PORTLAND, Ore. -- Over 1,000 American businesses have asked President Obama for decisive change in the government’s failed policy to restore endangered wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers.  The request comes in a letter released today, following U.S. District Judge James Redden ruling on August 2, 2011 finding the administration’s current salmon plan illegal.  Salmon are a mainstay of economies and jobs for the entire west coast.  The letter signers from across 34 states include commercial and recreational fishing businesses; outdoor retailers and equipment makers; food, farm, restaurant and tourism businesses; and clean energy businesses.Download this press release.

“Commercial fishing businesses, and many other related industry jobs up and down the west coast will keep shrinking or shut down if the government’s 20-year failure to restore endangered Columbia/Snake salmon doesn’t change,” said Zeke Grader, Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA). “We ask President Obama to hear our case, hear the court, and then change his salmon policy so salmon-based jobs stop shrinking and start growing.”

“Sportfishing creates jobs in every town in our country, and Columbia/Snake salmon and steelhead underlie thousands of those jobs.  A practical, science-based, collaborative approach to restoring them will benefit people and salmon.  The court's ruling provides President Obama a great opportunity to pursue that approach,” said Gordon Robertson of the American Sportfishing Association (ASA).

“Salmon recovery is a catalyst for job creation and growth in hundreds of outdoor and recreation-based companies, on the west coast and nationwide,” said John Sterling, Executive Director of The Conservation Alliance. “The more than 175 outdoor companies of The Conservation Alliance all need healthy habitats and watersheds for their customers to enjoy the products they make and sell, but federal salmon policy is not producing them.  We need President Obama to change this.  It makes no sense to keep spending billions of taxpayers’ dollars on a salmon policy that costs jobs instead of growing them.”

“Wild salmon are a cornerstone for food and restaurant businesses,” said Barton Seaver, chef and National Geographic Fellow. “Customers expect fresh, nutritious, and sustainable salmon, which federal policies are not producing right now.  If President Obama changes them, food jobs and healthy eating will both benefit.”

The 1000-plus businesses ask the President to begin collaborative talks among all stakeholders “to craft a lawful, science-based plan that restores salmon, protects this important food source, puts thousands of people to work, and helps to build a cleaner energy future.” Their letter is also being delivered to members of Congress.

Contact:

Amy Baird, Save Our Wild Salmon  (503) 230-0421 ext 13, amy@wildsalmon.org-- related photos and factsheets available at wildsalmonmedia.org --

Glen Spain, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations(541) 689-2000, FISH1IFR@aol.com

2017 'Free the Snake' Flotilla Photo Gallery

Additional Flotilla 2017 photos can be seen here - courtesy of Wingspan Media and Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment

2017 Flotilla Sponsors

February 2017

Despite efforts by the “Action Agencies" to bury an important public comment process amidst a chaotic election cycle and the year-end holidays, conservation and fishing advocates did an excellent job generating media coverage, contacting elected officials, and organizing comment and turnout at more than a dozen public meetings in support of restoring wild salmon populations and removing the four costly dams on the lower Snake River in eastern Washington.

The board and staff of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition send out a huge "THANK YOU!" to all the organizations, businesses and individuals that mobilized during the recent NEPA Public Comment Period - to spread the word, make presentations, educate friends and family, submit comment, attend rallies and meetings, and much more!

More than 2,000 citizens attended rallies to "Free the Snake" and the agencies’ public meetings and close to 400,000 people from across the Northwest and nation submitted their official public comments expressing support for the restoration of a freely-flowing lower Snake River as a critical part of any legally valid salmon protection plan in the Columbia Basin.

-- View photos from the public meetings (and the 2016 Free the Snake Flotilla) across the region here. --

The Agency-led NEPA Public Scoping and Comment Period closed on February 7, 2017 but only after significant numbers of citizen comments, detailed policy comments and dozens of media stories. More than 50 stories and opinion pieces appeared last fall and early winter in print, online and on television and radio and included salmon, orca, fishing, and river advocates' concerns and perspectives. There were also numerous citizen and community leader meetings with state and federal elected officials.

-- See a listing of and links to the media coverage of the Fall 2016-Winter 2017 NEPA Review Public Scoping and Comment Period here. --

In addition to hundreds of thousands of citizen comments, scores of entities in the region also submitted detailed public comment – delivering recommendations to the Action Agencies about issues of critical concern as they begin what must be a full, fair, comprehensive and transparent NEPA Review and consideration of all salmon restoration alternatives, including the removal of the four high-cost, low-value lower Snake River dams.

Below find a partial list of official comments from federal agencies, Tribes, States, utilities and NGOs asking the Action Agencies to, among other things, carefully, thoroughly and fairly consider the costs, benefits, opportunities and tradeoffs associated with the removal of the four federal dams on the lower Snake River.

-- Read selected excerpts concerning the lower Snake River dams from EPA, Nez Perce Tribe, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Pacific Fisheries Management Council, Washington State, Oregon, City of Lewiston, Seattle City Light, and others here. --

Links to complete public comments below from:

State of Oregon

State of Washington

Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission

Nez Perce Tribe

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Pacific Fisheries Management Council

Seattle City Light

National Wildlife Federation

Save Our wild Salmon Coalition/Earthjustice

Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association

Coastal Trollers Association

NW Energy Coalition / Idaho Conservation League

Natural Resource Defense Council

Sierra Club

Orca-Salmon Alliance

Natural Resource Economics

BACKGROUND: The three Northwest Dam Agencies – Bonneville Power Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recently completed the first phase – Public Scoping and Official Comment Period - of a court-ordered NEPA EIS Analysis. On May 4, 2016, United States District Court in Portland rejected the federal government’s 2014 Salmon Plan for the Columbia/Snake River Basin based on violations of the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. This was the fifth consecutive federal salmon plan for the Columbia/Snake Rivers to be rejected now by three judges across twenty years.

Following on his May ruling, presiding Judge Michael Simon ordered NOAA-Fisheries in July to produce a new, legally-valid and science-based Salmon Plan (or Biological Opinion) by December 2018. He also ordered the Northwest dam “Action Agencies” to complete a full, fair, and comprehensive NEPA Review and produce an Environmental Impact Statement that updates critical information and considers all reasonable salmon restoration measures, including the removal of the lower Snake River dams – an option that the agencies have steadfastly avoided even analyzing for two decades.

-- Read more on the May 2016 Simon Ruling here. --

From the Wild Salmon and Steelhead News, June 2013...

A Brief History of “spill”: our best near-term option for helping endangered wild salmon and steelhead.

Spill – the act of sending water over the Columbia and Snake River’s federal dams rather than through the turbines – is the most effective salmon survival measure with dams in place. In a dammed river, spill is an important step toward the natural template – the conditions under which salmon evolved, which scientists overwhelmingly agree we must seek to mimic if we are to restore salmon.

The Columbia Basin is large - roughly the size of Texas. The Columbia River’s headwaters are located in Canada while the Snake originates near Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. This Basin was once the most productive salmon landscape on the planet – with up to 30 million fish returning annually for the benefit of people and ecosystems.

Today, it’s something of a stretch to call the Columbia and Snake “rivers” at all, given the back-to-back dams and reservoirs. Of the Columbia’s 600 non-tidal miles in the United States, just 51 still flow freely today – through the Hanford Reach in south-central Washington State (not coincidentally, also the home to the Basin’s strongest chinook populations). And in eastern Washington, many locals now refer to the Columbia’s biggest tributary as “Snake Lake”.

When compared with all other human causes of decline, dams are the biggest harvester of Columbia and Snake salmon. It’s the juvenile salmon – the smolts – migrating to the ocean through as many as eight dams and reservoirs that suffer the greatest casualties from the slack waters, long migration times, hot temperatures, high predator populations, and spinning turbines. Dams also inflict delayed mortality – fish that, while still alive when they hit the salt water, are so weakened by the cumulative stresses of migration through dams and reservoirs that they die at a higher rate in the ocean than do salmon from undammed or less-dammed rivers.

While far from perfect (the removal of the four lower Snake River dams would be considerably more helpful), spill helps mitigate the effects of dams in many ways: it shortens travel time to the ocean, reduces exposure to predators, helps move salmon through warm waters, keeps more fish out of spinning turbines, reduces human and mechanical handling, and reduces delayed mortality by reducing cumulative stress. Spill also reduces barging and trucking of juvenile salmon, the Army Corps’ preferred method of salmon migration despite its 30-year record of failure to restore salmon.

Scientists have long recognized the benefits of salmon spill and urged its expansion to help protect and recover endangered fish. Bonneville Power, on the other hand, has long opposed it, since spilled water does not spin turbines, produce electricity, or generate energy revenue. (It produces millions of dollars in salmon revenue, but BPA’s books don’t account for that.) BPA has long sought, and still seeks, to keep spill as discretionary as possible, so the agency could choose when, where and for how long to implement it.

A breakthrough came in 2005, when the U.S. District Court in Portland granted a spill injunction sought by the State of Oregon, Columbia River Tribes, and fishing and conservation groups. With the injunction, a base level of salmon spill has occurred each spring and summer for the last 8 years. This has generated many thousands more salmon and steelhead for people, economies and ecosystems. As you read these words, per federal court order, spill is pouring over the eight dams of the lower Snake and Columbia Rivers, carrying young salmon and steelhead more quickly and safely toward the Pacific Ocean.

In addition, these eight years of steady spill have provided a great deal of new data, over a range of water and weather conditions, on spill’s benefits and how best to manage it. The longest-running scientific study of Columbia and Snake River salmon passage and mortality recently concluded that additional spill, above the base level provided by the injunction, will boost salmon survival and adult returns even more - but only if the people and leaders of the Northwest choose to adopt it...We’ll dig into that more deeply in our July newsletter.

 Tickets can be purchased online at eventbrite.com

Space will be limited.

Please submit your official public comment to the Army Corps of Engineers: ask it to stop spending public money to dredge the lower Snake River unless and until an honest economic analysis shows these four dams’ benefits outweigh their tremendous costs to the public, to salmon and steelhead, and to water quality and the river's health.

Click here to send a pre-written, editable letter. The deadline is Sept 22. The Army Corps of Engineers is once again proposing expensive dredging in the lower Snake River without justifying the costs to the public - or addressing harms to water quality or endangered wild salmon and steelhead.

In August, the Corps released its 2014 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) proposing a taxpayer-financed plan to "manage" the millions of tons of sediment piling up behind Lower Granite Dam on the lower Snake River. It is accepting public comment until Sept 22. Lower Snake River sediment is a big problem -one of many problems created by the four lower Snake dams.  In just a few decades, millions of cubic yards of sediment have settled in the reservoir behind Lower Granite Dam near Lewiston (ID) and Clarkston (WA). It's created an ever-worsening flood risk for these towns and huge expense for American taxpayers.

Meanwhile, as maintenance costs rise, the value of the barge corridor created by these four dams continues to decline steeply. With shippers moving to rail and truck, container shipping on the lower Snake has declined more than 70 percent in the past decade.  Barge traffic on the lower Snake today accounts for a tiny 4 percent of the total shipping on the Columbia-Snake Rivers.  In an era of shrinking federal resources, we can’t afford to continue wasting millions on the lower Snake – especially when salmon- and taxpayer-friendly alternatives are available and scarce infrastructure dollars are required elsewhere - like on the far more valuable lower Columbia River waterway. Rather than address the never-ending sediment problem and the worsening flood risk it creates for riverside towns, the Corps FEIS proposes expensive, perpetual dredging and dodges the real issues: the dams’ harm to endangered salmon and their overall high costs and low benefits.  The Corps’ Plan offers no sound economic justification for spending more taxpayer money on a waterway-in-decline -- and refuses to consider the most effective solution to the sediment and salmon problems -- removal of the four lower Snake River dams. In the past 15 years, the Corps has spent millions just to study and "manage” sediment.  It’s time to tell the Corps to quit sending our dollars down the river for the benefit of a small group of narrow interests. 

Please help us send this message to the Corps: “No more wasted taxpayer money on the lower Snake waterway.”

Scientists agree that removing the four lower Snake River dams is the single best action we can take to restore wild salmon to healthy, harvestable numbers.  Economists and former Army Corps staff are now telling us that removing these dams makes sense for our pocketbooks too.  Please Take Action Now! Tell the Corps to stop wasting our money on this wasteful project.  Independent, honest evaluations of these dams show how removing them would benefit endangered wild salmon, our regional economy, and American taxpayers. Blindly spending more of our limited resources to keep these dams operating at a deficit hurts Northwest salmon and our communities.

Thank you.

Federal district Judge James A. Redden has announced that he will step down before the next salmon BiOp is filed in 2014 as required by his August 2 ruling.  The Court will assign a new Article III judge to the case in the near future.

Judge Redden has been a serious force for wild salmon and steelhead over nearly 20 years of litigation with the Federal Agencies. By requiring the Federal Agencies involved to heed science and follow the law for endangered species, Judge Redden has single-handedly helped improve spill requirements for migrating salmon, improved habitat measures, and helped to sustain thousand of jobs dependent on salmon across the West coast. Judge Redden has done more to save wild salmon and steelhead than the last three federal Administrations combined.

“We hope that between now and 2014, the Federal Agencies will take a good look at what Judge Redden said in his August ruling of this year and make real, needed changes in the Biological Opinion. If they would do that, we might not even need a new judge for the case. And we could get down to the real business of building a more collaborative, science driven process involving the region’s stakeholders and develop real, innovative solutions to restore wild salmon,” said Save Our wild Salmon executive director Pat Ford. 

Judge Redden ruled the most recent salmon plan for wild Columbia and Snake River salmon and steelhead illegal, calling it “arbitrary and capricious.” Federal Agencies have since stated a desire to “stay the course” despite the Judge’s ruling and despite calls for cooperation from conservation and fishing groups. These groups and public officials have called for a new approach to salmon restoration, via a collaborative solutions table involving the region’s stakeholders.

From the desk of Gilly Lyons, SOS Policy and Legal Director. May 6, 2013.

120% or 125%?

2%, 4%, or 6%?

35% or 70%?

SARs?

These numbers and acronyms are just a sample of the many facts and figures presented at the Comparative Survival Study (CSS) annual meeting that I attended April 30 in Vancouver, WA. CSS is a collaborative scientific study, initiated in 1996 by state and Tribal fishery managers and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, to estimate Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead survival rates at different life stages. Probably our most effective near-term salmon protection measure is spill - a program that sends some water over Columbia/Snake River dams (rather than through turbines) to help more young fish reach the Pacific Ocean safely. With the dams in place, spill helps the river act just a bit more like, well, a river – which is exactly what endangered salmon and steelhead need.

Since 2006, under federal court order (as a result of a legal victory achieved by salmon and fishing advocates, the State of Oregon, and the Nez Perce Tribe), federal dam managers have been required to spill water to improve salmon survival during their spring/summer migration.

Scientists have long understood that spill helps salmon, but it turns out to be even more beneficial than we thought – not just in terms of getting ocean-bound smolts downstream in one piece, but also in terms of their survival in the ocean and eventual return to spawning gravels as adults.

At this year’s meeting, scientists presented a range of modeled scenarios that indicate more spill - up to a point - can lead to survival improvements that could move imperiled salmon and steelhead stocks from the “treading water/ at high risk of extinction” column into the “hey, now we’re getting somewhere” column.

The truest way to measure salmon survival is something called the Smolt-to-Adult Return ratio, or SAR. For example, for every 100 smolts that journey downstream, how many ultimately return as adults? Scientists generally agree that a 2-4% SAR is needed for survival over the long-term, while a 4-6% SAR is required to rebuild populations. CSS modeled various levels of spill to see how each of four scenarios affected the SARs.

Underpinning these scenarios is a key balancing question: can we spill enough water to yield an SAR at or above 2% (the region’s minimum target for getting salmon numbers "back in the black"), but without spilling so much water that in-river gas levels put the fish at risk of injury? (As spill levels increase, dissolved gases do too, and at certain threshold levels, this can become problematic for salmon and steelhead.)

The CSS shows we can. According to the scientists' models, if we spill enough water to reach 125% total dissolved gas (ie, the saturation of nitrogen in the river on the dams’ downstream side), we are likely to see SARs at or above 2% more than 70% of the time. (The 125% dissolved gas level is also very safe for salmon; it is only at higher levels that fish start to show signs of impact or injury.) Even if we spill to a 120% gas cap, we’d see those sought-after SARs about 35% of the time.

Contrast both of those scenarios to the level of spill laid out in the now-illegal 2008/2010 federal salmon plan (BIOP): it only hits an SAR of 2% or more 14% of the time. Our salmon, steelhead and fishing economy, and our region needs better than that; the CSS model shows that "better" is very possible.

While Bonneville Power Administration and the other federal dam managers still insist on much lower spill levels, many Northwest fishery managers appear interested in spilling more water (maybe to 120%, perhaps to 125%) to help fish – and “test the waters” to confirm that more spill at these higher levels will lead to many more salmon.

We want to see this too. With our partners, SOS has fought successfully for spill since 2005. We know that it works – and that it’s largely responsible (along with good ocean conditions) for the modest bumps in salmon returns that we’ve seen over the past few years.

The science says let's give spill a chance; now is the time for a new, expanded experimental spill program in the Columbia/Snake rivers.

SEE THE FULL REPORT on the Fish Passage Center website  - with the presentations from the 2013 CSS Annual Meeting.

Posted on Friday, October 18, 2013 

Canada’s British Columbia Province this week released draft recommendations for a new Columbia River Treaty, saying the current treaty “does not account for the full range of benefits in the United States or the impacts in British Columbia,” and that salmon migration above Grand Coulee is not a treaty issue.

The draft recommendations say the “ongoing impacts to the Canadian Columbia Basin to meet Treaty requirements should be acknowledged and compensated for.

“All downstream U.S. benefits, such as flood risk management, hydropower, ecosystems, water supply, recreation, navigation and any other relevant benefits, including associated risk reduction arising from coordinated operations compared to alternatives available to each country, should be accounted for and such value created should be shared equitably between the two countries.”

While the Canadians are suggesting higher compensation levels are warranted to take into account “a full range of benefits” to the U.S., at this stage in the process the United States has a different point of view.

On Sept. 20, the “U.S. Entity” released its draft recommendations, and in a cover letter said, “There is widespread concern that the method included in the Treaty for calculating Canada’s share of its power benefits is outdated and no longer equitable, resulting in excessive costs to regional ratepayers. Finally, there is broad interest in reaching agreement with Canada on how we will conduct coordinated flood risk management operations post-2024 under the terms of the Treaty.

(For a more complete look at the U.S. draft recommendations, go to CBB, Sept. 27, 2013, “U.S. Releases Draft Recommendations For ‘Modernizing’ Columbia River Treaty” http://www.cbbulletin.com/428444.aspx”)

Some have suggested restoration of salmon runs above Grand Coulee Dam should be part of the treaty negotiations. But the Canadian draft recommendations say, “Salmon migration into the Columbia River in Canada was eliminated by the Grand Coulee Dam in 1938 (26 years prior to Treaty ratification), and as such is not a Treaty issue. British Columbia’s perspective is that restoration of fish passage and habitat, if feasible, should be the responsibility of each country regarding their respective infrastructure.”

The Columbia River Treaty now under review in Canada and the United States was created primarily to provide reduced flood risk and support hydropower generation in a river system that springs from British Columbia and flows down through Washington and Oregon to the Pacific Ocean. Major tributaries supply water from Montana and Idaho.

The Columbia River Treaty, signed in 1964, calls for two "entities" -- a U.S. Entity and a Canadian Entity -- to implement, and amend, the treaty. The U.S. Entity, created by the president, consists of the administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration (chair) and the Northwestern Division Engineer (member) of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Canadian Entity, appointed by the Canadian Federal Cabinet, is the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (B.C. Hydro).

Four storage reservoirs on the Columbia River system remain the most obvious product of the treaty. Together, the three dams built in Canada (Duncan, Mica and Keenleyside — also known as Arrow) doubled the amount of water that could be stored, adding 15.5 million acre-feet of capacity. And the construction of Libby Dam on the Kootenai River in northwestern Montana created another large storage reservoir, Lake Koocanusa.

The treaty called for the United States to pre-pay Canada, a total of $64 million, as each Canadian treaty dam was put into operation. This payment covered implementation of annual flood control plans for the first 60 years of the Treaty, through September 2024.

The treaty specified that power generation benefits were to be shared equally by the two countries, but since the energy was not immediately needed to serve its demand, Canada sold the first 30 years of the Canadian Entitlement to a U.S. consortium of utilities for $254 million in 1964. The value of the Canadian Entitlement, combined with pre-payment for flood risk management, helped finance Duncan, Keenleyside and Mica dams.

Now that the 30-year contracts have expired, the United States delivers the Canadian Entitlement energy to BC Hydro over Bonneville Power Administration transmission lines. BPA estimates that this energy entitlement is worth between $250 million and $350 million a year, according to a U.S. Entity fact sheet.

The following draft recommendation and principles “reflect the outcomes of the British Columbia Treaty Review process to date:”

-- The primary objective of the Treaty should be to maximize benefits to both countries through the coordination of planning and operations.

-- The ongoing impacts to the Canadian Columbia Basin to meet Treaty requirements should be acknowledged and compensated for. The level of benefits to the Province, which is currently primarily in the form of the Canadian Entitlement, does not account for the full range of benefits in the United States or the impacts in British Columbia.

