultures that rely on them. Learn more and take action here.
Salmon and steelhead endure hot and toxic water this summer
In the Columbia-Snake Basin, the construction of the federal hydro system has profoundly degraded fish habitat and is the primary source of mortality for salmon and steelhead. Snake River salmon and steelhead mortality rates increase significantly with the number of dams and reservoirs they encounter during their migration.
How do the dams impact water temperatures? The lower Snake River dams create stagnant reservoirs - large, slow-moving pools that absorb enormous amounts of solar radiation and cause water temperature to reach lethally high levels. The reservoirs warm during the summer months and create a block (barrier) of hot slow-moving water that retains the heat through the night and does not cool until air temperatures remain low in the fall.
Fish ladders, the only route past the dams for adult fish, also frequently contain warm surface waters that are hotter than the average river temperature, and such conditions create and exacerbate migration blockages. These blockages prevent successful migration to spawning grounds and attract predators, thereby reducing the survival and reproduction of salmon.
Scientists have identified 68°F as the biological and legal water temperature threshold under the Clean Water Act to protect salmon and steelhead. The Clean Water Act defines heat as a pollutant, and the states of Oregon and Washington have recognized that the lower Columbia and Snake rivers have too much heat pollution (hot water pollution).
The harmful and lethal impacts to salmon and steelhead as they experience water temperatures of 69°F - 71°F include reduced available oxygen; increased susceptibility to parasites, predators, and disease; altered growth and development for juvenile salmon; growth of harmful fungus on salmon; slowed or arrested migration for salmon and steelhead.
High Water Temperatures in 2026: All lower Columbia and Snake River dams and their reservoirs reached water temperatures above 68°F this summer. Below, we’ll summarize the highest water temperatures across all 8 reservoirs.
Toxic algae outbreak: The lower Snake River dams create reservoirs with warm slackwater that is harmful or lethal for salmon throughout the summer. These same warm reservoirs are now allowing toxic algal blooms to grow, adding yet a new threat to endangered native fish and communities along the lower Snake River. 2026 marked the fourth consecutive year toxic algae have been detected in the lower Snake River.
You can show support for, and help improve, Oregon's plan by:
- Signing this petition or sending a comment to TemperatureWQMP.Columbia@deq.oregon.gov by November 19
- Speaking at the draft plan hearing on Tue, Nov. 3 from 10:30am - 12pm PT:
- Attend in-person: 700 NE Multnomah St., Third Floor Conference Room Portland, OR
- Attend virtually: You can provide feedback by joining MS Teams.
ON THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION: The status of Salmon, Steelhead, and Southern Residents
Snake Basin Fish Report Card by the Nez Perce Tribe's Department of Fisheries Resources Management
Fishery managers have reported historically low 2026 adult returns for Snake River sockeye, Spring Chinook, and steelhead returning to the Columbia and Snake rivers, with fishery closures and emergency intervention measures.
“Salmon and steelhead in the Snake River Basin are in a dire status,” stated Jay Hesse, Director of Biological Services of the Nez Perce Tribe's Department of Fisheries Resources Management. “They are close to extirpation and not meeting the goals that have been established for healthy and harvestable abundance by regional managers and stakeholders in the Basin.”
Snake River sockeye: The 2026 migration for Snake River sockeye has ended, with very low returns to central Idaho, and emergency trapping and hauling from Bonneville and Lower Granite Dams. Only 8 endangered Snake River sockeye successfully made their full migration back to Idaho's Stanley Basin. Soon, genetic analysis will reveal how many wild and hatchery adults made up these 8, but we know this return is far below the recovery goal – 9,000 wild adults per year – to the Stanley Basin Lakes. During 2026, adult exposure to hot water in the slackwater reservoirs of the Columbia and Snake was stacked on top of poor migration conditions in the Salmon River, resulting in a disastrous return of sockeye to central Idaho. Learn more about the 2026 Snake sockeye return here.
Snake River Spring / Summer Chinook and Snake River Steelhead: Their returns are approaching the “quasi-extinction threshold,” the point at which a population is functionally extinct because numbers are too low to recover. Learn more about the Snake River Anadromous Fish Status: Quasi-Extinction Threshold Analysis by the Nez Perce Tribe’s Department of Fisheries Resources Management here.
What is it going to take to rebuild Snake River stocks? “It's going to be a diversity of actions,” said Jay Hesse. “There's just not one thing that we can do, it takes a combination of habitat restoration, water management, and hatchery actions. But there's one part that has been identified as absolutely essential in the suite of actions, and that is better hydrosystem management for the dams that are in place.”