-- All downstream U.S. benefits, such as flood risk management, hydropower, ecosystems, water supply, recreation, navigation and any other relevant benefits, including associated risk reduction arising from coordinated operations compared to alternatives available to each country, should be accounted for and such value created should be shared equitably between the two countries.

-- Treaty provisions post-2024 should be fixed for a sufficient duration to provide planning and operational certainty while allowing for adaptive mechanisms to address significant changes to key components and interests.

-- Implementation of post-2024 flood control obligations will be consistent with the Treaty requirements that a Called Upon Flood Control request can only be made when forecasts of potential floods indicate there is a reasonable risk of exceeding 600,000 cubic feet per second at The Dalles, and the United States must make effective use of all related storage in the United States before seeking additional help from British Columbia.

-- To supplement Called Upon Flood Control, a coordinated flood risk management approach should maximize the benefits and mitigate impacts and risks to multiple U.S. interests as compared to Called Upon Flood Control regime post 2024 which includes effective use of U.S. reservoirs.

-- Ecosystem values are currently, and will continue to be, an important consideration in the planning and implementation of the Treaty.

-- The Province will explore ecosystem based improvements recognizing that there are a number of available mechanisms inside and outside the Treaty.

-- Operating conditions of Canadian Columbia basin dams and reservoirs are subject to provincial and federal licensing including water Use Plans where they exist, and consideration of aboriginal rights under the Canadian constitution.

-- The Province will seek improved coordination on Libby Dam and Koocanusa Reservoir operations.

-- Salmon migration into the Columbia River in Canada was eliminated by the Grand Coulee Dam in 1938 (26 years prior to Treaty ratification), and as such is not a Treaty issue. British Columbia’s perspective is that restoration of fish passage and habitat, if feasible, should be the responsibility of each country regarding their respective infrastructure.

-- Adaptation to climate change should be incorporated in Treaty planning and implementation.

-- The Canadian Entities (Province of British Columbia and BC Hydro) will continue to engage First Nations and communities throughout any negotiation process.

-- Canadian Columbia Basin issues not related to the Treaty will be addressed through other government programs and initiatives.

 For more information: http://www.cbbulletin.com/428719.aspx

Taxpayer groups, fishing businesses, fishermen, clean energy advocates and conservation organizations applaud bi-partisan legislation

WASHINGTON, DC — On June 3rd, 2011, Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Congressman Tom Petri (R-WI), joined by 10 original cosponsors, introduced the Salmon Solutions and Planning Act in the House of Representatives. The bill would provide Congress and federal agencies with up-to-date, thorough information about how best to protect and restore wild salmon and steelhead in the Pacific Northwest’s Columbia and Snake River Basin.

Download the fact sheet overview of the legislation.

What is the Salmon Solutions and Planning Act?

The Salmon Solutions and Planning Act of 2011 (SSPA) is a bill that would provide Congress and federal agencies with up-to-date, thorough information about how best to protect and restore wild salmon and steelhead in the Pacific Northwest’s Columbia and Snake River Basin while also supporting local communities and saving taxpayer dollars.  Specifically, SSPA directs the National Academy of Sciences to analyze federal salmon recovery measures in order to determine the most effective means of protecting and restoring threatened and endangered fish.  The bill also authorizes a series of studies, to be completed by relevant federal agencies, on what actions would be necessary to replace the primary benefits of the four lower Snake River dams in the event those dams must be removed to recover imperiled salmon and steelhead runs.  

SSPA does not require dam removal.  It simply seeks to collect and assemble the best information so that federal agencies – such as NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – along with Congress, have the facts they need to efficiently and effectively plan both for Columbia Basin salmon recovery and for the protection and enhancement of communities and regional economies.

What exactly does SSPA do?

SSPA does four main things:

•    SSPA authorizes the National Academy of Sciences to review the measures that may be necessary to recover Columbia-Snake Basin salmon, including an analysis of lower Snake River dam removal.

•    SSPA authorizes four peer-reviewed studies by federal agencies to examine how to cost-effectively replace the primary services currently provided by the lower Snake River dams, in the event Congress or the Administration determines that the dams must be removed:

1.    The U.S. Department of Transportation would complete an analysis of transportation upgrades, including improved rail and highway access, for shipping freight that currently moves via barge on the lower Snake River’s navigation corridor.

2.    The U.S. Department of Energy would complete an analysis of existing and potential energy options, with an emphasis on carbon-free sources such as efficiency, conservation, and clean renewables, to replace the hydropower currently generated by the lower Snake River dams.

3.    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would complete an analysis of opportunities for restoring and revitalizing the lower Snake River riverfront in the event the dams are removed.

4.    The U.S. Department of Interior would complete an analysis of any irrigation or water supply upgrades or changes that would be necessary in order to ensure that existing water supplies currently reliant upon the lower Snake River are uninterrupted.

•    SSPA clarifies that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has the authority to remove the four dams on the lower Snake River in eastern Washington.  It does not direct or require the Corps to remove the dams, but it specifies that doing so is within the agency’s discretion.  

•    Finally, SSPA authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review and update its 2002 Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement in which it analyzed options for removing the four lower Snake River dams.  The bill directs the Corps to consider and address new and relevant information that has emerged since the study’s completion in 2002 or that it opted not to incorporate in the original document.

Why do we need a bill like SSPA?

Snake River salmon are worth saving.

When Lewis and Clark traveled down the Snake River more than 200 years ago, as many as 30 million wild salmon and steelhead returned each year to the Columbia and Snake River Basin – making it the largest salmon watershed on earth.  Today, all Snake River salmon and steelhead are either already extinct or listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act.  Their steep decline has upended the Northwest fishing industry and harms ecosystems and communities alike.  Current policies could lead to the extinction of more Columbia and Snake River stocks in our lifetime.  

In fact, we are likely the last generation to decide whether wild Snake River salmon and steelhead will continue to exist for future generations.  

There is little dispute that the Columbia and Snake River hydrosystem is the primary source of mortality for these fish, and that federal agencies have so far failed to reverse their downward spiral.  Scientists agree that we can save Columbia-Snake River salmon, but we have to change the tools we are using.  By supporting the Salmon Solutions and Planning Act, Congress can take a crucial leadership role in restoring this national icon by planning for how best to recover wild salmon and protect the people, communities, and cultures that depend upon them.

We have already spent more than $10 billion on failed salmon protection efforts.

Federal taxpayers and Northwest electricity ratepayers have spent more than $10 billion to date on efforts to protect and restore salmon in the Columbia and Snake River Basin.  Still, most wild salmon populations continue to dwindle.  In fact, many populations remain near the perilously low levels that led to their listing under the Endangered Species Act almost 20 years ago.  Current measures are simply not working and new options must be examined if we are to get salmon recovery on the right track.  

Supporting this bill will ensure that Congress and American taxpayers have the information they need to act quickly and efficiently in the event that new measures, such as lower Snake River dam removal, are required to ensure the restoration and protection of our nation’s irreplaceable wild salmon resources.

Planning is essential to protect communities and ensure salmon restoration.

If the current federal salmon plan (the 2010 Supplemental Biological Opinion for the Federal Columbia River Power System) is again found legally insufficient to protect salmon (three out of the last four federal salmon plans have been rejected by federal courts), we must prepare for actions that will meet the obligations of our federal laws and treaties while also protecting communities and people.  The judge overseeing the development of the latest salmon plan has repeatedly urged the inclusion of a contingency plan for lower Snake River dam removal in the event that other recovery measures fail.  But instead of heeding that advice and initiating a careful analysis of dam removal, the current federal salmon plan employs a byzantine system of triggers and responses that would delay any study of lower Snake River dam removal until salmon populations drop to dangerously low numbers; even then, the study would take years to complete, and the process of dam removal (if determined to be necessary) years more.

With some Snake River salmon populations facing possible extinction within the next dozen years, we must be prepared to act quickly if new measures are needed to ensure the survival of these remarkable fish and the communities that depend upon them.  A crucial first step is to collect the data Congress needs to make well-informed decisions about the best path forward for salmon and people.  

The decline of salmon in the Columbia and Snake River Basin has devastated fishing communities up and down the Pacific coast and inland to Idaho.  Fishermen describe the impact of these declines on salmon-dependent towns as the equivalent of Seattle losing a Boeing plant; the economic fallout, while proportionately smaller, hits just as hard and just as pervasively. Fisheries have closed, jobs have disappeared, and communities continue to suffer.  At the same time, removing the four lower Snake River dams would affect rural communities in ways that can and must be addressed.  Congress can help by ensuring that the necessary planning and evaluation is done to efficiently manage salmon restoration and respond rapidly if major new actions are required.  The studies authorized by SSPA on transportation, energy, riverfront revitalization, and irrigation will help us understand what those actions must be in order to meet the needs of American taxpayers, Northwest electricity ratepayers, and local communities.

With forward-looking planning, we can protect rural jobs, farmers, energy users, and communities while at the same time restoring wild salmon to the Columbia and Snake River Basin.

For more information, please contact: 
Gilly Lyons, Save Our Wild Salmon
(503) 230.0421 x17 or gilly@wildsalmon.org

Portland, OR. – A highly contagious and lethal virus has been detected in wild salmon populations in British Columbia, Canada. Announced in a report yesterday, the virus, infectious salmon anemia (ISA), is being attributed to diminishing sockeye returns in BC rivers. The virus adds another threat to a long list of obstacles Pacific Northwest salmon currently face and points to the urgency of overdue policy changes needed in restoring wild salmon populations in the Columbia and Snake River Basins.

The virus is connected to fish farms, which in Canada are only separated in open water from migrating wild fish populations by nets. Columbia and Snake River salmon, which travel further than any other salmon populations, pass through these areas and are at risk of potentially spreading the disease up and down the West Coast.

Says Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA), "Wild salmon have survived for millions of years due to their incredible genetic diversity, but dwindling wild salmon populations are already at risk of extinction and cannot face additional challenges like ISA without serious policy changes directed at their recovery."

Says Jeff Hickman, renowned fly fishing guide, "The wild salmon of the Columbia Basin are a critical part of the Northwest economy and impact thousands of jobs. News of this virus makes it all the more urgent for our Northwest elected leaders to address the serious problems we know salmon now face, to rebuild healthy populations which can in turn help guard against new emerging threats like ISA. It's time to call a solutions table together of the region's stakeholders and get serious about salmon."

Once boasting the most prolific salmon populations in the world, with more than 30 million fish returning, less than one percent of fish now survive, and 13 out of 19 species of salmon and steelhead on the Columbia and Snake River system are listed under the Endangered Species Act. All four of the remaining salmon species on the Snake River are either threatened or endangered.

Federal Judge James Redden recently tossed out the federal governments salmon policy for the third consecutive time, citing the plan as "arbitrary and capricious." Salmon advocates and business leaders hope elected leaders take the issue out of the courts and into a collaborative and science-driven process involving stakeholders.

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March 28, 2022

The Columbia River and its tributaries are the life spring of the Pacific Northwest. The Columbia River Basin was also once among the most productive aquatic ecosystems in the world with an estimated 7.5 to 16 million adult salmon and steelhead returning to Pacific Northwest tributaries each year and providing food for over 130 wildlife species, including Orca, bears, and wolves. The salmon and steelhead sustained the cultures and economies of Tribal Nations since time immemorial, and in turn, Tribes successfully managed these fisheries for millennia.

Today, the river provides energy to communities and business, irrigation water for thousands of farms, transportation services, recreational opportunities, and vital habitat for fish and wildlife species.

On March 21, 2022, we convened a Nation-to-Nation consultation between our agencies and departments and leaders and representatives from the Tribes of the Columbia River Basin. We heard clearly the request for accountability for actions by the U.S. Government that have caused harm to the ecology of the river, its tributaries, and importantly, its first residents.

Since colonization of the Pacific Northwest, numerous Tribal Nations entered into treaties with the United States, ceding millions of acres of their homelands in exchange for and acknowledgement of rights already held, including, critically, the right to fish in all “usual and accustomed places.” This exchange was premised on a notion that the salmon and steelhead resources of the region were “inexhaustible,”[1] a premise that subsequent human activities in the Basin proved false as salmon and steelhead disappeared or significantly declined at many Tribal fishing locations.

From the 1930s to the 1970s, the Federal government constructed a series of 14 multipurpose dams in the Basin to address a myriad of economic challenges, and, additionally, more than 100 non-Federal dams were constructed. Communities across the Northwest have come to rely on these dams for flood risk management, water supply, irrigation, navigation, and recreation and importantly: reliable and affordable electricity.

The dams also altered free-flowing rivers, affected juvenile fish as they migrate out to sea, impeded adult fish returning to spawn, inundated Tribal fishing areas and sacred sites, and forever displaced people from their homes. In the 1990s, 13 of the Columbia River Basin’s salmon populations required the protection of the Endangered Species Act to survive. We have been working to stem the decline ever since.

The Federal Government has spent several billion dollars, in partnership with Tribes, states, and non-governmental organizations, on efforts that contribute to fish recovery. These efforts include modifying the operation and configuration of the federal dams to improve passage conditions for fish, investing in hatchery facilities to produce and supplement Tribal and non-Tribal fisheries and improving fish habitat, changing flow augmentation releases from some projects to counteract warmer water, and implanting programs to transport juvenile fish downstream by barge and truck.

States have also funded recovery programs, purchased, protected, and restored fish and wildlife habitat; and overseen numerous habitat improvement measures. Tribes are also implementing their own comprehensive recovery plans that integrate indigenous and western science to heal the ecosystem through innovative projects.

Despite hard work, ingenuity, great expense, and commitment across all levels of Federal, state, Tribal and local governments and a wide range of stakeholders, many fish populations in the Columbia River Basin—salmon, steelhead, and others— have not recovered, some continue to decline, and many areas remain inaccessible to them.

We heard a specific example of a fishery where there has been no measurable improvement, about the ongoing and acute harm experienced by Tribes in blocked areas where salmon and steelhead no longer exist, and about the deep and emotional experience of seeing fish return again.

For the Tribes, their past, present, and future is inextricably linked to the continued existence of salmon and the health of the rivers that support them, which is why the Tribes experience profound consequences from the dwindling salmon runs. As the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and the National Congress of American Indians explained in resolutions passed last year, the Basin faces not only an environmental crisis, but an environmental justice crisis too.[2]

The Tribal leaders welcomed the dialogue, and they made clear that they want more than words. They brought ideas to the table and they want action.

We heard calls to support breaching the four dams on the lower Snake River to restore a more natural flow, also about the need to replace the services provided by those dams, and recognition that such a step would require congressional action. This approach has been supported by Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson of Idaho and is being evaluated by Washington Senator Patty Murray in collaboration with Washington Governor Jay Inslee.

We heard a request to fully fund fish and wildlife restoration and to vest in Tribes and states a stronger role in managing those funds. Relatedly, we heard a consistent theme that the current fish mitigation funding is mismatched with the burdens experienced by Tribes: it is too little in light of the scale of the harms and the extent of restoration needed, and the locations and species benefitted are not in proportion to the impacts.

We heard a request to support reintroduction of salmon in areas that historically yielded abundant populations, but are fully blocked by dams lacking fish passage: the Upper Columbia and Upper Snake.

We were asked to consider the Basin holistically because of its inherent interconnectedness.

We heard that the expertise and sovereignty of the Tribes should be recognized in federal agency processes and actions that might affect the Basin. We agree. Respecting the sovereignty of Tribal Nations and their knowledge and expertise is a priority for this Administration.

We heard more as well. Each proposal merits serious consideration, and we and our staff are carefully considering all of the input we received.

As we reflect on what we heard, we know that any long-term solution must account for the varied and crucial services provided by the dams, as well as the people, communities, and industries who rely upon them.

We cannot continue business as usual. Doing the right thing for salmon, Tribal Nations, and communities can bring us together. It is time for effective, creative solutions.

We also know that Tribes will continue to be critical partners in the work ahead, and that to work effectively in partnership externally requires that we coordinate across the Federal government internally.

To that end, last fall, the White House Council on Environmental Quality convened an interagency group with leaders from the Department of the Interior, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Reclamation, and Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of the Army, including the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Energy, including the Bonneville Power Administration. This interagency group will build on existing analyses to identify a durable path forward that ensures a clean energy future, supports local and regional economies, and restores ecosystem function, while honoring longstanding commitments to Tribal Nations.

Crafting an equitable long-term solution requires broad input; so, our staff has also conducted listening sessions with stakeholders in the region to hear their perspective.

Finally, we have engaged a team of experienced mediators to facilitate a transparent and productive public policy dialogue with all of the sovereigns and stakeholders in the region. If you would like to share information with us, please email us at salmon@ceq.eop.gov. We look forward to hearing from you.

Deb Haaland, Secretary of the Department of the Interior

Jennifer M. Granholm, Secretary of the Department of Energy

Michael Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works

Brenda Mallory, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality

Dr. Richard W. Spinrad, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator

This blogpost can be viewed here as well: https://www.whitehouse.gov/ceq/news-updates/2022/03/28/columbia-river-basin-fisheries-working-together-to-develop-a-path-forward/

Portland, OR-- Today, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) filed its Oversupply Management Protocol with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), a policy for possible oversupply of power during high water conditions.  BPA’s policy ignores practical solutions at its disposal that would simultaneously improve salmon migration, expand clean energy, and keep power rates affordable. The policy also runs counter to national priorities of the Obama Administration and sets the stage for continued and needless regional acrimony.

Save Our wild Salmon (SOS) remains frustrated that BPA contiues to use salmon as an excuse for policy decisions regarding wind power curtailments, despite a lack of scientific evidence to support its claims. The Oversupply Management Protocol is premised largely on BPA’s contention that legal constraints for salmon prevent it from spilling water at certain times. This policy instead appears to be primarily based on economics and not the biological needs of Columbia and Snake River salmon.

“BPA continues to illegitimately use `salmon protection’ as an excuse for its controversial policy,” says Pat Ford, Save Our wild Salmon’s executive director.  “But we and others have repeatedly proposed lawful solutions that are better for salmon and do not hurt the Northwest’s wind energy industry. We deeply regret that BPA has failed to embrace any of these solutions, and will oppose BPA’s policy at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.”

“Despite overwhelming opposition to its draft proposal, BPA has chosen to cling to it,” continued Ford.  “Today’s proposal to FERC harms salmon by ignoring practical solutions to allow more safe salmon spill and create more salmon jobs.  BPA’s proposal also conflicts with the Obama Administration’s priority to promote clean energy and clean energy jobs.”

SOS submitted comments last month on BPA’s draft proposal, including policy recommendations that would actually be helpful to threatened salmon populations in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. These recommendations included using established real-time monitoring of migrating fish as the basis for managing salmon during high flows, and improving Washington State’s total dissolved gas standard to a more scientifically supported level. Neither of these recommendations is reflected in BPA’s proposal. A diverse set of nearly 90 entities joined SOS in submitting comments in opposition to BPA’s draft proposal last month.

Speak out for our endangered fish and rivers! It's time to 'Free the Snake'!

Federal agencies in the Northwest charged with protecting endangered wild salmon and steelhead from the lethal impacts of federal dams in the Columbia and Snake rivers are holding fifteen Public Scoping Hearings this fall in Washington State, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

These Scoping Hearings represent the first phase of a court-ordered review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of salmon restoration alternatives in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. This spring, the U.S. District Court in Portland, OR issued a strongly-worded opinion that found the agencies’ latest plan inadequate and illegal - in violation of both the ESA and NEPA.

This is the 5th plan to be invalidated by 3 judges across twenty years. The next plan – and this NEPA Review – is the public’s opportunity to get involved and ensure that the federal agencies get it right this time! Our salmon (and orcas), our rivers, and our pocketbooks can’t afford another failed and illegal plan. Get involved today!

Salmon, orca, fishing, boating, river and taxpayer advocates need to seize this critical opportunity to speak up for restoring wild salmon and steelhead and river health by advocating for a lawful, science-based, fiscally-responsible plan that includes the removal of the four costly dams on the lower Snake River.

You can review the feds' calendar below and get ready to attend the hearing nearest you.

TO LEARN MORE AND GET INVOLVED this fall, contact joseph@wildsalmon.org and/or sam@wildsalmon.org

Follow the links below to take action online (but it's still very important that you show up for the public hearings too!) and learn more about our endangered wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake rivers.

-- TAKE ACTION ONLINE here.

-- Full NEPA Scoping Hearing Schedule posted below.

-- Sept. 30 press releases re: Scoping Hearings from Earthjustice, Idaho's conservation and fishing advocates, and the Nez Perce Tribe.

-- Background and media coverage of the May 4, 2016 Simon Court Ruling.

-- Factsheet: A Restored Snake River - Our nation's best opportunity to restore salmon, save money and confront a changing climate

-- Factsheet: Removing the Lower Snake Dams - Why it's different today

-- Earthjustice Explainer: What you need to know about Columbia and Snake River salmon

-- Spokesman Review: Feds Ask the Public to Weigh in on Breaching the Lower Snake River Dams (Sept. 30)

Fall 2016 NEPA SCOPING SCHEDULE FOR COLUMBIA AND SNAKE RIVER WILD SALMON AND STEELHEAD:

Monday, October 24, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Wenatchee Community Center, 504 S. Chelan Ave., Wenatchee, Washington
Tuesday, October 25, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., The Town of Coulee Dam, City Hall,  3006 Lincoln Ave., Coulee Dam, Washington
Wednesday, October 26, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Priest River Community Center, 5399 Highway 2, Priest River, Idaho
Thursday, October 27, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Kootenai River Inn Casino & Spa, 7169 Plaza St., Bonners Ferry, Idaho
Tuesday, November 1, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Red Lion Hotel Kalispell, 20 North Main St., Kalispell, Montana
Wednesday, November 2, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., City of Libby City Hall, 952 E. Spruce St., Libby, Montana
Thursday, November 3, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn Missoula, 3720 N. Reserve St. Missoula, Montana
Monday November 14, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Historic Davenport Hotel, 10 South Post Street, Spokane, Washington
Wednesday, November 16, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Red Lion Hotel Lewiston, Seaport Room, 621 21st St. Lewiston, Idaho
Thursday, November 17, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Courtyard Walla Walla, The Blues Room, 550 West Rose St. Walla Walla, Washington
Tuesday, November 29, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., The Grove Hotel, 245 S. Capitol Blvd. Boise, Idaho
Thursday, December 1, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Town Hall, Great Room, 1119 8th Ave., Seattle, Washington
Tuesday, December 6, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center, River Gallery Room, 5000 Discovery Drive, The Dalles, Oregon
Wednesday, December 7, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Portland, Oregon
Thursday, December 8, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., The Loft at the Red Building, 20 Basin St., Astoria, Oregon.
Tuesday, December 13, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., PST, webinar

Link to the Federal Register Office - Northwest Agencies' Notice of Intent

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 11, 2024

Columbia River Treaty “Agreement in Principle” prioritizes hydropower and flood control over the needs of imperiled salmon and river health

Northwest civic, faith, clean energy and conservation organizations express frustration and disappointment that today’s announcement of an “Agreement in Principle” between the United States and Canada does not adequately address the crisis facing the Columbia River ecosystem and its dwindling salmon and steelhead runs. The Agreement continues to maintain the primacy of hydropower and flood control over the needs of struggling anadromous fish populations. It leaves critical, unresolved questions regarding health of the river and uncertainty and risk for fish populations facing extinction today.

“The health of the Columbia River must become an explicit purpose and priority in a new, modernized Treaty,” said Joseph Bogaard of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, who chairs the Columbia River Treaty NGO Caucus. “The Columbia Basin is out of balance today. A modernized Treaty must become a tool for restoring balance. Salmon advocates have serious concerns with this Agreement in Principle. In its current form, it means continued risk and uncertainty for this historic river, its native fish populations and the many benefits they bring to our communities.”

“U.S. Treaty governance must expand to include Indigenous expertise and with a committed federal steward of the Columbia River’s health under a renewed Treaty in order to deliver healthier river conditions for both people and salmon. We’ll continue working hard to ensure these kinds of changes are made.”

Many Columbia River tribes have long called for Ecosystem Function, i.e. the health of the river and native fish, to be added as a new, third Treaty purpose, joining power production and flood management. Increasingly, hot reservoir waters kill imperiled fish and support toxic algae blooms — with worse to come as our planet continues to warm.

“Northwest people and salmon need a modern Treaty that is a strong asset for, not an impediment to, a healthier and more resilient Columbia River,” said Bill Arthur of the Sierra Club. “Support for including Ecosystem Function as a new pillar to the treaty was included in the Regional Recommendation, and broadly supported by the public. It is hugely disappointing that it is absent from the Agreement in Principle. The agreement focuses on revenue for BPA and customers while the salmon and Columbia River are left with a status quo that was already inadequate."

“We are optimistic that this Agreement in Principle for a modern Treaty brings more balance to the power system relationship between the US and Canada. It is long overdue and the savings should be used to help the Northwest meet our climate, clean energy and salmon recovery goals”, said Nancy Hirsh, executive director of NW Energy Coalition. “The Agreement raises many questions about transmission and power management and the details to come will be critical to get right.”

“People of faith and conscience across our region strongly support the addition of Ecosystem Function as a co-equal purpose for the revised Columbia River Treaty,” said Rev. AC Churchill of Earth Ministry and Washington Interfaith Power and Light. “A properly revised treaty must carve a new path that prioritizes the health of the river, all surrounding life and Indigenous wisdom. This new path would, at last, codify that the river is more than a power source, but is life itself.”

“We are disappointed that the Agreement in Principle fails to provide more water for salmon, despite scientists recommending higher streamflows for migratory fish in the river,” said Neil Brandt, executive director of WaterWatch of Oregon. “Salmon have suffered tremendous losses through the industrialization of the Columbia Basin’s rivers, in part, as a result of this Treaty. A modernized Treaty must do better for salmon in terms of streamflows in the Columbia and Kootenai rivers, and in terms of operations of the dams encompassed by the Treaty.”

For 60 years, Treaty dams and reservoirs, and the wider dam operations they made possible, have damaged and destroyed the homes, cultures and foods of the Columbia Basin’s Indigenous people. Basin Tribes were not consulted in the initial 1964 agreement, though the Treaty’s heaviest costs were imposed upon them. Our Caucus supports the Tribes’ request that the U.S. add Ecosystem Function to the Treaty’s purposes and a formal Tribal role in Treaty implementation.

“The U.S. government recognizes that Northwest Tribes continue to be significantly impacted by the construction and operation of federal dams in the Columbia River Basin,” said Bogaard. “We ask the government to match its words with deeds as negotiations move forward with Canada. For the U.S., the structure of Treaty governance is a domestic decision requiring no negotiation with Canada. The Biden administration could make the change tomorrow if it chose to do so.”

The Agreement in Principle makes it clear that Treaty operations for flood management in the Columbia will soon change. “Such changes, if done without careful attention to the health of the river, and without full partnership of residents and communities, could upend vital salmon flows, perpetuate harms to Tribal and non-tribal communities, and limit our region’s options to address warming waters,” said Bogaard.

“We ask Congress and the Army Corps of Engineers to immediately fund and undertake the analysis of flood management changes the U.S. government committed to more than a decade ago. We also ask the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct intensive, regular engagement on flood operations, beginning now, with affected communities, tribes and citizens.”

As the Agreement in Principle evolves into a modernized Columbia River Treaty over the next year, Northwest people must remain fully and consistently engaged. Similarly, their views and concerns must be carefully considered. “Ten years ago, thousands of Northwest citizens urged the federal government to make the health of the river a Treaty purpose and do long-delayed justice to Columbia Basin tribes,” said Dr. John Osborn of One River, Ethics Matter (OREM).

“In 2023, the vast majority of speakers at three public listening sessions again asked that ecosystem function become a third Treaty purpose, and Treaty governance expand to support both justice and the Columbia’s health. Throughout the final talks now beginning, Northwest residents need to hear from and be listened to regularly by U.S. negotiators.”

The Columbia River Treaty Non-Governmental Organization Caucus was created in 2012. Members include the Center for Law and Policy, Earth Ministry and Washington Interfaith Power and Light, League of Women Voters of Washington, National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Northwest Energy Coalition, One River Ethics Matter (OREM), Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Sierra Club, and WaterWatch of Oregon. More at https://columbiarivertreaty.org.

Media Contacts:

Joseph Bogaard
Save Our wild Salmon Coalition
joseph@wildsalmon.org
(206) 300-1003

Bill Arthur
Sierra Club
billwarthur@gmail.com
(206) 954-9826

Rev. AC Churchill
Earth Ministry / WAIPL
ac@earthministry.org
(360) 207-5780

John DeVoe
WaterWatch of Oregon
john@waterwatch.org
(971) 322-5635

# # #

Executive Order Adds Timely Momentum to Restoration Efforts in the Columbia River Basin

SEATTLE— Today, the Columbia Snake River Campaign commends Washington Governor Jay Inslee for issuing an Executive Order that reaffirms the state’s commitment to restoring wild salmon, steelhead, and other native fish populations in the Columbia River Basin. The Executive Order aligns with the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI) and the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA), as well as the Presidential Memorandum issued last year to prioritize concrete steps to restore abundant salmon populations across the Columbia River Basin and uphold commitments to Northwest Tribes.

The Campaign also recognizes the support of Governor-Elect Bob Ferguson, who has pledged to continue this critical work. Both leaders exemplify bold governance in ensuring the future abundance of endangered fish populations, protecting Tribal Treaty rights, and building a clean, affordable, and resilient energy future for the Pacific Northwest.

“This Executive Order represents Gov. Inslee’s unwavering commitment to restoring our iconic salmon runs while modernizing the infrastructure of the Columbia and Snake Rivers,” said Kayeloni Scott, Executive Director of the Columbia Snake River Campaign. “This is a commitment to good governance—keeping promises made to Tribes, to the people of Washington, and to future generations. The Columbia Snake River Campaign will support this Executive Order and Governor-Elect Ferguson by working to ensure that state agencies, partners, and stakeholders turn these commitments into real, measurable actions that meet the needs of salmon within the critical time frame remaining.”

“Salmon, orca and fishing advocates deeply appreciate Governor Inslee's leadership, commitment, and resolve to recover salmon, uphold our nation’s promises to Tribal Nations, and work collaboratively for a healthier, more resilient Columbia-Snake River Basin. Wild salmon and steelhead are essential to our state’s cultures, economy, and ecosystems. Washington State’s continued strong partnership with the Six Sovereigns and prioritizing additional opportunities to implement the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative is essential to our region's health and future," said Joseph Bogaard, Executive Director, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition.

The Columbia Snake River Campaign strongly supports Gov. Inslee’s call for transparency and collaboration among state, federal, and Tribal partners to fulfill the commitments outlined in the CBRI and RCBA. The Campaign is committed to working alongside Tribes, conservationists, and local communities to restore the river system and hold decision-makers accountable for taking meaningful, timely actions.

Background
The CBRI and the RCBA are collaborative initiatives among state, federal, and Tribal leaders designed to restore the ecosystem of the Columbia Basin. Governor Inslee’s Executive Order directs Washington state agencies to work transparently and cooperatively to fulfill the state’s commitments to these initiatives and ensure accountability in the process.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 30, 2024

Columbia Snake River Campaign Praises Governor Kotek’s Bold Leadership on Salmon Recovery

Executive Order Adds Timely Momentum to Restoration Efforts in the Columbia River Basin

PORTLAND OR — Today, the Columbia Snake River Campaign commends Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek for issuing an Executive Order that reaffirms Oregon’s commitment to restoring wild salmon and steelhead and other native fish populations in the Columbia River Basin. Executive order 24-28 aligns with the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI)and the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA), as well as the Presidential Memorandum issued last year to prioritize concrete steps to restore abundant salmon populations across the Columbia River Basin and keep its commitments to Northwest Tribes. The Campaign praises Governor Kotek for her leadership in recognizing Oregon’s responsibility to ensure the future abundance of endangered fish populations and uphold Tribal Treaty rights through comprehensive basin-wide restoration that also ensures a clean, affordable and resilient energy future for the region.

“This Executive Order represents Gov. Kotek’s commitment to restoring our iconic salmon runs while recognizing the opportunity to modernize and enhance the services currently provided by the rivers. This action is a commitment to good governance—keeping promises made to Tribes, to the people of Oregon and to future generations,” said Kayeloni Scott, Executive Director of the Columbia Snake River Campaign “The Columbia Snake River Campaign will support this Executive Order by working to ensure that all parties, from state agencies to federal partners, are held accountable for turning these commitments into real, measurable actions that consider the needs of salmon and the relatively small window of time remaining.”

Liz Hamilton, Policy Director of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association (NSIA), emphasized the importance of accountability in restoring salmon runs: “Governor Kotek’s leadership sends a clear message that promises made to protect and restore wild salmon cannot be delayed any longer. Oregon, working alongside other sovereigns with the Biden administration and other partners, must do everything within its power to take urgent action to restore salmon. We need to hold everyone involved accountable for their promises to restore the river, from federal agencies to regional stakeholders.

Nancy Hirsh, Executive Director of the NW Energy Coalition, commends the governor’s Executive Order for including clean, resilient and affordable energy as one of the goals tied to Columbia Basin restoration: “As we investigate how to feasibly replace the services of the lower Snake River dams, we have an opportunity to not only save salmon and meet Tribal treaty obligations, but to also modernize our energy infrastructure in ways that benefit everyone across the region, with federal support and without utility customers or river users bearing the burden.”

The Columbia Snake River Campaign strongly supports Gov. Kotek’s call for transparency and collaboration across state, federal, and Tribal partners to ensure that the commitments made in the CBRI and RCBA are fulfilled. The Campaign is committed to working alongside Tribes, conservationists, and local communities to restore the river system and hold decision-makers accountable for taking meaningful, timely actions, including dam removal.

Background

The CBRI and the RCBA are collaborative efforts among state, federal, and Tribal leaders to restore the ecosystem of the Columbia Basin. Governor Kotek’s Executive Order directs Oregon state agencies to work transparently and cooperatively to fulfill Oregon’s commitments to these initiatives and to ensure accountability in the process.

For more information, please contact:
Columbia Snake River Campaign
Michael Charles
Email: info@columbiasnakeriver.com
www.columbiasnakeriver.com  
The Columbia Snake River Campaign advocates for the removal of the four lower Snake River dams to restore endangered wild salmon and steelhead populations.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 30, 2024

Comprehensive Water Study Charts Path to Lower Snake River Restoration, Salmon Recovery, and Agricultural Resilience

Potential Solutions Show a Future Where Salmon, Farms, and Communities Thrive Together

A groundbreaking draft report from the Bureau of Reclamation and Washington Department of Ecology lays out the most comprehensive and inclusive plan yet for addressing the water needs of farmers, communities, and ecosystems along the Lower Snake River. The report prioritizes Tribal treaty rights and interests, providing clear evidence that a free-flowing Lower Snake River is compatible with the region's agricultural and municipal water demands.

This study tackles long-standing questions about what would happen to water use if the four Lower Snake River dams were removed to restore endangered salmon, honor treaty obligations, and heal ecosystems. It makes clear that with the right investments, water users can adapt to a restored river while ensuring salmon populations have a chance to recover from the brink of extinction.

“This study is a milestone for the Pacific Northwest,” said Kayeloni Scott, Executive Director of the Columbia Snake River Campaign. “It’s an acknowledgment of the harm caused by the Lower Snake River dams to Tribes and their treaty-protected rights, while also showing how we can restore salmon, irrigate crops, and support thriving communities. The solutions outlined here prove it’s not a choice between fish and farms but rather an opportunity to have both.”

Key Findings

• Honoring Treaty Rights: Restoring a free-flowing river upholds Tribal treaty rights, revitalizes salmon, and restores traditional fishing areas essential to Tribal cultures and livelihoods.
• Water availability: Sufficient water exists in a free-flowing Lower Snake River to meet all current agricultural, municipal, and industrial needs year-round, even under low-water scenarios.
• Economic contributions: Farms using Lower Snake River irrigation directly contribute nearly $637 million in gross revenue annually to the regional economy.
• Groundwater resilience: 90% of groundwater wells will remain operational after dam removal, with the remainder requiring deepening or replacement.

Practical Solutions

The report stands out for identifying practical solutions for replacing irrigation infrastructure and ensuring uninterrupted water access. Each option considered had to be technically feasible, able to be constructed and operational before dam breaching, to avoid environmental, cultural, social, and water availability fatal flaws, and to make economic sense. A range of options for different sections is described.

“This is the most comprehensive and inclusive set of solutions ever developed for water use on the Lower Snake River,” said Miles Johnson, Legal Director of Columbia Riverkeeper. “The Bureau of Reclamation and Department of Ecology deserve credit for listening to farmers to hear concerns and to understand their irrigation needs. That’s the best way to design solutions that are both practical and forward-looking. This is the kind of leadership we need to ensure a thriving agricultural economy alongside salmon recovery.”

Key solutions outlined in the report include:

• Pump stations and groundwater systems to deliver water efficiently.
• Localized storage reservoirs and selective surface diversions tailored to specific needs.
• For each section of the river, there are different alternatives described. For Lower Granite there are three, for Little Goose one, for Lower Monumental there are three, for Ice Harbor, where most of the irrigated farms are located, there are four options.

Salmon Recovery and Water Security

The report confirms that, even in low-water years, the Lower Snake River will have sufficient water to meet agricultural, municipal, and industrial needs. With smart investments, irrigation infrastructure can be adapted to ensure continued agricultural productivity while restoring salmon and steelhead populations.

“Snake River salmon are at the edge of extinction, and this report highlights a clear path to turn things around,” said Liz Hamilton, Policy Director of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association. “As someone who has seen the economic and ecological benefits of restored rivers firsthand, I know the potential here is enormous. This is our chance to not only save salmon but also rejuvenate the fishing industry while ensuring farms and communities remain strong and sustainable.”

Economic and Cultural Importance

The report underscores the vital contributions of the Lower Snake River, where agriculture, municipal, and industrial water uses combined generate just under $680 million annually in gross value for the regional economy. The net value of irrigated crops dependent on the reservoirs is estimated at $21.8 million per year. Including indirect contributions, such as related industries and tax revenues, the total economic impact approaches $1 billion annually.

The study estimates that replacing irrigation infrastructure will require $2 billion to $4 billion in upfront investments. While substantial, this cost is contextualized by the over $500 million spent annually on salmon recovery across the Pacific Northwest—efforts that have yet to bring wild salmon populations back from the brink. Since the 1980s, more than $24 billion has been spent on hatchery programs, fish passage systems, and habitat restoration with limited success. The report also highlights the incalculable value of salmon recovery for Tribal cultures, ecosystems, and the region’s fishing economy.

“Salmon recovery is not just about fish—it’s about fulfilling treaty obligations, supporting fishing communities, and restoring ecosystems,” said Sarah Dyrdahl, Northwest Region Director at American Rivers. “This study shows we don’t have to choose between salmon recovery and our current water use. With plenty of water and actionable solutions, it’s time to move forward.”

A Call to Action

“This report is a blueprint for action,” Columbia Snake River Campaign Executive Director Kayeloni Scott concluded. “This study is another step in the right direction toward honoring Tribal rights and saving salmon from extinction, while still supporting the farmers and communities that contribute to a thriving Pacific Northwest. The cost of doing nothing is too high—it’s time to act.”

The public is invited to review and comment on the draft report through March 1, 2025. Comments can be submitted via webform, email, or regular mail.

Contact Information
Media Contact:
Michael Charles
Columbia Snake River Campaign
Email: info@columbiasnakeriver.com
Phone: (206) 390-5656

About the Columbia Snake River Campaign
The Columbia Snake River Campaign is a Tribal-led initiative dedicated to restoring salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia and Snake River Basins. By advocating for sustainable solutions that balance the needs of ecosystems, farming communities, and fishing industries, the campaign works to create a thriving future for the Pacific Northwest.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2024

RAFT's Claims Are Misleading: Time to Move Forward with Modern Solutions for Salmon and the Pacific Northwest

The Columbia Snake River Campaign (CSRC) today issued a strong rebuttal to recent statements by an industry-backed group called Regional Alliance for Transparency (RAFT), which criticized the federal government’s decision to pursue a new Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) on the Columbia and lower Snake River dams. CSRC firmly supports the development of a new SEIS to redress a flawed and now outdated 2020 EIS for the hydropower system that is dooming salmon to extinction.

The federal government committed to additional environmental analysis in the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA), signed in December 2023 by federal agencies, the states of Oregon and Washington, four lower Columbia River Tribes, and plaintiffs in decades-long litigation aimed at protecting and rebuilding Columbia Basin salmon.

RAFT and its members, which include various industry groups such as Northwest River Partners, Northwest Waterways Association, Washington Public Utility Districts Association, among others, continue to misinform and mislead the public about the environmental and economic dangers of maintaining the lower Snake River dams – at the expense of salmon and all Northwest communities whose lives and livelihoods depend on them. Their campaign, as reported in the Seattle Times, has repeatedly misconstrued fish returns to make it seem like fish are doing better than they actually are and dismissed or downplayed the well-documented negative environmental and economic impacts of the dams both historically and currently.

“Preparing this SEIS is not just a legal requirement—it’s an ethical obligation,” said Kayeloni Scott, Executive Director of the Columbia Snake River Campaign. “This process provides an opportunity to correct past injustices against Tribal Nations, restore our wild salmon, and transition the region towards a resilient and modern energy future. Any efforts to discredit this vital work are an affront to the communities, ecosystems, and economies that need bold action and collaboration to restore salmon.”

The SEIS will build on new scientific findings and changing circumstances that were not addressed in the 2020 EIS, ensuring decisions are grounded in the best available data. Contrary to RAFT’s claims, the SEIS is neither redundant nor unlawful. It is a legally-mandated and necessary step forward in addressing the intertwined challenges of salmon recovery, energy resilience, and Tribal justice.

1. Misrepresenting Salmon Recovery:

Wild salmon and steelhead runs have been in precipitous decline, with 37% of Snake River Spring/Summer Chinook populations and 19% of Snake River steelhead populations below critical quasi-extinction thresholds, according to a Nez Perce fisheries study updated in 2024. RAFT’s focus on total salmon returns is patently misleading and in no way represents the threat of extinction to wild salmon and steelhead populations. Average total returns of salmon and steelhead, which include both hatchery-raised and wild fish, have been stagnant for decades and are far below regionally-set abundance goals. Wild Snake River fish populations have not significantly increased since the species were listed in the 1990’s.

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has emphasized that hatchery fish can skew population assessments and undermine wild salmon recovery efforts.
• The Fish Passage Center data shows that wild salmon populations, particularly in the Snake River Basin, remain far below recovery goals. This is a stark reminder that “total returns” do not equate to a healthy, sustainable ecosystem.
• NOAA Fisheries’ Columbia Basin Partnership Task Force has established recovery goals for smolt-to-adult returns (SARs) of 2–6%, but SARs in the Snake River are consistently below 1% (NOAA Fisheries, 2022).
• The Northwest Power and Conservation Council has stated that "current approaches will not achieve recovery goals for Snake River salmon and steelhead" (Northwest Power and Conservation Council, 2023).