“And what's actually required is removing or breaching four of the eight dams that exist between the Snake Basin and the ocean. Breaching the four lower Snake dams is considered an essential part for us to be able to rebuild those stocks back to health,” stated Jay Hesse.
However, the timeframe to achieve these diverse actions before fish go extinct is becoming severely short.
“We think that we have 2-3, maybe 4 fish generations before the natural production is totally gone. So that's really 10 to maybe 20 years to rebuild these stocks. The actions to rebuild those stocks have to occur sooner than the 20-year time frame,” said Jay Hesse. “The urgency to maintain those stocks with some essential conservation actions is now, and that allows us some time to take the transformative actions that can be effective in that 10 to 15 years.”
Southern Residents are the original fishers of the Pacific Northwest waters, co-evolving over millennia with their preferred prey, Chinook salmon. However, Southern Resident orcas are listed as endangered in both the U.S. and Canada, with only 76 individual Southern Resident orcas surviving (according to the Center for Whale Research’s annual census of the Southern Resident population completed in July 2026).
Left photo: New orca calf J65 traveling with J35. Right photo: Southern Resident orca J31 observed with a deceased newborn calf ©Center for Whale Research, 2026
New Southern Resident calf: On October 19, 2026, the Center for Whale Research (CWR) observed a very young calf, designated J65, traveling with J35. The calf is estimated to be less than a week old, based on its appearance and J35’s previous sightings. The CWR team saw no signs of health issues in this calf; however, early life is challenging for these whales, with only half of them making it through their first year.
There have been many losses of Southern Resident calves this year and the outward grief that Southern Residents express: L129 first seen February 16, and L130 first seen June 14, are both presumed deceased. J31 was observed carrying a deceased newborn calf on her nose earlier in October. The loss is particularly significant given J31’s reproductive history with repeated reproductive loss and failed pregnancies, and was observed carrying a deceased calf once before in 2016, shared Center for Whale Research in a press release.
Columbia-Snake River Basin salmon importance to Southern Resident orcas: We cannot know for certain the exact cause of death for these calves, but we do know that the persistent lack of salmon on a year-round basis is the single greatest threat to Southern Residents' survival. The Southern Residents are experiencing a very high rate of miscarriage, primarily due to low availability of salmon.
"People from all walks of life are united over their love and admiration for Southern Resident orcas, and no one wants to see them go extinct,” stated Orca Network staff. “If we want them to recover and thrive once again in the Pacific Northwest waters that have been their home for countless generations, we have to focus on recovering their prey. One of the most essential components of a comprehensive range-wide recovery plan is restoring the Columbia-Snake River Chinook that are listed as a priority stock and make up the bulk of coastal diet for the Southern Residents.”
Snake River Spring/Summer Chinook and Snake River Fall Chinook, along with many Columbia-Basin salmon runs, are ranked in the top 10 Priority Chinook stocks for orca recovery.
Map of priority Chinook salmon stocks that the Southern Residents rely on for survival ©Orca Behavior InstituteIt is critical for Southern Residents to feed on salmon throughout their entire foraging range and also throughout the entire year, especially in the winter and early spring when orcas move toward the mouth of the Columbia Basin.
Both the successful births and tragic deaths underscore the urgent need for abundant salmon throughout the range of the Southern Residents on a year-round basis.
“We need to immediately begin to replace the services provided by the Snake River dams, and begin breaching the dams as soon as possible,” said Orca Network. “It doesn't have to be an us vs them situation - we can help recover endangered Snake River salmon, and in turn the Southern Resident orcas, while also ensuring our state continues to work toward alternatives for those whose livelihoods will be impacted by the breaching of the dams."
Scientists agree that recovering Chinook salmon is essential for the recovery of Southern Residents. Key actions to help restore abundant salmon, and increase Southern Residents’ ability to reproduce, and improve their survival rate include removing the four lower Snake River dams to restore Snake River salmon runs, restoring salmon habitats across the Columbia-Snake River Basin, and protecting marine habitats.
Endangered salmon, steelhead, and Southern Resident orcas—and other fish and wildlife that depend on salmon—are running out of time.
At this moment, we have an urgent need to restore ecosystem health, improve resilience, and recover salmon and steelhead by removing the four lower Snake River dams and replacing the dams’ services. By protecting the Northwest's native fish from extinction, we will help to uphold our nation's promises to Treaty Tribes and reconnect this emblematic fish to 5,500 miles of pristine, protected river and streams in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
READ PAST ISSUES OF THE HOT WATER REPORT
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.