2. Supplemental Environmental Impact Study Authority:

It is not only completely within the authority of the agencies to prepare an SEIS (supplemental environmental impact statement), the agencies are legally obligated to do so when there is “new information or circumstances relevant to environmental concerns and bearing on the proposed action.” (23 CFR § 771.130). There is substantial new information and circumstances that need to be considered as part of a supplemental EIS, including DOI’s recent Tribal Circumstances Analysis, NOAA’s 2022 Rebuilding Report, and the operational changes and studies ongoing under the CBRI/RCBA. Failing to update the EIS in light of this information would mean leaving in place the significantly flawed 2020 EIS, which has already been challenged as unlawful by several conservation and fishing groups, the state of Oregon, and the Nez Perce Tribe.

3. Dismissing Tribal Justice:

RAFT completely ignores the U.S. government’s obligations to Tribal Nations whose treaty rights have been undermined by the dams. The Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement commits federal agencies to addressing these historic injustices—a commitment the SEIS process directly supports.

• The U.S. Department of the Interior's 2024 report on the "Historic and Ongoing Impacts of Federal Dams on Columbia Basin Tribes" outlines significant harm caused to Tribal communities (DOI, 2024).
• Tribal treaty rights require the federal government to restore salmon populations, as established in landmark cases like United States v. Winans (1905).

4. Inflating the Role of the lower Snake River dams:

Hydropower from the lower Snake River dams represents just 2.8% of the region’s energy generation. Generation from the dams has declined for years as climate change and drought deplete them of water, especially in summer when the region needs energy most. The dams themselves are antiquated – nearly 40% of their power components were rated as “Poor” or “Marginal” in condition, as of July 2023.

• A 2022 Northwest Energy Coalition report found that replacing the power generated by the lower Snake River dams with clean energy sources is feasible and cost-effective (NW Energy Coalition, 2022).
• The same study found that portfolios of new renewable resources would actually provide greater regional value than the LSRD, as new resources could provide more energy when the region needs it most – winter and summer.
• The lower Snake River dams are far from “cheap power” - they’re nearly twice as expensive ($36.69 per megawatt hour) as the other major dams on the Columbia River ($21.25 per megawatt hour). (BPA, 2024)

5. Blaming the Ocean:

While marine conditions like rising sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are a challenge, RAFT fails to acknowledge that healthy, free-flowing rivers are what give salmon the resilience to adapt to changing conditions. The lower Snake River dams represent a critical choke point that must be addressed to allow recovery to proceed.

• Peer-reviewed studies show that free-flowing river systems significantly improve salmon survival rates, even under challenging ocean conditions (Keefer et al., 2018).
• The Snake River sockeye remains one of the most endangered salmon populations in the world, with NOAA Fisheries identifying the lower Snake River dams as a primary threat (NOAA Fisheries, 2023).
• The hot, stagnant water in the lower Snake River dam reservoirs is proving lethal to salmon and steelhead, as well as contributing to large toxic algal blooms that are health and safety hazards for humans, pets, salmon, and the environment. Fish populations cannot recover from marine conditions in a contaminated river.

A Vision for the Future

The SEIS process provides an opportunity to move the Pacific Northwest away from outdated technologies and toward a sustainable, equitable future.

“We’re not just talking about removing dams—we’re talking about building the infrastructure of tomorrow,” said Scott. “Modernizing our energy grid, investing in renewable energy, and restoring salmon runs go hand in hand with creating a vibrant economy that serves all communities and supports a healthier ecosystem.”

The Truth About RAFT

While the RAFT coalition claims transparency, it is backed by industry groups invested in preserving a hydroelectric system on the lower Snake River at a rapidly escalating expense to the Northwest region’s environmental, economic and energy security in addition to salmon recovery, Tribal justice and the region’s long-term economic future.

“RAFT’s claims are nothing more than hot air,” said Scott. “Their so-called transparency hides an agenda to cling to failing technologies, ignoring science, and perpetuating environmental and cultural harm.”

Standing with the Northwest

The Columbia Snake River Campaign remains steadfast in its commitment to the region’s communities, ecosystems, and future generations.

“We invite all stakeholders—Tribal leaders, conservationists, farmers, and energy experts—to join us in advancing solutions that work for everyone,” said Scott. “Let’s stop clinging to the past and start building a future we can all be proud of.”

Media Contact
Michael Charles
Communications Director
Columbia Snake River Campaign
Email: info@columbiasnakeriver.com
Phone: (206) 390-5656

About the Columbia Snake River Campaign
The Columbia Snake River Campaign is a Tribal-led initiative advocating for the restoration of salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia and Snake River Basins through sustainable, science-driven solutions.

February 2017

The three Northwest Dam Agencies – Bonneville Power Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recently completed the first phase – Public Scoping and Official Comment Period - of a court-ordered NEPA EIS Analysis. On May 4, 2016, United States District Court in Portland rejected the federal government’s 2014 Salmon Plan for the Columbia/Snake River Basin based on violations of the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. This was the fifth federal salmon plan for the Columbia/Snake Rivers to be rejected now by three judges across twenty years.

Following on his May ruling, presiding judge Michael Simon ordered NOAA-Fisheries in July to produce a new, legally-valid and science-based Salmon Plan (or Biological Opinion) by December 2018. He also ordered the Northwest dam “Action Agencies” to complete a full, fair, and comprehensive NEPA Review and produce an Environmental Impact Statement that updates critical information and considers all reasonable salmon restoration measures, including the removal of the lower Snake River dams – an option that the agencies have steadfastly avoided even analyzing for two decades.

-- Find more information on the May 2016 Simon Ruling here. --

The Public Scoping and Comment Period closed on February 7, 2017 but only after significant numbers of citizen comments, detailed policy comments and scores of media stories in print, radio, television and online. Read on for highlights from the Public Comment Period and links to further information.

-- See a listing of and links to the media coverage about the Fall 2016-Winter 2017 NEPA Review Public Scoping and Comment Period here. --

Despite efforts by the “Action Agencies" to bury this important public comment process amidst a chaotic election cycle and the year-end holidays, conservation and fishing advocates did an excellent job generating media coverage, contacting elected officials, and organizing comment and turnout at more than a dozen public meetings. More than 2,000 citizen advocates turned out for rallies to free the Snake and to attend the agencies’ public meetings. And the press paid attention – more than 50 stories and opinion pieces appeared last fall and early winter in print, online and on television and radio and included salmon, orca, fishing, and river advocates' perspectives. There were numerous citizen and community leader meetings with state and federal elected officials. Close to 400,000 people in the Northwest and nation submitted their official public comments expressing support for the restoration of a freely-flowing lower Snake River as a critical part of any legally valid salmon protection plan in the Columbia Basin.

-- View photos from the public meetings (and the 2016 Free the Snake Flotilla) across the region here. --

In addition to citizen comment, scores of entities in the region also submitted detailed public comment – delivering recommendations to the Action Agencies about issues of critical concern as they begin what must be a full, fair, comprehensive and transparent NEPA Review and consideration of all salmon restoration alternatives, including the removal of the four high-cost, low-value lower Snake River dams. Below find a select list of comments from federal agencies, Tribes, States, utilities and NGOs asking the Action Agencies to, among other things, carefully, thoroughly and fairly consider the costs, benefits, opportunities and tradeoffs associated with the removal of the four federal dams on the lower Snake River.

State of Oregon

State of Washington

Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission

Nez Perce Tribe

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

City of Lewiston, Idaho

Pacific Fisheries Management Council

Seattle City Light

National Wildlife Federation

Save Our wild Salmon Coalition/Earthjustice

Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association

Coastal Trollers Association

NW Energy Coalition / Idaho Conservation League

Natural Resource Defense Council

Sierra Club

Orca-Salmon Alliance

Natural Resource Economics

Washington, DC — Today, Congressman Doc Hastings (R-WA) held another hearing in the House Natural Resources Committee on the Endangered Species Act (ESA); similar to a hearing last winter, today’s focused on the role of litigation. Fishermen, conservationists, clean energy advocates, and salmon groups have been fighting in court since 2001 to convince the federal government to issue a legal and scientifically-sound biological opinion for endangered salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

Salmon advocates have been left with little choice but to litigate the government’s plan for Columbia-Snake Basin salmon and steelhead because that plan is deeply flawed, and has been ruled illegal for failing to comply with the ESA no less than four times. Part of the litigation has included asking the court for interim measures to help salmon. One of those measures, increased spill, is directly responsible for boosting salmon returns over the past four years, which translates into more fishing jobs throughout the Pacific Northwest and more dollars earned across our region. Spill means more salmon in the Northwest’s rivers and more jobs in the Northwest’s communities, but it only exists because of the litigation. Federal agencies would never have provided this vitally important salmon protection measure on their own, and in fact opposed its implementation for years.

Says Sam Mace, Inland NW Director for Save Our wild Salmon, "Chairman Hastings' suggestion that litigation is all cost and no benefit is just plain wrong. And he doesn't have to look further than his own district to see that. The Court-ordered spill that fishermen, conservationists, and others won in litigation over Columbia and Snake River salmon has returned more fish per dollar than any action the government has taken to date.  We wouldn't be seeing those fish -- and the economic shot in the arm they provide -- without court action to enforce our laws."

Dan Rohlf, a law professor from Lewis & Clark College who testified at the hearing, addressed the economic benefits associated with saving salmon under the Endangered Species Act. As an example, he cited a study showing that more than $900 enters the Northwest economy for every spring chinook salmon caught and kept on the Columbia River.

“When it comes to wild salmon, protecting and implementing the Endangered Species Act is about more than saving fish; it's about saving jobs and livelihoods in our communities as well. Literally thousands of businesses and tens of thousands of jobs are supported by salmon and steelhead in the West,” said Jeff Hickman, owner of Fish the Swing Guiding Service from Eagle Creek, Oregon. Hickman joined 20 other Northwest business leaders in sending a letter to Congressman Hastings last December in support of the ESA, jobs, and salmon.

Federal agencies’ failure to comply fully with the ESA on the Columbia and Snake River hydrosystem limits opportunities for the commercial, recreational, and tribal fishing economy, and the manufacturers and retailers of outdoor equipment - affecting river and coastal communities across the West. In addition, the government’s failure to comply with the law and protect salmon and steelhead in the Columbia-Snake hydrosystem is standing in the way of new opportunities to create jobs for renewable energy sources like wind.  

“The benefits of the ESA for our region’s economy and its ecology are all the more reason to take a new approach to salmon restoration in the Pacific Northwest.  We need a collaborative process where all parties can come together to build a solution for the future,” continued Hickman.  Fifty-two members of Congress(both Republicans and Democrats), Senators Crapo (R-ID) and Risch (R-ID), nearly 1,200 American businesses, and seven of the nation’s largest conservation organizations all support a “solutions table” to resolve the issues facing Columbia Basin salmon.

Salmon projections still not meeting recovery levels

Portland, OR—This week, Oregon and Washington Departments of Fish and Wildlife released projection estimates for spring returns of adult salmon. The numbers, certain to be adjusted as the fish start returning, indicate the potential for a stronger return in the Columbia and Snake Rivers than was seen in 2011. Scientists and fish biologists attribute these returns to ocean conditions, as well as due to in-river conditions including increases in court-ordered spill at the federal dams to support fish migration.  

Projections are a valuable tool in setting fisheries policies, but they are only estimates and are subject to frequent adjustment. In 2009 and 2010, actual fish returns were significantly lower than projections indicated.

Former Oregon Chief of Fisheries Doug DeHart said, “It’s premature to be making grand claims about this year’s returns until we see the actual numbers, but these projections suggest good news for the numerous industries dependent on healthy salmon runs. I believe we would not be seeing these levels of returns on the Columbia and Snake Rivers without recent in-river improvements including the court-ordered spill.”

A U.S. District Court has required increases in spill at the federal dams to support salmon restoration for the last seven years, due to legal efforts by fishermen and salmon advocates to see wild fish populations restored.  

Continued DeHart, “The numbers are still nowhere near where we need them to be for wild fish populations to be fully restored to sustainable levels, but the projections are good news that changes in the hydrosystem can make a big impact on fish returns. We should continue to explore areas to make improvements for salmon so that we can have good returns every year.”

Salmon Suffer Little Harm from High Gas Levels

Portland, OR – In a new report released today, salmon advocates present biological data showing that Columbia and Snake River salmon populations were largely unharmed by this spring’s unusually high water and dissolved gas levels. The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) used “protecting salmon” as its rationale for repeated shut-offs of Northwest wind power projects’ access to the power grid over nearly two months.  The report concludes BPA’s policy did little to nothing to protect salmon.

The report, issued by the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, summarizes the real-time biological monitoring of ocean-bound salmon that occurred this spring and summer.  That monitoring detected extremely small negative effects of high gas levels and spill on salmon.

According to Nicole Cordan, SOS’ Legal and Policy Director, “We suspected it was inaccurate for BPA to use salmon as its scapegoat to shut off wind power this year. Now the actual biological data confirms that we were right and that the great majority of migrating salmon did okay despite the large amount of spill over the dams."

In conditions of high flows, dams can cause a condition called gas bubble trauma in migrating salmon when large volumes of water spill over them.  But less than one-tenth of one percent of salmon examined this spring and summer at the federal dams exhibited symptoms of severe gas bubble trauma and only slightly more than one percent of salmon showed any signs of trauma at all.

Says SOS policy analyst Rhett Lawrence, “Our report recommends that in the future, BPA and river managers use the daily biological monitoring to guide case-by-case response at specific dams where problems arise, rather than institute a blanket policy that runs the danger of fixing a problem that mostly doesn’t exist.”

The report has three major findings: 1) that BPA’s policy did not appreciably help salmon; 2) that Oregon’s total dissolved gas standard is better for salmon than the Washington standard BPA currently uses; and 3) that migrating salmon benefitted from high flows and increased spill while suffering little harm from increased gas levels.

Download the full report.

Please see the Dec. 5 statement from Gov. Inslee explaining his opposition to HR 3144, a bill introduced by Rep. McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) earlier this year that would, if it were to become law, reverse several recent court decisions, undermine the Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act, and harm endangered wild salmon and steelhead populations by rolling back increased spill over the federal dams on the lower Snake and Columbia Rivers, ordered by federal court in May 2017.

Salmon and orca advocates in Washington State and across the Pacific Northwest appreciate that Governor Inslee has issued this strong statement and clearly communicated why he believes passage of HR 3144 into law would deliver a terrible blow to salmon and orca populations and fishing communities, and derail current efforts in the region to protect and restore healthy, abundant populations of wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

Link to the bill language – HR 3144:
http://www.wildsalmon.org/images/factsheets-and-reports/2017-MMR-bill-HR3144.pdf

Link to a HR 3144 factsheet from Earthjustice/Save Our wild Salmon describing the bill and its impact on salmon, ESA, NEPA, and recent court decisions:
http://www.wildsalmon.org/images/factsheets-and-reports/2017-HR3144-SOS-EJ-Factsheet-FINAL.pdf

Guest opinion opposing HR 3144 from the Spokesman Review (8.11.2017):
http://www.wildsalmon.org/news-and-media/opinion/spokesman-review-guest-opinion-bill-would-rubber-stamp-salmon-failure.html

Editorial opposing HR 3144 from the Register Guard (Eugene, 7.13.2017):
http://www.wildsalmon.org/news-and-media/opinion/eugene-register-guard-editorial-a-damming-proposal-congressional-bill-is-not-a-good-option.html

If you have questions, please contact:
Sam Mace, SOS, 509-863-5696 (Spokane)
Joseph Bogaard, SOS, 206-300-1003 (Seattle)

Interior Department analysis is part of broader effort to support Tribally led efforts to restore salmon populations in the Columbia River Basin

06/18/2024
Last edited 06/18/2024
Date: Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Contact: Interior_Press@ios.doi.gov

WASHINGTON — As part of the Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented agreement to restore wild salmon in the Columbia River Basin, the Department of the Interior today released a report documenting the historic, ongoing and cumulative impacts of federal Columbia River dams on Columbia River Basin Tribes. The report also provides recommendations for how the federal government can further its treaty and trust responsibilities to Tribes by acknowledging and integrating these impacts in future actions. It marks the first time that the U.S. government has comprehensively detailed the harms that federal dams have and continue to inflict on Tribes in the Pacific Northwest.

Today’s report – which fulfills a commitment made by the Department as part of stayed litigation in National Wildlife Federation v. National Marine Fisheries Service, 3:01-cv-640-SI (D. Or.) – is part of a broader effort from the Biden-Harris administration to support Tribally led efforts to restore healthy and abundant populations of salmon and other native fish in the Columbia River Basin. In September 2023, President Biden issued a presidential memorandum to advance these efforts, and the Administration announced an agreement to restore salmon populations in the Upper Basin. In December 2023, the Administration also announcedan historic agreement to restore salmon populations in the Lower Basin, expand Tribally sponsored clean energy production, and provide stability for communities that depend on the Columbia River System for agriculture, energy, recreation and transportation.

“Since time immemorial, Tribes along the Columbia River and its tributaries have relied on Pacific salmon, steelhead and other native fish species for sustenance and their cultural and spiritual ways of life. Acknowledging the devastating impact of federal hydropower dams on Tribal communities is essential to our efforts to heal and ensure that salmon are restored to their ancestral waters,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “As part of our ongoing commitment to honoring our federal commitments to Tribal Nations, the Interior Department will continue to pursue comprehensive and collaborative basin-wide solutions to restore native fish populations, empower Tribes, and meet the many resilience needs of communities across the region.”

The Columbia River Basin historically supported abundant wild salmon, steelhead and native resident fish, which contributed to thriving Tribal cultures and communities. Historically, up to 16 million wild salmon and steelhead returned to Pacific Northwest tributaries each year, providing food for over 130 wildlife species and sustenance to Tribal people. Since time immemorial, members of these Tribes and their ancestors stewarded these native species and relied upon their abundance as the staples of their daily diets and ceremony.

The construction of large multipurpose, hydroelectric dams throughout the Columbia River Basin beginning at the turn of the 20th century blocked anadromous fish from migrating into certain reaches of the Basin, flooded thousands of acres of land, sacred sites, and ancestral burial grounds, and transformed the ecosystem. As a result, many Tribal communities lost access to anadromous fish in their communities. The report outlines how these profound losses have had traumatic impacts on Tribal communities, including by altering traditional diets, depriving Tribal members of the ability to exercise traditional ways of life, and fundamentally changing how Tribal members teach and raise children in the cultural and spiritual beliefs that center around these fish.

Federal dams and reservoirs in the Columbia River Basin have impacted all of the Basin Tribes. Pursuant to commitments related to the litigation, the Department’s report considers the impacts of 11 specific dams from across the basin on eight of the basin’s Tribal Nations most immediately affected: Coeur D’Alene Tribe of Indians, The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribes, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation, and Spokane Tribe of Indians.

The report also offers several recommendations to further the federal government’s trust responsibility and achieve a healthy and resilient Columbia River Basin for generations to come. Recommendations to further these responsibilities include fully considering and integrating the unique inequities Tribes have suffered as a result of federal dam construction and operation into future National Environmental Policy Act reviews, as well as further pursuing co-stewardship and co-management agreements; continuing efforts to consolidate Tribal homelands; and incorporating Indigenous Knowledge into decision making.

###

DOI Press Release Link: Biden-Harris Administration Releases Report Highlighting Historic and Ongoing Negative Impacts of Federal Columbia River Dams on Tribal Communities

October 23, 2020

Media Contacts:
Maggie Caldwell, mcaldwell@earthjustice.org<;mailto:mcaldwell@earthjustice.org>;, (347) 527-6397
Brett VandenHeuvel, bv@columbiariverkeeper.org<;mailto:bv@columbiariverkeeper.org>;, (503)348-2436

Fishing, Conservation Groups Take Step to Renew Legal Challenge to Columbia-Snake Hydropower Operations
The long legal battle continues after latest federal plan fails to restore endangered salmon

Portland, OR – Today, Earthjustice on behalf of a coalition of fishing and conservation groups sent a 60-day notice of their intent to return to court to challenge the latest federal plan for hydropower operations on the Snake and Columbia Rivers.

This would be the sixth incarnation of a long legal fight focused on restoring endangered salmon and steelhead. The groups sending the notice have won the previous five challenges but theTrump administration continues to pursue essentially the same strategy courts have consistently rejected.

Earthjustice represents American Rivers, Idaho Rivers United, Institute for Fisheries Resources, NW Energy Coalition, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, Columbia Riverkeeper, and Idaho Conservation League.

In the notice, the fishing and conservation groups will also challenge recent Trump administration rollbacks to the Endangered Species Act regulations, changes that a coalition of states and conservation organizations have also challenged in separate cases. The latest federal plan for dam operations relies on these new weakened regulations to support its conclusions.

The following are statements from the lawyers and plaintiff groups:

“Hundreds of thousands of people in the region—including tribes, scientists, energy experts, and fishing businesses—told the agencies to remove the four dams that are causing the most harm to the fish and to our communities. But the Trump administration did not listen and rubber-stamped a plan that yet again fails to take the legally-required actions necessary to protect salmon and steelhead. So we have no choice but to begin the process of going back to court again. What we need more urgently than ever is for our senators and members of Congress to step forward and develop a comprehensive solution that will secure a future with abundant salmon, clean energy and prosperous communities.” —Todd True, Earthjustice attorney representing the groups.

“The oversight of the federal courts has been critical to ensure that our agencies and political leaders commit to salmon recovery in the Columbia Basin. Restoring the magnificent runs of salmon in the Columbia and Snake Rivers remains one of the National Wildlife Federation’s highest priorities.”—Tom France, Regional Executive Director, National Wildlife Federation

“Covid has proven that people in this region harbor a deep need to get outdoors and feel safe while doing so. We’ve seen more families out on the rivers sportfishing than ever before. When we go out and fish, we're expressing hope. If we lose the salmon, then we lose that hope. The federal plan is dangerous and does a grave disservice to the people who love to fish these rivers, and we could not let it go unchallenged.” —Liz Hamilton, Executive Director, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association.

“The once great, but now damaged, salmon runs of the Columbia Basin, originally the largest in the world, still support valuable ocean commercial salmon fisheries from central California to Southeast Alaska. Studies have shown that about 25,000 family wage jobs, and more than $500 million/year in economic benefits, could be restored to the west coast economy by recovering the Columbia’s damaged salmon runs. In short, restoring salmon means restoring jobs and dollars to our economy. The illegal Trump administration salmon plan, however, blatantly ignores those restoration benefits.”—Glen Spain, Northwest Regional Director, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA)

“The latest federal plan for dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers completely fails Idaho. It isn’t good enough for the many guides, outfitters, river businesses, and communities in Idaho that depend on healthy runs of fish. We want to restore wild salmon and steelhead in ecological and economically significant numbers. We want abundant, healthy and harvestable runs, meaningful populations that allow people to harvest wild fish and for wild fish to fulfill their role supporting wildlife and the ecology of Idaho.”—Justin Hayes, Executive Director, Idaho Conservation League

“We are returning to court because the Trump administration has failed Northwest salmon, tribes, fishing business, and orcas. Like past plans, this one will not recover abundant salmon runs or comply with the Endangered Species Act. While legal action is necessary to protect our iconic species from extinction, we desperately need Members of Congress from Oregon, Washington, and Idaho to get off the bench and secure an inclusive, regional solution.”
—Brett VandenHeuvel, Executive Director, Columbia Riverkeeper

“The failure of this federal plan to adequately address the rapid extirpation of salmon and steelhead in Idaho and the Snake River Basin cannot be overstated. Instead of proposing solutions that get us to an abundance of wild fish, this continues down the decades long path of failed recovery efforts. This plan fails Idaho, the angling and guiding communities, the Tribal treaty rights, and the ecological integrity of this system that depend upon healthy and increasing populations of what was once one of the greatest Chinook fisheries in the world.” —Nic Nelson, Executive Director, Idaho Rivers United

BACKGROUND:
The Columbia River Basin was once among the greatest salmon-producing river systems in the world. But all remaining salmon on its largest tributary, the Snake River, are facing extinction. Four aging dams in Washington—Ice Harbor, Little Goose, Lower Monumental, Lower Granite —block passage along the lower Snake River, a major migration corridor linking pristine cold-water streams in central Idaho to the mighty Columbia River and out to the Pacific Ocean. Scientists say restoring the lower Snake River by taking out the dams is the single best thing we can do to save the salmon.

Migrating through the dams is difficult for the fish, but rising water temperatures caused by the slackwater reservoirs make the passage increasingly deadly.

In 2015, some of the earliest and hottest weather on record produced warm river temperatures that killed more than 90% of all adult sockeye salmon returning to the Columbia Basin. In years since, state agencies have had to limit or cancel entire fishing seasons to protect the dwindling fish.

The district court in 2016 found the operations of the hydropower systems in violation of the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act and ordered the federal agencies to prepare a new biological opinion and environmental impact statement. The federal action agencies—the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Bonneville Power Administration—issued their Final Environmental Impact Statement for dam operations in July 2020, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a companion Biological Opinion that found the proposed plan would not jeopardize salmon, steelhead, or orcas.

On September 28, 2020, the action agencies issued a joint Record of Decision, opting to continue a course of action the court has previously found inadequate to comply with the Endangered Species Act.

Independent researchers who have studied the economics of restoring a free-flowing lower Snake River and renewable power replacement options favor dam removal.

For Immediate Release
Dec. 17, 2024  
Media Contacts:   
Amanda Goodin, Earthjustice, agoodin@earthjustice.org
Elizabeth Manning, Earthjustice, emanning@earthjustice.org, (907) 277-2555 

Federal Agencies Plan to Revise Flawed Environmental Study for Columbia Basin Hydropower Operations

Salmon advocates commend the move to revise the study as a critical next step in a comprehensive plan to restore the Columbia Basin’s native fisheries

SEATTLE, WA – Two federal agencies jointly announced plans today to update the flawed environmental study that currently underpins management of Columbia and Snake River dams. Revising this study should lead to changes in the Columbia Basin that would help prevent extinction and restore imperiled salmon and steelhead populations to healthy and harvestable abundance.

Earthjustice and the plaintiff groups it represents applauded the action as a critical next step in an agreement signed a year ago between the federal government, the states of Washington and Oregon, four lower Columbia Basin tribes and conservation, fishing and renewable energy groups represented by Earthjustice. That agreement is based on the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI), a comprehensive plan to restore the basin’s native fisheries that the federal government pledged to support through specific commitments. The CBRI was developed by four tribes and two states (the Six Sovereigns) as a durable guide for basin restoration and Northwest energy planning for many years into the future.

In a federal notice of intent posted online today that will be published in the Federal Register tomorrow, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation said that based on new information, they plan to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) that would update the 2020 Columbia River System Operations Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

“At least four Columbia and Snake River salmon and steelhead stocks have already gone extinct and 13 others – including all four remaining Snake River stocks – are listed under the Endangered Species Act. We must have a strong study and plan based on the best available science that will ensure restoration of imperiled native fish populations to healthy and harvestable levels,” said Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association Policy Director Liz Hamilton.“Revising this study is the logical next step toward meaningful change that complies with the law and the needs of the fish.”

“The 2020 EIS and Record of Decision continued the flawed and failed results of previous plans,” said Sierra Club’s Snake/Columbia River Salmon Campaign Director Bill Arthur. “We appreciate the decision to do a supplemental process to address these flaws and evaluate stronger measures in how we operate the hydropower system including breaching the lower Snake River dams. Extinction is not an option and that is the trajectory we are on without stronger actions.”

“It’s clearer than ever that we need a major course change, with new information showing many salmon populations in the basin hovering near extinction,” said Earthjustice Senior Attorney Amanda Goodin. “The information available now provides us with all we need to chart a successful path forward. We know we can avoid extinction and rebuild salmon and native fisheries to a healthy and harvestable abundance if we commit to the centerpiece actions they need, including breaching the four lower Snake River dams and replacing their services. We also know we have no time to lose.”

The current management plan, based on the flawed EIS, was challenged in court by plaintiff groups represented by Earthjustice, the state of Oregon and the Nez Perce tribe. That litigation is currently stayed while the parties work collaboratively on an updated fisheries restoration plan. The notice issued today is an important step in that direction.

Some of the new information that led agencies to conclude a new study was warranted includes a June 2024 report by the U.S. Department of Interior that comprehensively documented the ongoing harm to Northwest tribes from Columbia Basin dams as well as anticipated changes in the river system resulting from the modernization of the Columbia River Treaty. Other new information includes replacement planning for the transportation, water supply, energy and recreation services currently provided by the lower Snake River dams, the 2022 report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that detailed necessary actions to avoid extinction and restore healthy and abundant salmon throughout the Columbia Basin, and more.

A federal promise to re-examine the current environmental study that informs Columbia Basin dam operations was among the federal commitments tied to the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement, signed just over a year ago on Dec. 14, 2023.

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Earthjustice Press Release: Federal Agencies Plan to Revise Flawed Environmental Study for Columbia Basin Hydropower Operations

Salmon advocates recently requested a settlement judge be appointedby the Court to help improve the process of finding solutions to save endangered Columbia and Snake River salmon and steelhead. The federal agencies responded to the request today, stating that such a process is ”improper and should be denied” and that instead “now is the time to stay the course.”

The federal agencies appear to remain intransigent in their view that they will do no more than tweak a plan the courts have rejected in order to protect Columbia-Snake River salmon, despite the fact that the court said they should consider all options for saving salmon, and to sit down with others to craft a new, legally and scientifically sound plan.

“You’d have to believe in the tooth fairy to believe that the regional federal agencies are either truly consulting with all relevant parties in a meaningful way, or likely to develop a scientifically and legally responsible plan after failing miserably four times previously.  It’s time to drop the fantasy and put in place a real process that brings all the key stakeholders together to work in tandem with the Obama Administration and the agencies to forge a solution that will work for salmon, people and communities,“ stated Bill Arthur, National Field Director of the Sierra Club, in reaction to the federal response.   The court will consider the Plaintiffs’ request in the coming weeks.

For more information, contact Amy Baird, amy@wildsalmon.org - 503.230.0421 x13

July 11, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Federal agencies tout “mission accomplished” as Columbia-Snake salmon populations struggle; Revised federal salmon plan due later this year will require aggressive new measures, scientific support to pass legal muster.

CONTACT: Steve Mashuda, Earthjustice, 206-343-7430, ext. 1027

Joseph Bogaard, Save Our Wild Salmon, 206-300-1003 (cell)

On Wednesday, the agencies that operate the federal dams on the Columbia-Snake Rivers released a self-evaluation of their implementation so far of the 2008/2010 Biological Opinion (which was ruled illegal in 2011, but remains in place until a new plan is issued at the end of this year). This Comprehensive Evaluation by the Bonneville Power Administration, Army Corps of Engineers, and Bureau of Reclamation is one of several procedural steps toward the release of a new draft BiOp or federal salmon plan in August, with the final version due in December. The Evaluation presents a one-sided view of the agencies’ performance and progress over the past five years and fails to address the measures necessary to move salmon recovery forward.

A close look at the Evaluation reveals that threatened and endangered wild salmon and steelhead populations remain far from recovery. Despite its considerable expense – more than $600M annually - the 2008/2010 BiOp is failing to adequately protect or restore stocks that remain at risk of extinction. Notwithstanding the federal agencies’ positive packaging, their restoration efforts are failing to meet the life-cycle needs of the Northwest’s most iconic species. Most wild populations are at best treading water or at worse declining, despite being listed under the Endangered Species Act between 14 and 22 years ago.

The Obama Administration’s new biological opinion due at the end of this year must be significantly strengthened and supported by the science if it is to have any hope of passing legal muster and meeting the needs of salmon. As recent adult returns reflect, Columbia-Snake salmon and steelhead need substantially more help if they are to start approaching levels needed for recovery. The current illegal status quo is failing salmon, fishing jobs, and the Northwest.

In contrast to many of the vague statistics and hoped-for improvements discussed in the Evaluation, the practice of releasing (or “spilling”) water over the dams’ spillways is a proven salmon protection measure that enjoys broad and solid support from state, federal, and Tribal scientists. The benefits of helping young fish migrate to the ocean through spill has been the single largest bright spot for salmon in recent years. Unfortunately, the tangible benefits of increased spill over the past seven years are largely ignored or discounted in the agencies’ self-assessment. As long as the lower Snake River dams remain in place, spill is one of our most effective near-term measures for increasing smolt survival through the hydrosystem on their way to the ocean and achieving higher adult fish returns two and three years later. Expanding on the successes of the spill program in the upcoming BiOp is our region’s best chance for boosting salmon survival and provides the Obama Administration with a vital opportunity to meet the requirements of salmon science and the law.

Download the Comprehensive Evaluation here: http://www.salmonrecovery.gov/BiologicalOpinions/FCRPSBiOp/ProgressReports/2013ComprehensiveEvaluation.aspx

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A close review of the federal agencies’ 2013 Comprehensive Evaluation (“CE”) reflects significant shortcomings in the status of salmon and the need for a far more effective and comprehensive plan for 2014 and beyond:

Wild salmon and steelhead populations remain in serious trouble.  While the Action Agencies tout "record returns," 80% of adult salmon returning to the Columbia and Snake Rivers are hatchery fish. The massive infusion of hatchery fish - while important for helping to sustain salmon-dependent communities and providing life-support for at least one key wild run - also serves to mask a deeper problem: most wild salmon and steelhead remain on the brink. Poor returns so far in 2013, which have largely been lower than expected, only reinforce this view and underscore the need for a significantly strengthened plan.

Agencies’ narrow per-dam performance standards ignore the full complement of dam and reservoir impacts for migrating salmon and steelhead. The Action Agencies proudly tout isolated per-dam survival rates. While this may look good on paper, it ignores the full set of lethal impacts caused by the dams and reservoirs. The CE fails to acknowledge that fish perish in the dams’ slackwater reservoirs (the result of warming waters, high predation rates, and delayed migration) as well as the impacts of delayed mortality - the percentage of juvenile fish that make it all the way to the estuary or even the Pacific Ocean, but don't survive to return as adults because of the cumulative impacts and stresses of migrating through four or eight dams and their reservoirs. Moreover, even where the agencies are achieving 93% or higher survival at each dam, the cumulative loss of salmon migrating through all eight federal dams can exceed 50%. Despite the Action Agencies meeting their narrow per-dam standards at most Columbia-Snake dams, salmon remain in serious trouble.

Wild salmon and steelhead need more spill. Spill is one of the most effective ways that the Action Agencies can dramatically improve salmon survival in freshwater. The most recent Comparative Survival Study (CSS 2013) by Northwest state, Tribal and federal salmon managers indicates that building on the past success of spill could provide a significant boost to many at-risk stocks. The upcoming BiOp should expand spill as recommended by the region’s top salmon scientists and managers, not curtail it as the Bonneville Power Administration seeks to do.

Habitat restoration projects on tributaries are insufficient to offset the high kill rate of mainstem dams. The Action Agencies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on habitat projects - "offsite mitigation" - in order to offset the lethal impacts of the hydropower system. But there is a yawning gap between the actual survival benefits for salmon and steelhead provided by these habitat projects and the high salmon mortality rate associated with the hydrosystem. The inadequacy of this habitat-heavy and uncertain approach was among the key reasons that a federal court struck down the 2008/2010 BiOp. SOS strongly supports habitat restoration; however, the CE fails to demonstrate how these projects can make up for the overwhelming harm caused by the hydrosystem, let alone in a time frame that is meaningful for salmon recovery. While improving habitat can remediate the harm caused by poor habitat management in the past, efforts to rely heavily on habitat repair to mitigate high mortality at the dams are notoriously difficult to measure, take years to complete and show any benefits, and remain highly unlikely of being able to compensate for the dams’ lethal impacts.

A track record of broken promises. The agencies are falling farther behind on delivering what they promised in 2008 and 2010, and they are failing to adequately address ongoing and increasing threats. For example, in 2010 the agencies admitted that they had completed only about 25% of the actions promised for the Columbia River estuary in the first few years of the BiOp. The CE reveals that despite past promises to catch up, these deficits have actually grown. At the same time, the agencies are failing to deal with the skyrocketing number of young salmon consumed by cormorants – a threat that they knew about and ignored when they adopted the BiOp, but that reached an all-time high in 2011-2012. The CE carefully omits any discussion of this larger context and merely promises to develop a plan to study possible solutions by 2015.

The real problem remains: the BiOp they're implementing is illegal. The reason the 2008/2010 BiOp was struck down by a federal court is that it fails to put in place the actions and measures that would ensure imperiled salmon and steelhead are given a reasonable shot at both survival and eventual recovery. The current plan is illegal, inadequate and behind schedule. Salmon and steelhead and the people of the region need a new legal, science-based plan that departs from the failed status quo policies of past decades. Today, wild fish are barely treading water. The new plan must put in place measures that will meet the basic ecological needs of imperiled salmon and steelhead, and provide a lawful foundation for rebuilding wild populations that have languished for too long.

Portland, OR—Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a ruling on the Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) “Environmental Redispatch and No Negative Pricing Policy.” The ruling finds BPA’s curtailment of wind industry access to the power grid during periods of over-generation discriminatory. BPA had cited salmon protections as its motive for the policy. Download the ruling.

When high water levels yielded an excess of hydroelectric energy on the BPA system last spring, BPA opted to shut off wind power rather than spill water over the hydroelectric dams. Reasons for this were varied, but BPA blamed Clean Water Act standards for fish for its decision. But in a report issued by Save Our wild Salmon this fall, analysis showed that increased gas levels in the rivers this year had little impact on migrating salmon. Save Our wild Salmon filed as intervenors in the wind industry’s FERC filing.

“We applaud FERC’s decision today. The wind power industry and salmon industries are mutually beneficial. Allowing the river to flow more like a river is good for salmon, and provides more opportunity for renewable energy development. Our focus now is to work with the wind industry, BPA, and other stakeholders to create shared solutions for 2012 and beyond. That is the needed step in the wake of FERC’s ruling,” said SOS executive director Pat Ford.

“Our power system is evolving to meet the need for a cleaner, less risky tomorrow. Change of any kind brings challenges, and we are confident that today’s FERC ruling will precipitate new levels of collaboration and clean energy advancement as BPA and diverse concerned businesses, environmental and non-profit organizations work together to replace the controversial policy with more appropriate measures,” said Renewable Northwest Project executive director Rachel Shimshak in a statement today.

Amy Baird, Save Our wild Salmon: (503) 230-0421 X 13, Amy@wildsalmon.org

Erin Greeson, Renewable Northwest Project: (503) 223-4544, erin@rnp.org

Groups appeal for scientifically supported water releases to get young salmon past big dams

Olympia, WA –Today, a coalition of fishermen and sport fishing associations, partnering with salmon conservation groups, filed an appeal asking a Washington State appeals court to help the downstream migration of endangered salmon.

The appeal seeks to overturn a Superior Court ruling against salmon fishermen, businesses, and advocates in a lawsuit that seeks to ensure that Washington's water quality standards effectively protect salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The groups had asked the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) to heed the best available science and revise Washington's existing so-called Total Dissolved Gas (TDG) limits to assist young salmon making their journey to the sea. The case was filed after Ecology refused to do so. The Superior Court deferred to Ecology's decision and declined to order the agency to change its Clean Water Act standards. Doing so, however, could increase survival rates of migrating salmon by up to nine percent.

"This case seeks to give endangered salmon a significant boost by giving them more of what they need to survive," said Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association (NSIA) Executive Director Liz Hamilton. "The issue of whether we do more for salmon in the Columbia and Snake Rivers is synonymous with whether we're serious about protecting fishing families. It's not just about salmon; it's also about our businesses and all the people they employ because of salmon. The Department of Ecology should not be allowed to ignore mounting science on the benefits of spill for increasing salmon returns."

Ecology's refusal to update its standards has failed endangered salmon by preventing beneficial water releases over dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Releasing -- or "spilling" -- water over the dams, rather than forcing it through turbines and complex bypass systems, is critical to aid endangered migrating salmon and steelhead because it is the safest and best way for young salmon to get to sea.

"Safe spill is a proven, effective action that will help to ensure there will be sustainable salmon runs for the people and communities that depend on them," said Glen Spain of Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA). "The chance to take a single administrative action that could get us up to 9% more salmon survival is significant and should be a no-brainer. Ecology's refusal to make this standard more beneficial to salmon is a missed opportunity."

"It's unfortunate that we're arguing with Ecology about this when every fisheries manager in the region – including Ecology's counterpart agency in Oregon – agrees that making the standard more protective is necessary to help endangered salmon," said Earthjustice attorney Steve Mashuda. "We're continuing the fight and hope Washington will soon adopt a common-sense, biologically-sound approach to give endangered salmon a better chance of surviving."

In addition to increasing salmon survival, the increase in spill at the dams could also help to avoid curtailing wind energy in the future, as the Bonneville Power Administration has done this spring in an attempt to diminish over-generation concerns for the power grid.

"Safe spill is a clear winner for both salmon and clean, salmon-friendly wind power," said Kevin Lewis, Conservation Director of Idaho Rivers United. "Changing Washington's standards to better protect salmon would help wind farms sell their power during high water periods and help alleviate some of the wind power cutoffs that Bonneville Power Administration has planned for the future."

A ruling in the appeal filed today could occur early in 2012.

October 22, 2015

The below individuals/organizations are challenging a statement distributed on Oct. 2, 2015, by the Corps of Engineers Walla Walla District to the media and quoted, or repeated verbatim, by a number of media outlets covering the Oct. 3rd 'Free the Snake' Flotilla involving 300+ participants.

Kevin Lewis, Idaho Rivers United, kevin@idahorivers.org
Gary Macfarlane, Friends of the Clearwater, gary@friendsoftheclearwater.org
Sharon Grace, Southern Resident Killer Whale Chinook Salmon Initiative, parons@rockisland.com
Sam Mace, Save Our Wild Salmon, sam@wildsalmon.org
F. S. Buck Ryan, Snake River Waterkeeper, buck@snakeriverwaterkeeper.org
Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research, whaleresearch.com http://whaleresearch.com/
Howard Garrett/Susan Berta, Orca Network, orcanetwork.org http://orcanetwork.org/
C. Mark Rockwell, Endangered Species Coalition, mrockwell@endangered.org
Cindy Magnuson, Palouse Broadband, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, cmcindyidaho@gmail.com
Linwood Laughy, Snake River Resurrection, lochsalin@gmail.com

The letter signed by these individuals can be viewed here.

Lt. Col. Timothy Vail's Statement, identified by the Corps as "15-069 Snake River Dams provide outstanding value to the Nation," is viewable here.

Whether or not you previously received the statement, written by Lt. Col. Timothy Vail, Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Walla Walla District, we believe you will find our data-driven challenge to his 'facts' insightful, revealing and disturbing.  At the least, you are likely to find yourself intrigued by questions of your own regarding the truth of LTC Vail's 'facts' and the obligation of government agencies and officials to provide valid, data-verifiable information to the American public.

The 10/21/15 letter was delivered to Lt. Col. Timothy Vail, and cc'd via USPS (mailed 10/21/15) to his Washington DC superior, Lt. General Thomas P. Bostick, Chief of Engineers USACE.

The above signees honor members of the media who serve as vehicles for Americans' right to know and who, therefore, steadfastly seek truth and expose untruth.

Please feel free to directly contact the above signees, and should you wish also to contact the retired Corps' engineer referred to in the letter, Jim Waddell, please let me know, and I'll connect you.  If you are interested in particular angles of the dam-breaching issue – hydropower or water temperature effects, for example – please ask, and I'll refer you to the individual likeliest to have the best information for you.

Thank you.

Borg
borghendrickson@gmail.com
Snake River Resurrection

The 15-group coalition calls on stakeholders to set aside differences and unify behind critical support of bold, meaningful, and comprehensive actions to address key threats to survival of Southern Resident orcas: prey depletion, pollution, noise & disturbance, and oil spills

August 26, 2018

Contacts:
Dr. Deborah Giles, Orca Salmon Alliance, 916-531-1516
Katie Kirking, Orca Salmon Alliance, 509-999-8632
Colleen Weiler, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, 810-813-1643
Whitney Neugebauer, Whale Scout, 425-770-0787

Seattle, Washington -- The Orca Salmon Alliance (OSA) is continuing the Bold Action Now movement in advance of the upcoming meeting of the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force (Task Force). This movement is dedicated to coalescing stakeholders, advocates and all who love the Southern Residents around the simple unifying idea that we need to call on the Task Force to take bold action on behalf of the orcas, and on Governor Inslee and the state legislature to ensure quick implementation of the recommended actions. This will be one of the last meetings of the full Task Force prior to delivering its recommendations to Governor Inslee, only heightening the importance of uniting behind #BoldActionNow.

As a part of this movement, members of OSA will provide “Bold Action Now” ribbons immediately prior to and during the next Task Force meeting, held August 28th at the Swinomish Lodge and Casino in Anacortes. OSA will also be taking the campaign to social media, using the #BoldActionNow hashtag and making ribbons available to share electronically.

“If ever there were a time to unite behind multiple bold actions to save these orcas, this is it,” said Dr. Deborah Giles, killer whale researcher and science advisor for OSA. “This is a crisis situation. If we don’t take this opportunity for bold action across the board, we’re going to lose these whales. The Task Force is the best chance we have to save them and I hope all will join OSA in a unified call for Bold Action Now. First, we need the Task Force to make bold, meaningful and comprehensive recommendations and when they do, we need to support the Task Force by holding Governor Inslee, the Washington State bureaucracy, and the State Legislature accountable for enacting those recommendations with the urgency for which the situation calls. There’s not a silver bullet here. Everyone is going to have to give a little to save the Southern Residents.”

OSA also invites all attending the Task Force meeting to join them in a building a wreath made of plants native to the region during the lunch break to honor the loss of Tahlequah’s (J35) newborn daughter and her remarkable 18-day, 1,000-mile journey, and to signify unity behind actions that will benefit the orcas. We will remember her loss, and the loss of other Southern Resident orcas while seeking quiet reflection on the incredibly important task ahead. After the Task Force meeting concludes, members of OSA will lay the wreath in the water. All are welcome to join in.

“All of us gathered here today have two things in common: we love the Southern Residents and we are committed to preventing their extinction and fostering their recovery,” said Katie Kirking of the Orca Salmon Alliance. “The single best way for us to honor J35’s journey and to memorialize her daughter, along with all of the orcas we have lost recently, is to work together to support the Task Force in taking #BoldActionNow in their recommendations to Governor Inslee. There are many different ideas about the best way to recover these whales and a lot of passion around this issue, but in the end we all want the same thing: a healthy Southern Resident population. We’re calling on all stakeholders, advocacy groups and those who love these orcas to rise above those differences to encourage and support the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force to make bold recommendations for meaningful immediate, near, mid and long term actions. We hope anyone at the meeting who is willing to join us in this call will pick up one of the ribbons being distributed, wear it proudly, and join us in presenting a united front..”

Colleen Weiler of Whale and Dolphin Conservation said “OSA has recommended a comprehensive, inclusive suite of actions to address the key threats to the survival of the orcas: prey depletion, pollution, noise & disturbance, and oil spills. All of these issues need to be addressed in the Task Force’s recommendations to the Governor, which will be critically important not only for their recovery, but for their immediate survival.”

Policy recommendations from OSA, as well as suggested changes people can make in their daily lives to help the orcas, salmon, and their ecosystem can be found on the OSA webpage (orcasalmonalliance.org) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/orcasalmonalliance/).

Orca Salmon Alliance was founded in 2015 to prevent the extinction of the Southern Resident orcas by recovering the wild Chinook salmon populations upon which the whales depend for their survival.  OSA members include Orca Network, Defenders of Wildlife, Save Our Wild Salmon, Washington Environmental Council, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Earthjustice, Endangered Species Coalition, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Puget Soundkeeper, Center for Biological Diversity, Seattle Aquarium, Whale Scout, and Toxic Free Future.

www.orcasalmonalliance.org
https://www.facebook.com/orcasalmonalliance/

BACKGROUND

In March 2018, in response to a series of deaths in the critically endangered Southern Resident orca population, bringing them to their lowest population level in 30 years, Governor Jay Inslee created the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force. The Task Force is led by co-chairs Les Purce and Stephanie Solien, and includes more than 40 regional representatives of government agencies, stakeholders, scientists, Tribes, and non-governmental organizations.

Just 75 Southern Resident orcas remain today – the lowest number in 34 years. The population was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2005; its population since then has further declined and there has not been a successful birth among the Southern Residents in nearly three years.

Task Force members are scheduled to deliver an initial list of recommended actions that the Governor and Legislature can take in order to stop and reverse the Southern Resident orcas’ decline toward extinction by November 1st of this year. Three working groups have been set up to advise the Task Force on the three primary causes of decline: lack of available prey, toxic contamination and vessel/boat noise/interference.

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CONTACTS:
Bob Rees, recreational fishing guide. 503-812-9036 - brees@pacifier.com
Thomas O’Keefe, American Whitewater. 425-417-9012 - okeefe@americanwhitewater.org
Jacob Schmidt, whitewater river guide. 928-830-8433 - jacob@wildsalmon.org

Recreation business leaders express gratitude for leadership on Snake River Basin salmon restoration, urge continued action in letter to Governors Kate Brown (OR) and Jay Inslee (WA)

Forty-three owners and managers of outdoor recreation businesses and associations in Oregon and Washington delivered a joint letter to Governors Brown and Insleeexpressing their appreciation for their recent leadership on behalf of endangered salmon and steelhead in the Columbia-Snake River Basin. The letter expressed support for a comprehensive solution that restores the lower Snake River and fisheries and realizes the economic opportunity it will mean for local communities.  

Signers thanked Governor Inslee for his “commitment to Phase 1 of the Lower Snake River Dam Stakeholder Engagement Process”, and Governor Brown for her letter asking for a “comprehensive forward-thinking solution, as well as the comments provided by both states on the recent federal CRSO DEIS.”  

The Washington State Lower Snake River Dam Stakeholder Process emerged from Governor Inslee’s Orca Recovery Task Force, which issued a set of recommendations for protecting endangered Southern Resident orcas.  The Stakeholder Process issued a report in March based on nearly one hundred interviews with interested parties across Washington State and three public listening sessions in January.  The governor used the report to help inform Washington State’s formal comments on the federal agencies’ Draft Environmental Impact Statement reviewing salmon recovery alternatives in the Columbia and Snake rivers.

Fishing and other outdoor-based businesses and communities around the region have long called for the removal of the four lower Snake River dams in order to restore healthy, harvestable salmon populations and the benefits they bring to the Northwest.  The federal agencies have failed for decades to restore endangered wild salmon and steelhead, costing fishing businesses thousands of jobs and many millions of dollars in lost revenue and income.  In small towns across our region that depend on these jobs, the effects are felt in all aspects of community life.  

This year, fishing and outdoor recreation businesses are suffering from COVID-19 impacts and dismal salmon and steelhead returns. Fishing seasons are being reduced and closed as a result.

Restoring the lower Snake River would create opportunities for new and existing guide services to expand and extend their seasons. The signers of this letter, “see a valuable opportunity to expand recreation and tourism in this region through rafting, fishing, bird watching, hunting, and wine tasting--while preserving the future of the recreation economy along the Clearwater, Grande Ronde, and Salmon Rivers.” 

Liam Elio, operations manager at Orion River Expeditions stated “a free flowing lower Snake River would give central Washington guides the opportunity to work into the late summer and early fall when rivers in the Cascades are often too low to run.” It would also open up economic opportunities for nearby residents in outdoor recreation.

While they see an opportunity to build on the recreation economy of our region and restore the fishing dependent communities that are suffering, signers of this letter emphasized the need for, “a comprehensive  solution that recovers salmon and moves everyone forward together.” 

In addition to praising the governors for their actions to date, the letter urges them to continue to bring people together and work on a regional solution.

“It is in the interest of all Northwesterners to continue these stakeholder engagement processes until a solution can be crafted that saves salmon and orca, maintains our clean reliable power system, and provides new opportunities for improved quality of life to rural communities throughout our region.” 

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Legacy Moment for Northwest Leaders – For Salmon and a Better, Stronger Northwest
Rare Congressional Opportunity, if Missed Now, Will Be Dishonor to Northwest

Lapwai, Idaho — Following statements from Washington’s Governor and U.S Senators expressing opposition to Rep. Mike Simpson’s (R-ID) proposal to honor treaty rights and save several species of salmon and steelhead on the verge of extinction, the Nez Perce Tribe immediately expressed disappointment in the notable absence of tangible solutions, recognition of the unique congressional opportunity before the Northwest, or acknowledgment of the dire situation that Columbia and Snake River salmon and steelhead face.
 
“After a day in which Rep. Simpson, together with Rep. Blumenauer (D-OR), discussed a viable framework and legislative opportunity at a regional conference devoted to the topic of preventing the extinction of Snake River salmon and investing in infrastructure, technology, and economic vibrancy in the Northwest, Gov. Inslee and Senators Murray and Cantwell have stated what they’re against, providing no substance with respect to what they’re for,” said Nez Perce Tribe Chairman, Samuel N. Penney.
 
“We agree that to solve this crisis we need a regional solution; we must strive to keep all communities that rely on the Columbia and Snake rivers whole; and we should follow the science.  These are the very things that Rep. Simpson’s proposal set forth three months ago, and why the Nez Perce Tribe supports his proposal.”
 
“Our own biological analysis, released last week, reveals that salmon populations are headed toward extinction.  We will not stand by and allow extinction on our watch.  Our climate is changing and the best, coolest remaining habitat for the Columbia’s summer steelhead and spring chinook lies in the Snake River basin.  We need to provide the safest journey to and from that habitat that we can.  At the same time, we have a singular legislative moment – one not likely to come along again in our lifetimes – to address that biological crisis and solve the decades-long salmon wars in the Basin.  We have the right Administration; the right leadership in the Senate; and support from Rep. Mike Simpson.  This is a moment for action, not for more process.”
 
“This is not a time for generic statements of support for treaty rights and Northwest Tribes,” said Penney.  “Northwest Tribes are united and asking for genuine support.  We have a historic and unprecedented opportunity to take advantage of momentum behind a national infrastructure plan and secure funds to implement a plan stemming from Rep. Simpson’s framework and further regional engagement. We cannot let this moment pass us by. We cannot accept a failing status quo. We must act and our elected officials must lead the way with us, as Congressmen Simpson and Blumenauer have shown, with vision and courage while time remains in supporting this broad proposal and dialogue.”  
 
Mr. Shannon F. Wheeler, Vice-Chairman of the Nez Perce Tribe, stated: “I’ve heard there will be a new statue of Billy Frank Jr. in the U.S. Capitol.  Billy was a natural leader for salmon and for Treaty rights – and it’s great he’s being recognized.  But I don’t think he would have cared about a statue of himself – he would have cared about the fate of the salmon, and the tribal people whose lives and cultures depend on the salmon in every sense.  This is a moment for decisive leadership that would have made Billy Frank Jr. proud.”
 
“The Nez Perce Tribe welcomes the opportunity to meet with Senators Murray and Cantwell to discuss this issue in more detail.  Time is short, but together we can take this unique opportunity to ensure a better, stronger Northwest for all.  We stand ready to work with the congressional leaders of the Northwest on that effort,” concluded Chairman Penney.
 
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 29, 2020.

CONTACT:
Joseph Bogaard, joseph@wildsalmon.org, 206-300-1003
Sam Mace, sam@wildsalmon.org, 509-863-5696

Save Our wild Salmon Coalition statement re: Federal Agencies sign Records of Decision to formally adopt Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and 2020 Biological Opinion (BiOp) for Columbia-Snake River Basin endangered salmon and federal dam operations

“Salmon and fishing advocates are deeply disappointed by the Final EIS and the 2020 Biological Opinion that were formally adopted today by federal agencies (Bonneville Power Administration, Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation). These documents reflect only modest tweaks to a long-standing strategy by the federal government that has pushed salmon and steelhead populations – and the irreplaceable benefits they bring to people and ecosystems - toward extinction while increasing costs, uncertainty and risks for Northwest communities. These documents do not support the bold actions our salmon and communities require, including removal of the four lower Snake River dams and replacement of their services. Our region needs urgent action based on science that restores abundant salmon populations, invests in our communities, and sustains a reliable and affordable energy system.

This latest approach by the federal agencies fails to address many legitimate concerns raised by regional sovereigns, stakeholders, NGOs and citizens who participated throughout this four-year process including with formal comment on the Draft EIS this past spring. Neither the FEIS nor the BiOp meets the needs of endangered salmon and steelhead, fairly considers the impacts of salmon population declines on endangered Southern Resident orcas, addresses high water temperatures and other issues caused by a changing climate, and much more.

A federal agency-led process cannot deliver the comprehensive solution that endangered salmon and steelhead populations in the Snake and Columbia rivers and people of the Northwest and nation need and deserve. Developing an effective plan that truly meets the needs of people and communities, and salmon and ecosystems requires urgent, active and creative engagement of stakeholders, sovereigns, policymakers and citizens based here in the Northwest.

Regionally-centered discussions exploring collaborative, creative and comprehensive solutions are now underway, and additional participation by sovereigns, stakeholders and policymakers is urgently needed. Salmon and fishing and orca advocates support these talks and the development of legally valid, scientifically credible and fiscally responsible strategy that finally restores imperiled salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia-Snake Basin, supports vibrant fishing and farming communities and sustains a reliable and affordable energy system across the Pacific Northwest.

Only by working together will we be able to develop a plan for Columbia-Snake River Basin salmon and steelhead that meets the needs of our communities, economies and cultures. SOS is committed to working urgently with others to develop shared solutions that:

• Restore self-sustaining, fishable populations of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Basin;
• Invest in vibrant fishing and farming communities across the Pacific Northwest;
• Ensure healthy tribal communities and cultures and uphold our nation’s responsibilities to Tribal Nations; and
• Support a reliable, affordable and clean regional energy system.

In 1998, the board of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition prioritized restoring the lower Snake River by removing its four federal dams as a key element for protecting endangered Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead populations from extinction and rebuilding them to abundant, self-sustaining and harvestable levels. This decision was informed first and foremost by the scientific information available at that time. The body of research that has emerged since then – and our experience in the real world with steeply declining fish populations and the growing list of dam removal success stories across the Northwest and nation – only reinforces and strengthens the scientific and community case for restoring a freely flowing lower Snake River. The intensifying effects of a changing climate and impacts on Northwest fishing communities and cultures and Southern Resident orcas that rely on healthy chinook salmon populations only increases the need for urgent action.

At Save Our wild Salmon, we look forward to working with others to develop a comprehensive solution that meets the needs of endangered salmon and steelhead, fishing and farming communities, and a clean and affordable energy system for the benefit of current and future generations.”

 ###

June, 9, 2022

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation responds to draft Murray-Inslee Report on Lower Snake River Dams Honor the treaties. Protect our salmon. Breach the dams. MISSION, OR – The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) has reviewed the draft Lower Snake River Dams: Benefit Replacement Report led by Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray. The statement below from CTUIR Board of Trustees Chair Kat Brigham can be quoted in-part or in-full: “As the draft Murray-Inslee report states, the Lower Snake River Dams have contributed to the current existential threat facing our salmon, an icon of the Northwest. The United States government must uphold its treaty obligations to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, and all the Columbia River Basin Tribes by immediately prioritizing salmon recovery. On this Treaty Day, we urge the federal government to uphold its trust responsibility to our nations by looking at the Columbia River Basin as a whole, which includes breaching the dams. The entire Pacific Northwest region faces a critical choice: We act now to save our salmon or we sanction their extinction. Federal investment in salmon recovery would protect the Pacific Northwest interests, provide benefits, and revitalize failing fishing and other economies. Salmon recovery is vital to the entire region. Our fates are inextricably linked to the salmon. Our tribes have already paid the price for the Lower Snake River Dams. We lost over 43 million acres of land, 700+ cultural sites, and our ancestors’ burial grounds. Native economies and tribal subsistence were devastated by declining salmon populations. As senior officials for the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the Departments of the Interior, Energy, Army, and Commerce recently stated, ‘We cannot continue doing business as usual. Doing the right thing for salmon, tribal nations, and communities can bring us together. It is time for effective, creative solutions because if we don't, what are we going to tell our children?’ A basin-wide recovery plan must also include solutions for all sectors that includes breaching the Lower Snake River dams. We are committed to working with our neighbors to ensure a long term, win-win situation so salmon are here for the next seven generations.” The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is comprised of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla Tribes, formed under the Treaty of 1855 at the Walla Walla Valley, 12 Stat. 945. In 1949, the Tribes adopted a constitutional form of government to protect, preserve and enhance the reserved treaty rights guaranteed under federal law.
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February 28, 2020

CONTACT:
Joseph Bogaard, joseph@wildsalmon.org, 206-300-1003
Sam Mace, sam@wildsalmon.org, 509-863-5696

Save Our wild Salmon Coalition statement regarding the Draft environmental impact statement for Columbia-Snake River Basin’s endangered salmon and federal dam operations

February 28, 2020

“Salmon and fishing advocates appreciate the work by federal agencies reflected in the Draft EIS released today. We have not had an opportunity to review it closely yet, but we’re hopeful it contains some valuable information that can help inform regional discussions and support the development of legally valid, scientifically credible and fiscally responsible solutions that will sustain and restore our region’s natural resources and support vibrant fishing and farming communities across the Pacific Northwest.

Salmon and fishing advocates, however, do not see this document or a federal agency-led process as capable of delivering the durable, long-term solution that the people of the Northwest and nation require. Developing an effective plan that truly meets the needs of people, salmon and ecosystems will require the urgent, active and creative engagement of Northwest-based stakeholders, sovereigns, policymakers and citizens.

Only by working together will we be able to develop a plan for Columbia-Snake River Basin salmon and steelhead that meets the needs of our communities, economies and cultures. An effective solution for the Northwest must:

• Protect and restore self-sustaining, fishable populations of salmon and steelhead in the Snake and Columbia rivers;
• Invest in and support vibrant fishing and farming communities across the Pacific Northwest;
• Ensure healthy tribal communities and cultures and uphold our nation’s responsibilities to Tribal Nations; AND
• Support a reliable, affordable and increasingly decarbonized regional energy system.

In 1998, the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition prioritized restoring the lower Snake River by removing its four federal dams as the best and likely only way to protect its endangered salmon and steelhead from extinction and to rebuild its struggling populations to abundant and harvestable levels. Our decision was informed first and foremost by the scientific research and information available at that time. The body of research in this area that has emerged since then – and our experience in the real world with steeply declining native fish populations in the Columbia and Snake River system – only reinforces and strengthens the scientific case in support of restoring a freely flowing lower Snake River. The intensifying impacts of a changing climate increase the urgency to act.

At Save Our wild Salmon, we look forward to working urgently with others in our region to develop a comprehensive solution that meets the needs of endangered salmon and steelhead, fishing and farming communities, and a clean and affordable energy system for the benefit of current and future generations.”

-- Joseph Bogaard, executive director, Save Our wild Salmon

Save Our wild Salmon Coalition statement on the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and 2020 Biological Opinion (BiOp) for Columbia-Snake River Basin endangered salmon and federal dam operations

“Salmon and fishing advocates are disappointed by the Final EIS and the 2020 Biological Opinion released today by federal agencies. These documents reflect only modest tweaks to a long-standing approach by the federal government that has pushed salmon and steelhead populations toward extinction while increasing costs, uncertainty and risks for Northwest communities. The people and the salmon of our region urgently need a new science-based approach that restores abundant salmon populations, invests in our communities, and sustains a reliable and affordable energy system.

We look forward to reviewing these documents more closely in the days ahead and hope the agencies took seriously their responsibility to carefully consider and address the many legitimate concerns raised by sovereigns, stakeholders, NGOs and citizens who submitted comment this past spring.

Despite serious shortcomings, we expect that the FEIS will contain some valuable information that can help inform regional discussions now underway and support the development of legally valid, scientifically credible and fiscally responsible strategy that restores imperiled salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia-Snake Basin, supports vibrant fishing and farming communities and sustains a reliable and affordable energy system across the Pacific Northwest.

Salmon and fishing advocates do not see this federal agency-led process as able to deliver the comprehensive solution that endangered salmon and steelhead populations in the Snake and Columbia rivers and people of the Northwest and nation need and deserve. Developing an effective plan that truly meets the needs of people and communities, and salmon and ecosystems will require the urgent, active and creative engagement of Northwest-based stakeholders, sovereigns, policymakers and citizens.

Only by working together here in the Northwest will we be able to develop a plan for Columbia-Snake River Basin salmon and steelhead that meets the needs of our communities, economies and cultures. SOS is committed to working urgently with others to develop shared solutions that:

• Restore self-sustaining, fishable populations of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Basin;
• Invest in vibrant fishing and farming communities across the Pacific Northwest;
• Ensure healthy tribal communities and cultures and uphold our nation’s responsibilities to Tribal Nations; and
• Support a reliable, affordable and clean regional energy system.

In 1998, the board of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition prioritized restoring the lower Snake River by removing its four federal dams as a key element for protecting endangered Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead populations from extinction and for rebuilding them to abundant, self-sustaining and harvestable levels. This decision was informed first and foremost by the scientific information available at that time. The body of research that has emerged since then – and our experience in the real world with steeply declining fish populations and the growing list of dam removal success stories across the Northwest and nation – only reinforces and strengthens the scientific and community case for restoring a freely flowing lower Snake River. The intensifying effects of a changing climate and impacts on Northwest fishing communities and cultures and Southern Resident orcas that rely on healthy chinook salmon populations only increases the need for urgent action.

At Save Our wild Salmon, we look forward to working with others in our region to develop a comprehensive solution that meets the needs of endangered salmon and steelhead, fishing and farming communities, and a clean and affordable energy system for the benefit of current and future generations.”

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View an SOS factsheet on the Final EIS and 2020 Biological Opinion here.

March 29, 2018



Contacts:


Washington Voters Value Wild Salmon Over Lower Snake River Dams
New poll shows 4 out of 5 voters believe preventing extinction of wild salmon is very important

SEATTLE – Fishing and conservation groups released a new poll confirming Washington residents care deeply about wild salmon and want to see these iconic Northwest fish restored.

Organizations funding the poll—conducted by Fairbank, Maislin, Maulin, Metz & Associates (FM3 Research)--include National Wildlife Federation, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and American Rivers. The poll included interviews with 400 likely voters with an oversample of 150 interviews in eastern Washington.

More than half of Washington voters support removing the four dams on the lower Snake River and they are more than willing to pay a few dollars extra on their energy bills to do so: 63 percent are willing to pay up to $7 per month, while 74 percent would pay an extra dollar every month.

“This poll confirms what we’ve known all along: Northwest residents are more than willing to do what it takes to save our region’s wild salmon”, said Todd True, Senior Attorney for Earthjustice. Studies show we can affordably and efficiently replace the declining benefits of the lower Snake River dams without increasing electrical bills by much more than a dollar a month. The poll confirms that a large majority of people know salmon are worth this and more.”

“Washington voters put a strong priority on preventing extinction for wild salmon and understand we can remove the four lower Snake River dams, protect salmon, and make smart investments to replace the modest amount of power that is lost,” added Bill Arthur, Chair for Sierra Club’s Snake/Columbia Salmon Campaign. “It is time for the federal agencies to catch up with the public—and the science—and develop a smart dam removal option as part of the EIS being developed that will keep communities whole and restore sport, commercial and tribal fisheries.

Voters were asked their views on Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse's bill, H.R. 3144, which seeks to prevent any changes to the lower Snake dams by locking in place an illegal and failed salmon plan, upending a court-ordered process to look at all options to restore salmon including dam removal, and even stopping important recovery measures like spilling more water at the dams. Sixty-two percent of likely voters oppose this legislation, with 42 percent strongly opposing; only 26 percent support.

“Given a choice between restoring salmon and holding onto the dams on the lower Snake River, voters in Washington State pick salmon.” said Giulia Good-Stefani, Staff Attorney with Natural Resources Defense Council. “People across the state understand how important salmon are to all of us and to our Puget Sound Orcas.”

“This poll shows our public officials that bad legislation that would codify failed salmon plans do not reflect Washington voters’ values, said Robb Krehbiel, Northwest Representative for Defenders. “We expect our leaders to oppose such counterproductive policies and pursue meaningful actions to restore rivers and ecosystems. Removing the four Snake River dams would provide more salmon for starving orcas and bring life back to the entire region.”

A 4-page summary with highlights from the poll can be viewed here.
# # #

September 30, 2016 

Contact:
Rebecca Bowe, Earthjustice, (415) 217-2093, rbowe@earthjustice.org
 
Washington, D.C. — Today the Bonneville Power Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced hearings seeking public input to develop a new plan to save endangered wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers in the Pacific Northwest. The new process comes as the result of a U.S. District Court ruling last May siding with fishing businesses, conservation groups, clean energy advocates, the State of Oregon, and the Nez Perce Tribe that found the last federal plan for protecting endangered fish fatally flawed. The following are statements from experts and plaintiffs in that case: Sam Mace, a Spokane-based leader of the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition: "These hearings are the first time in over a decade the public will have a chance to speak out and insist on real action to restore salmon in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The four lower Snake River dams have never lived up to their promise. They have only decimated wild salmon runs and held back the economies of towns along the lower Snake River. We can—and should—replace the limited barge transportation and energy these dams offer and provide investments to allow the region to fully take advantage of a restored river and fisheries. There is more than one way to get wheat to market. But salmon only have one way to travel and that’s in the river."

Todd True, Earthjustice attorney who represented fishing groups, river users, clean energy advocates and conservation organizations: “In the decades since the fight to bring salmon back to the Snake River began, three big things have changed but one major thing has not–our wild salmon are still on the brink of extinction. What has changed is our electricity grid now includes abundant wind and solar power that can affordably replace electricity from the Snake River dams. Second, there has been a steep decline in use of the lower Snake for barging, down 70% since 2000 as farmers and other users increasingly ship their goods by rail. Third, we now have a clear understanding of the potentially catastrophic effects of climate warming on salmon. The dams create warm slackwater reservoirs lethal to salmon. But we now have a unique opportunity to bring about the biggest action to save wild salmon: Removal of the four lower Snake River dams.” Liz Hamilton, executive director of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association: “Without question, recreational fishermen and fishing businesses are ready to ensure that their voices are heard at these hearings. We’re going to focus the federal agencies not just on good science but sound economics as well. Healthy salmon populations support tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars annually in the recreation and tourism economy. Judge Simon ruled that the agencies aren’t doing nearly enough. We agree – and we now have a critical opportunity to get it right this time. Only healthy rivers will support healthy salmon.” Paul Fish, CEO of Spokane-based Mountain Gear: “We must consider the natural resources that make our region unique. Healthy rivers with abundant fisheries and outdoor recreation support businesses like mine. They give our region a lifestyle edge in attracting new businesses, great employees and in growing a diverse economy including tourism. We should jump at this chance and call on the federal agencies to remove the 4 lower Snake river dams, restore this river, and bring new jobs to Clarkston, Lewiston and Spokane.” Reporter Resources:
Explainer: What You Need to Know About Columbia/Snake River Dams and Salmon <>
Fact Sheet: How this Ruling is Different
Photos available for media use from 2016 Free the Snake flotilla Calendar of Public Hearing:
Monday, October 24, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Wenatchee Community Center, 504 S. Chelan Ave., Wenatchee, Washington
Tuesday, October 25, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., The Town of Coulee Dam, City Hall,  3006 Lincoln Ave., Coulee Dam, Washington
Wednesday, October 26, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Priest River Community Center, 5399 Highway 2, Priest River, Idaho
Thursday, October 27, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Kootenai River Inn Casino & Spa, 7169 Plaza St., Bonners Ferry, Idaho
Tuesday, November 1, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Red Lion Hotel Kalispell, 20 North Main St., Kalispell, Montana
Wednesday, November 2, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., City of Libby City Hall, 952 E. Spruce St., Libby, Montana
Thursday, November 3, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn Missoula, 3720 N. Reserve St. Missoula, Montana
Monday November 14, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Historic Davenport Hotel, 10 South Post Street, Spokane, Washington
Wednesday, November 16, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Red Lion Hotel Lewiston, Seaport Room, 621 21st St. Lewiston, Idaho
Thursday, November 17, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Courtyard Walla Walla, The Blues Room, 550 West Rose St. Walla Walla, Washington
Tuesday, November 29, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., The Grove Hotel, 245 S. Capitol Blvd. Boise, Idaho
Thursday, December 1, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Town Hall, Great Room, 1119 8th Ave., Seattle, Washington
Tuesday, December 6, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center, River Gallery Room, 5000 Discovery Drive, The Dalles, Oregon
Wednesday, December 7, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Portland, Oregon
Thursday, December 8, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., The Loft at the Red Building, 20 Basin St., Astoria, Oregon
Tuesday, December 13, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., PST, webinar, The Loft at the Red Building, 20 Basin St. Astoria, Oregon
Tuesday, December 13, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., PST, webinar Online Version here.

For more information contact: Steve Mashuda, Earthjustice, 206-343-7340x1027
Joseph Bogaard, Save Our Wild Salmon, 206-300-1003
Kevin Lewis, Idaho Rivers United, 208-343-7481
Gary Macfarlane, Friends of the Clearwater, 208-882-9755 Jan. 5, 2015 SEATTLE -- Today the Honorable Judge James L. Robart of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, declined to issue an injunction to stop the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from dredging the lower Snake waterway this winter.  The court is expected to consider the full merits of the case itself later this year.   Last November, non-profit environmental law firm Earthjustice, representing Idaho Rivers United, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Institute for Fisheries Resources, Washington Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club and Friends of the Clearwater, joined with the Nez Perce Tribe to file a complaint challenging the Corps’ approval of a $6.7 million lower Snake River dredging project scheduled to begin this month. Fishing businesses, conservation groups, and the Nez Perce Tribe challenged the Corps plan developed by the Walla Walla District because it puts salmon, steelhead, and Pacific lamprey at serious risk, purposefully dodges any real look at alternatives to dredging, and in defiance of Corps’ policies ignores the shaky economic justification for the barge corridor created by the four lower Snake River dams.   In addition the Corps’ Walla Walla District failed to consider impacts from climate change.  

“While we’re disappointed that the Corps will pursue harmful and expensive dredging this winter in salmon and lamprey habitat, we believe that we’ll prevail in the long run,” said Earthjustice attorney Steve Mashuda.  “Business-as-usual just isn’t a viable option for this barging system.  We’ll continue our efforts to ensure that the Corps’ Walla Walla District stops throwing good money after bad.” Dredging is the centerpiece of the Walla Walla District plan for maintaining the little-used barging corridor between Pasco, Wash., and Lewiston, Idaho. Though shipping on the Columbia River waterway remains steady, traffic on the lower Snake is so low that this waterway qualifies for the Corps’ own “negligible use” project category. Over the past 15 years, the lower Snake waterway’s freight volume has declined 64 percent as shippers move their freight from barge to trucks or rail. Meanwhile, maintenance expenses, shouldered by American taxpayers, have surged. “We look forward to the Corps’ dredging plan getting the full legal review it sorely needs,” said Save Our Wild Salmon executive director Joseph Bogaard. # # #

November 16, 2018

Contacts:
Bill Arthur, Sierra Club, 206-954-9826
Sam Mace, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, 509-863-5696
Joseph Bogaard, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, 206-300-1003

Governor Inslee’s Task Force delivers two recommendations affecting the federal hydro-system to increase chinook salmon for Southern Resident orcas: increased ‘spill’ and a planning forum to prepare for the potential removal of the lower Snake River dams.

Seattle WA - After months of discussion and deliberation, the Southern Resident Orca Recovery Task Force released its 2018 recommendations for Governor Inslee today at the Seattle Aquarium.

The 36 recommendations represent an initial set of actions to protect critically endangered Southern Resident orcas from extinction. The recommendations address three primary threats to orca survival: lack of prey (mainly Chinook salmon), vessel interference, and contamination. They take a regional approach – focusing on policies and actions in the Columbia-Snake and the Salish Sea Basins. Southern Resident orcas split their time between the Salish Sea and the coastal waters of the west coast hunting for prey. 80% of their diet is composed of Chinook salmon, another Northwest species suffering deep population declines.

Joseph Bogaard, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition: “Fundamentally, endangered orcas urgently need more salmon. We appreciate this initial set of recommendations from the Task Force. But now all eyes are on the Governor and the legislature; they need to move quickly to fully fund and implement these actions. We’re are playing catch up today, and there is no time to waste.”

Two specific recommendations call on Governor Inslee to reduce the high salmon mortality caused by the Columbia-Snake River Basin dams and their reservoirs. One recommendation calls on the Department of Ecology to modify its water quality standards in order to allow for increased ‘spill’ at the eight federal dams on the lower Snake and lower Columbia rivers. Scientific research demonstrates that increased spill (water sent over the dams rather than through turbines) delivers juvenile salmon more quickly and safely to the Pacific Ocean and results in higher adult returns in the years that follow.

A second recommendation asks Governor Inslee to convene a forum that brings together affected communities to identify issues and potential solutions in the event that the four lower Snake dams will be removed. Federal agencies today are examining dam removal and other salmon protection alternatives under the direction of a federal court. Their analyses and recommendation, conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act, is expected in 2020 or 2021.

Bill Arthur, Sierra Club: “The science is clear and the public strongly supports increased spill at the federal dams on the Columbia & Snake Rivers and removal of the lower Snake River dams; these are essential actions to rebuild salmon populations in the near and long-term. With its recommendations, the Orca Task Force has called for urgent action in the Columbia Basin.  We call on Governor Inslee to prioritize these actions.”

The science strongly supports increasing spill and restoring the lower Snake River to substantially rebuild Chinook salmon populations. Thirty-three salmon biologists and six orca scientists sent two separate letters to the Task Force in recent months. Together, the letters emphasize the necessity and opportunity for restoring the Columbia Basin Chinook salmon to meet the needs of starving Southern Resident orcas. Both letters highlight the benefits of increased spill and a freely flowing lower Snake River to recover endangered salmon populations.

Conservationists and fishing advocates have long called for the various interests impacted by the dams to sit down together to discuss concerns and develop a dam removal transition plan that meets the needs of all communities. With the potential extinction of both orca and salmon on the table today, it is essential that these discussions between Tribes, fishermen and farmers, and other affected communities begin immediately.

Restoring the lower Snake River would re-connect endangered salmon and steelhead populations to more than 5,000 river and stream miles of protected, high-quality habitat in southeast Washington State, central Idaho and northeast Oregon. Removing these four federal dams been identified by scientists as our best opportunity anywhere on the West Coast to re-build the chinook populations that the orca need. Growing numbers of people also see removal of these dams and their high costs as an opportunity for Bonneville Power Administration to reduce its liabilities and focus its limited resources to repair and maintain far more valuable hydro projects on the mainstem Columbia River.

BACKGROUND: Governor Inslee established the Orca Recovery Task Force by executive order in March 2018 to develop a plan for long-term orca recovery and population sustainability. The task force includes more than forty representatives of Tribes, state and federal agencies, scientists, stakeholders and advocates. Further information about the Task Force can be found here.

An iconic species to the Pacific Northwest, the Southern Resident killer whales’ habitat ranges from southeastern Alaska to central California. There are three main pods of Southern Resident killer whales; the J, K, and L pod. Each pod has their own unique characteristics, including home range and dialect. These whales were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2005; just 74 individuals survive today. Of these, 27 are potentially reproducing females. The Southern Residents have not successfully produced offspring in nearly four years.

March 9, 2022

CONTACTS:

Kristi Brown, Chef/Co-Owner, Communion, chefkristi@communionseattle.com
Renee Erickson, Chef/Co-Owner, Sea Creature Restaurants, 206-369-0719, Renee@eatseacreatures.com Robin Leventhal, Chef/Instructor, Wine Country Culinary Institute, 206.478.5112, Robin@cravefood.com
Amy Grondin, Commercial Fisherman/Co-Owner, Duna Fisheries, 206.295.4931, ajgrondin@gmail.com

Food Professionals’ send letter to Gov. Inslee and Sens. Murray and Cantwell supporting the need for a comprehensive solution for imperiled salmon in the Columbia-Snake River Basin

SEATTLE – In recognition of the extinction crisis facing many Northwest salmon populations today, more than 225 food professionals - chefs, brewers, market owners, farmers, fishermen, and others from across Washington State – sent a letter today to Gov. Jay Inslee, Sen. Patty Murray, and Sen. Maria Cantwell. The signers of the letter recognize that for them, “salmon is much more than a fish; it is one of our most valued business partners.” The letter thanks these policymakers for their past efforts to protect salmon and asks for their “continued leadership at this moment of great urgency and opportunity.”

The letter stresses that urgent work is needed in 2022 to prevent further extinction and to restore salmon abundance in the Snake River Basin in a manner that brings everyone – including farmers, fishermen and other food producers - forward together.

For decades, fishing and farming communities have needlessly been at odds while salmon populations have edged ever closer to extinction. Chef Renee Erickson, chef and co-owner of Seattle’s Sea Creature Restaurants: “Chefs need foods produced by both farmers and fishers to create meals for our customers. I want to source foods as close to home as I can for my restaurants – so we need policies that will provide fishermen and farmers alike greater certainty and the opportunity to thrive.”

People in the restaurant industry need to be creative to stay in business. Chef Kristi Brown opened Communion in Seattle with Damon Bomad during the pandemic. “If we learned anything in the last two years it’s how to survive. What had worked pre-COVID was not going to keep the doors open. We had to come up with new strategies. Our elected officials need to take this kind of approach to restore salmon abundance in the Snake River Basin and across our region.”

Decades of trial and error have demonstrated that well-managed fisheries by themselves are not enough to assure sufficient numbers of salmon to drive the economic engine, jobs, and businesses they support. Protecting, restoring, and reconnecting healthy and resilient habitat is essential to salmon survival and recovery – and the tribal cultures, fishing communities and businesses that rely upon them.

Chef Robin Leventhal says she is someone who ‘has a foot on both sides of the state.’ Robin grew up along the banks the Salmon River in Idaho. “When I was a kid in the ‘70’s I remember how the surface shimmered red when the sockeye came home to spawn. I also sadly remember the story of Lonesome Larry, the only sockeye that made it home to the Salmon River’s headwaters. This was in 1992 and my heart broke when I heard the news.” After 30 years as a chef in Seattle, she became an instructor at the Wine Country Culinary Institute in Walla Walla. “I’m passionate about restoring salmon abundance. This isn’t a debate about borders, or what side of the state you are on. It’s about prioritizing healthy salmon and healthy communities!”

The letter closes with a call to action: “We need new policies and programs in 2022 that will provide both fisherman and farmer greater certainty and the opportunity to thrive. We ask you to seize the window of opportunity before us to develop and deliver a comprehensive investment package that restores the lower Snake River, recovers healthy salmon populations, and keeps farmers and fishermen gainfully employed and feeding our communities.”

BACKGROUND: Last year, Senator Murray and Governor Inslee acknowledged the extinction crisis facing Snake River fish and committed to developing a long-term plan by July 31, 2022 to protect and restore these imperiled populations. As a key step in the process to develop a comprehensive solution for Snake River salmon and Northwest communities, they have been working closely with the region’s tribes, stakeholders, and other experts to produce a report this spring that identifies how to replace the energy, irrigation and transportation services currently provided by the dams.

While Sen. Murray and Gov. Inslee have not committed to a dam removal plan, they have put this option at the center of discussions today. Their report will be a crucial resource for understanding our region’s options for replacing the dams' services as they explore how to restore salmon abundance, help feed endangered orcas, and uphold our nation’s promise to our region's tribes in a manner that moves everyone forward together.

Confidential settlement talks between the Nez Perce Tribe, State of Oregon, conservation/fishing plaintiffs and the Biden Administration are also under way on a similar timeline. The decades-long litigation has been paused temporarily to allow the parties to work together to develop a long-term solution to resolve the lawsuit and protect endangered wild salmon and steelhead from the risk of extinction caused by the system of federal dams and reservoirs on the Snake and Columbia rivers.

Last year, Senator Cantwell led efforts to secure $2.8 billion for salmon recovery and habitat restoration efforts for Washington State and the Pacific Northwest states in the bipartisan infrastructure bill. While this is a crucial step towards salmon recovery, we must follow the leadership of Northwest tribes - and fishing, farming, and food professionals - as well as decades of proven science, to determine what we do next. Removing the four federal dams on the lower Snake River is the biggest and best step we can take to restore Northwest salmon to abundance.

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CONTACT: Joseph Bogaard, joseph@wildsalmon.org, 206-300-1003

May 17, 2017

31 Northwest conservation organizations and fishing business associations sent a letter today to Representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Kurt Schrader (D-OR), and Peter DeFazio (D-OR) in response to their May 2 letter to BPA Administrator Elliott Mainzer. Their letter sent earlier this month raised a number of issues concerning the status of Columbia Basin salmon restoration, including:
-- the court’s invalidation in 2016 of the federal agencies’ most recent Biological Opinion
-- the court’s recent decision to grant injunctive relief (incl. additional spill starting in 2018) and
-- the costs and benefits of increased spill on the survival of ESA-listed salmon and steelhead populations.

The May 2 Letter from four NW members of Congress to Mainzer can be viewed here.

Today’s letter to those four members of Congress from thirty-one Northwest groups can be viewed here.

This conservation and business letter seeks to clarify a number of issues raised in the May 2 Letter and urge a new and different approach for our region as we move forward in 2017. The efficacy of the federal agencies strategy to date speaks for itself: five consecutive illegal federal plans across twenty years and three different judges; $15B is spending and not one of thirteen imperiled populations recovered. The people and communities of the Pacific Northwest desperately need a new approach that prioritizes bringing together affected stakeholders and interests to work together to develop an effective legally-valid, scientifically credible and fiscally-responsible plan that protects and restores our imperiled salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia Basin and helps Northwest communities and businesses.

The urgent need for meaningful action in the near-term and effective leadership in the region has been further and tragically highlighted this spring with the early and very discouraging/troubling adult salmon returns to the Columbia Basin. Here are two recent articles with further details:

Seattle Times: Updated Columbia spring chinook return less than half of expectation

Lewiston Morning Tribune: Anemic return leads managers to close salmon fishing on Snake

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 14, 2022

Media Contacts:
Joseph Bogaard, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, joseph@wildsalmon.org, 206-300-1003
John DeVoe, WaterWatch of Oregon, john@waterwatch.org, 503-295-4039 x 1 

32 Pacific Northwest Groups Urge U.S. to Take Action to Modernize the
Columbia River Treaty to Avoid Ecosystem Collapse

Seattle, Washington – Today, 32 Pacific Northwest-based conservation, clean energy, faith, fishing, and civic organizations sent a letter to the State Department and other key federal agencies urging the U.S. to inform the region on efforts to overhaul the 1964 U.S.-Canada Columbia River Treaty (“Treaty”) and involve citizens and tribes in decisions about its future. While negotiations are confidential, the organizations note that Canada has maintained robust ongoing communication with its citizens and is working in full partnership with Indigenous nations. The U.S. Negotiating Team has not held a public meeting in over 2.5 years and provides only infrequent and minimal written updates.

Joseph Bogaard, Executive Director for the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, said:

“Save Our wild Salmon joins many other organizations to remind our leaders that Northwest people care deeply about the health of the Columbia River, and that we expect to be informed and involved in decisions that affect its health and future. The lack of meaningful public engagement by U.S. Treaty negotiators is concerning. We are worried about the potential for rushed decision-making without public dialogue or involvement - and asking the Biden Administration for much greater transparency as we move forward. Canada has shown that robust public engagement is possible while also respecting the confidentiality of negotiations.”

The current, 58-year-old Treaty has only two priorities: maximizing hydropower production and engineered flood control. The organizations are calling on U.S. leaders to add Ecosystem Function – the health of the river and its ecosystems – as a third primary purpose of the Treaty. With escalating climate impacts like flooding, heat waves, wildfires, and rivers too hot for salmon and other fish, it is essential that the operation of the Columbia Basin hydrosystem be updated to maximize resilience of the watershed and the communities that depend on it. The Treaty plays a significant role in shaping river flows and dam operations across the basin as more than a third of the Columbia’s water comes from Canada, including some of its coldest and most climate resilient sources. Among other positive changes, prioritizing Ecosystem Function means ensuring that fish have sufficient river flows in spring and early summer, especially in low to average water years.

Brian Brooks, Executive Director for the Idaho Wildlife Federation, said:

“Our salmon, and all of us who depend on them, face an existential threat as the Columbia River and its tributaries continue to warm. This summer's extreme heat has - again - made the threat plain. Northwest sportsmen and women need a modern Columbia River Treaty that helps tackle this challenge. The United States' Treaty Negotiating Team must craft an agreement with Canada that adds ‘Ecosystem Function’, the health of the Columbia and Snake Rivers, as a third Treaty purpose.”

The two countries have been in negotiations to update - or ‘modernize’ - the Columbia River Treaty for over four years. If a new agreement is not reached within two years of this Friday September 16th, the terms of the current Treaty will shift responsibility for flood control south of the border from Canada to the U.S., potentially forcing major operational changes at eight dams and reservoirs located in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Given the lack of transparency to date, signatories on the letter are increasingly worried about how the federal government will deal with uncertainties and operational changes while protecting fish and wildlife, honoring tribal treaty obligations, and supporting river communities.

The signatories also call on Canada to work expeditiously with the U.S. to find agreement on a modernized Treaty that benefits both sides of the watershed for decades to come. The Columbia is one river and the two countries it flows through face a shared future. Notably, federal, provincial, and Indigenous governments in Canada are pursuing the reintroduction of salmon to blocked areas with great public support. The success of this effort depends on the health of downstream river conditions and salmon runs in the U.S.

John DeVoe, Executive Director for WaterWatch of Oregon, said:

“Modernizing the Columbia River Treaty presents a once in a generation opportunity to reduce the impacts of flood control on the river that binds all of us together. Today, Canada stores vast quantities of water in massive reservoirs behind huge dams. Coordinated flood risk management through the Treaty expires in just two years, abruptly shifting responsibility from Canada to reservoirs in the U.S. This is not how U.S. dams have operated. We lack comprehensive plans for this change. And, we have grave concerns that federal agencies will further de-prioritize the health of fish and wildlife in order to manage flood risk. Upsetting operations for fish and wildlife, agriculture, hydropower, and other river uses due to inadequate planning and minimal consultation is an unnecessary - and unacceptable - outcome.”

The signing organizations are asking the public to help send a strong message to the Biden Administration and Northwest members of Congress at this crucial time. The recently launched ColumbiaRiverTreaty.org website includes a tool citizens can use to quickly send letters to federal agencies involved in the Treaty negotiations, as well as more background information.The organizations will also be hosting a webinar on Tuesday October 4th for those who’d like to learn more.

Commenting on the moral imperative to make change, Jessica Zimmerle, Advocacy Director for Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power and Light said:

“In the faith community we’re reflecting on how limiting the Columbia River Treaty to flood control and power generation embodies the antiquated mindset of human domination over nature. To truly modernize the Treaty, we must shift to an approach that centers stewardship and justice. Adding Ecosystem Function as a primary purpose and prioritizing governance by Indigenous sovereigns will put us on a path toward reconciliation with creation and one another.”

The U.S. NGO Treaty Caucus is an alliance of Northwest-based civic, faith, energy, and conservation organizations working for a modernized Columbia River Treaty that will serve our region’s diverse needs now and into the future. Core members include the Center for Environmental Law and Policy, Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light, League of Women Voters of Washington, Natural Resource Defense Council, Northwest Energy Coalition, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Sierra Club, and WaterWatch of Oregon.

Complete list of organizations that signed the letter: American Rivers, Association of Northwest, Steelheaders, Audubon Society of Portland, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Environmental Law and Policy, Columbia Riverkeeper, Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light, Endangered Species Coalition, Engineers for a Sustainable Future, Faith Action Network, Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Idaho Wildlife Federation, Institute for Fisheries Resources, National Wildlife Federation, Northwest Guides and Anglers Association, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, NW Energy Coalition, Oregon Coast Alliance, Oregon League of Conservation Voters, Oregon Wild, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Sierra Club, Spokane Riverkeeper, Washington Wildlife Federation, WaterWatch of Oregon, Whale Scout, Wild Orca, Wild Steelhead Coalition

###

On August 30, 2016, 33 Northwest and national organizations and business associations sent a letter asking the Bonneville Power Administration, Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation to schedule a 90-day Public Comment Period as part of the NEPA Scoping Process beginning soon after January 1, 2017. These three "Action Agencies" recently communicated that they were considering planning a series of meetings in the Northwest to solicit public input as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) this fall between mid-October and mid-January - the same timeframe as the Presidential election and major year-end holidays.

The letter expresses strong concern "that the proposed scoping process timeline would fall over—what is for us, our members, and many members of the public—the busiest time of year."

"Our organizations represent a diversity of interests and stakeholders that range from fishermen and business leaders to environmental advocates and scientific and energy experts. We offer important perspectives on the management of the Columbia and Snake River dams, and we are personally and professionally invested in this NEPA process…And the first step in that process is to allow a full and fair scoping opportunity consistent with the overall NEPA schedule, not one that could limit meaningful public participation."

"Our ask is simple—to be given a meaningful opportunity to participate in the scoping process. Specifically, we request that you not schedule public comment and hearings for this process over the election and holidays. Instead we ask that - regardless of when you initiate the scoping process - you schedule a public comment period of no less than 90 days that includes a series of public hearings throughout the region to commence in January 2017."

The 33 organizations and business associations signing the letter represent conservation organizations, commercial and sport fishing businesses, and clean energy advocates from the states of Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana and California.

Last May, BPA, ACOE and BOR - the federal agencies charged with protecting 13 populations of federally endangered wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake rivers - were handed their fifth consecutive defeat in federal court. Judge Michael Simon of the United States District Court in Portland soundly rejected 2014 Columbia Basin Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) Biological Opinion (BiOp) as inadequate and illegal. In addition to numerous violations of the Endangered Species Act, the Court also found that the agencies' plan violated NEPA. In his Court Order, Judge Simon is requiring the federal agencies to produce an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to NEPA that will inform the new lawful Biological Opinion several years from now.

NEPA requires the federal agencies to undertake a thorough, transparent, information-rich analysis and review of the latest scientific, economic and social information concerning the harmful impacts on wild salmon and steelhead caused by the federal dams on the lower Columbia and Snake Rivers. NEPA requires robust opportunities for public participation and full and careful consideration of all salmon restoration alternatives, including for example, the removal of the lower Snake River dams.

Scoping is the first step in a NEPA process and is designed to provide the public its opportunity to help the agencies identify the full set of issues, questions, and alternatives to analyze and consider.  The final product of this NEPA process - an EIS - is supposed to inform the next Biological Opinion for Columbia Basin salmon recovery and federal dam operations.  Signers of the August 30 letter firmly believe that scheduling Public Comment immediately after this fall – a very busy time year - will result in considerably more robust and substantive input - and a more inclusive and accessible dialogue within and across the region. And will build solid foundation for the analysis and review to follow.

You can view the letter (pdf) here.

For further information, please contact:

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Contacts:
Chris Daughters, owner, Caddis Fly Angling Shop, Eugene, (541) 342-7005
Bob Rees, Bob Rees’ Fishing Guide Service, Oregon City, (503) 812-9036
Aaron Altshuler, Patagonia, Portland, (518) 727-6412

Portland, OR – Today, 70 Oregon-based recreational fishing and outdoor-based companies delivered a letter to Oregon Governor Kate Brown thanking her for her commitment - and the State of Oregon’s ongoing leadership – to protect and restore endangered wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake River Basin.  

The letter can be downloaded here.

The fishing and outdoor recreation-based businesses sent their letter “to express our appreciation for your leadership and Oregon’s ongoing commitment to protect and restore abundant, harvestable, self-sustaining populations of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake rivers and their tributaries.” The letter states that “[t]he success – or the failure - of our businesses is linked tightly to the survival and recovery of our most iconic Northwest fish. For our businesses it’s pretty simple: more fish means more fishing. Salmon abundance leads directly to increased sales, manufacturing, guiding, and resident and non-resident travel, tourism and spending.”

Chris Daughters, the owner of The Caddis Fly Angling Shop in Eugene: “Healthy populations of salmon and steelhead are the bread and butter of many angling shops like mine. I am proud of Oregon’s long history advocating for these special fish – and I greatly appreciate Governor Brown’s commitment to maintain this legacy and leadership. Businesses like mine depend on it.”

Bob Rees, owner of Bob Rees’ Fishing Guide Service in Oregon City: “Oregon is home to literally hundreds of small, independent fishing guiding businesses just like mine. Our fishing sector overall – manufacturing, sales and guiding along with fishing-related food sales and lodging - generates tens of millions of dollars in Oregon every year. But only as long as there are fish and a fishing season. Since taking office, Governor Brown has not wavered in her commitment to protect and rebuild these fisheries for today’s and tomorrow’s Oregonians.  Without that type of leadership, my business cannot exist.”

The State of Oregon, joined by the Nez Perce Tribe and conservation and fishing advocates have successfully challenged a series of inadequate, illegal plans produced by federal agencies in the Northwest as required by the Endangered Species Act. Five consecutive plans have been rejected by the three different judges in the U.S. District Court in Portland over the past two decades. The most recent ruling was issued by Judge Michael Simon. He invalidated the latest federal plan and ordered the agencies to undertake a full and fair environmental review that considers all credible restoration options including the removal of the four lower Snake River dams. This spring, he also ordered additional spill starting in 2018. Spill sends water over dams and helps ocean-bound migrating juvenile salmon arrive more quickly and safely at the ocean.

This 2016 ruling invalidating the latest federal plan and 2017 order for injunctive relief designed to help endangered salmon and steelhead have been challenged by five Northwest lawmakers who recently introduced H.R. 3144 – legislation that if passed into law would further harm endangered salmon by blocking the additional court-ordered spill, locking in illegal, inadequate status quo operations for the hydro-system at least through 2022, and prohibiting study of critical measures to help salmon, including spill and lower Snake River dam removal.

Aaron Altshuler, Patagonia’s store manager in Portland: “Outdoor recreation is a big part of Oregon’s identity and economy. Thankfully, due to the visionary leadership of so many Oregon elected officials, our state has a rich legacy of wild lands, wild rivers, and wildlife. It is a big reason people come here. Outdoor businesses like Patagonia really appreciate the Governor’s commitment to both protecting and restoring healthy rivers and the wild salmon and steelhead populations they support. A healthy environment means rich outdoor opportunities, and that is really good for our bottom line and for thousands of other Oregon-based businesses.”

Today, there are thirteen wild salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia-Snake River Basin listed under the Endangered Species Act. Five consecutive federal plans have been rejected by three different judges across two decades. More than 10 billion American taxpayer and Northwest energy consumer dollars have been spent by federal agencies on Columbia Basin salmon restoration efforts over the last twenty years, though not a single population has recovered.

The Business Letter to Governor Brown can be viewed here.

June 10, 2021

CONTACTS:
John Sundstrom, Chef and Co-Owner, Lark – (206) 992-0598
Kristi Brown, Chef and Co-Owner, Communion – (206) 391-8140
Taichi Kitamura, Chef and Owner, Sushi Kappo Tamura – (206) 547-0937 Many of region’s restaurants and food industry depend on healthy and robust salmon runs SEATTLE—Today, 81 chefs, restaurant owners and food professionals across Washington state delivered a letter to Governor Inslee and Senator Patty Murray following up on their May 14 joint statement and supporting their commitments to restore salmon runs and invest in communities and a clean and affordable energy future.

“As business owners we have had the fight of our lives to keep the doors open and provide jobs for as many of our employees as possible. There is no doubt that the challenges we have faced have been felt in the supply chain right down to the people that grow and harvest the food we cook,” said Kristi Brown, chef and owner of Communion in the Capitol Hill District of Seattle. The Washington restaurant industry represents some of the businesses that are most impacted by COVID-19 with a total estimated loss of $10 billion for 2020. However, the health of many of the region’s restaurants and food industry depend on healthy and robust salmon runs.

“Farmers and fishermen need us as much as we need them,” Brown added. “That’s why we signed the letter thanking Governor Inslee and Senator Murray for their recent statement that recognizes the need for urgent action on salmon and the future of the Columbia River Basin. We urge them to take a comprehensive approach that addresses our region’s issues as a whole.” The Pacific Northwest faces a set of interconnected challenges today—to recover endangered salmon populations, uphold our nation’s responsibilities to tribes and invest in our communities and essential infrastructure. Washington’s elected officials need to act quickly and lead with bold actions that address these problems. Over the past three decades, the region has spent more than $18 billion on a series of inadequate and illegal federal salmon plans while our iconic fish decline toward extinction. A new approach that protects and restores salmon is urgently needed. Earlier this year, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson introduced a comprehensive proposal that includes restoring the lower Snake River and its endangered salmon populations. Dam removal was just one part of a much larger framework that also included major investments for irrigation, transportation and clean energy. Decades before COVID took its toll on the restaurant industry, other stakeholders and Northwest Tribes have been impacted by the steep declines in salmon populations across the state and region. “Conflict between salmon recovery and the energy and agricultural sectors has been an unintended consequence of dam construction in the Columbia Basin. We urgently need leadership from our elected officials to set things straight, meet community needs and revitalize the economy,” said Chef John Sundstrom of Lark in Seattle. “Given the importance of getting people back to work, it's imperative that we advance the process of restoring salmon and create more jobs in our region,” said Chef Taichi Kitamura, owner of Sushi Kappo Tamura and avid fly fisherman. “I want to continue fishing with my family, but I certainly don’t want to catch the last fish. We encourage Governor Inslee and Senator Murray to urgently advance a big regional package to recover salmon and invest in our communities. But we need action in months, not years— while salmon still have a chance at recovery.”
###

Short-term measures are needed to preserve wild salmon runs

January 9, 2017

CONTACTS:
Rebecca Bowe, Earthjustice, rbowe@earthjustice.org (415) 217-2093
Joseph Bogaard, Save Our Wild Salmon, joseph@wildsalmon.org (206) 300-1003

PORTLAND, Ore. – Conservationists and fishing groups represented by Earthjustice, together with the State of Oregon and with support from the Nez Perce Tribe, filed motions for injunctive relief today asking the U.S. District Court in Portland to compel federal agencies to take important interim steps to safeguard wild salmon. These measures should be implemented in the short-term while the agencies move ahead with developing a new plan to protect threatened and endangered wild salmon and steelhead runs in the Columbia and Snake rivers.

First, these parties have requested that the dam management agencies increase the amount of water that flows over the dam spillways, known as “spill,” to improve survival rates during the spring juvenile salmon migration season. Second, fishing and conservation groups represented by Earthjustice have also asked the Court to halt federal agency capital spending on major long-term investments in the four lower Snake River dams until the agencies complete a new and adequate salmon plan. The agencies must consider the alternative of removing these dams as part of that planning effort.  

“It makes no sense to continue investing tens of millions of dollars in these dams when we know removing them is the single best step we can take to protect our legacy of wild salmon in the Snake River,” said Earthjustice attorney Todd True.

The Court began ordering agencies to spill water past the dams in 2005 to help salmon survival, and the enhanced river flows have helped increase the survival of endangered and threatened salmon and steelhead. Scientific evidence now indicates that even more spill will provide even more survival benefits to these imperiled fish.

“The numbers of salmon returning to the Columbia Basin are declining and these declines are being felt sharply by our businesses and the families they employ,” said Liz Hamilton, executive director of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association. “From NSIA’s perspective, the best thing that has happened for salmon was when Judge Redden ordered more spill for fall outmigrants in 2006.  You’d think that the data on the positive response from fall chinook would have NOAA clamoring to do the same for spring outmigrants, but here we are.  More spill is a no-brainer for fish.”

An interim increase in spill will not guarantee the long-term survival of wild salmon, however, so Earthjustice is also seeking measures to ensure a fair and straightforward analysis that will ultimately steer salmon toward recovery. Until the agencies prepare a long-term and legal salmon plan that objectively examines dam removal, fishing and conservationist plaintiffs have called for a moratorium on spending on expensive infrastructure upgrades that aim to extend the life of the dams. The law is clear: These kinds of investments should be suspended to ensure a level playing field for examination of all of the alternatives the agencies must consider, including the alternative of removing the four Snake River dams.

"For 20 years Idahoans have been frustrated by the federal government's failure to deliver actions that work for salmon and the people who depend on them," said Kevin Lewis, executive director of Idaho Rivers United, one of the plaintiffs. "This filing is to prevent the federal government from stonewalling real progress in the Pacific Northwest and Idaho."

A significant drain on public resources would be eliminated with the removal of the four dams, which are money losers for both tax- and bill-payers. At the same time, dam removal could bring about an economic boost to the flagging commercial and sportfishing industries.

Sportfishing in the Northwest is a roughly $3 billion annual endeavor, with over half a million participants fishing in the Columbia tributaries and marine areas. Salmon declines have caused the commercial fishing industry to suffer, with government estimates showing that personal income values associated with Columbia salmon runs dropped from an historic high of approximately $500 million/year to under $20 million.

"The once-great salmon runs of the Columbia-Snake River are one of the Pacific Northwest's most valuable economic resources, potentially supporting a billion dollar fishing industry and tens of thousands more jobs," said Glen Spain, NW Regional Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA), a major fishing industry co-Plaintiff organization asking for this injunctive relief.  "Until there is a legal Salmon Recovery Plan in place, we are only asking the Court to order the feds to do more of what the scientists know works (i.e., more spring "spill") while not committing to doing more stuff like what has never worked." 

The four lower Snake River dams represent a minor and easily replaced component of the Northwest energy grid – yet continue to pose a major obstacle to salmon survival. To date, more than a quarter million supporters have formally submitted comments calling on federal agencies to remove the four lower Snake River dams. Investing millions in dam infrastructure at this point would amount to ignoring public feedback that salmon restoration should be the top priority.

View the motion from National Wildlife Federation et al here.

April 2, 2018 Contacts:
Todd True, attorney, Earthjustice, ttrue@earthjustice.org, 206-343-7340, ext. 1030
Steve Mashuda, attorney, Earthjustice, smashuda@earthjustice.org, 206-343-7340, ext. 1027
Tom France, regional executive director, National Wildlife Federation, france@nwf.org, 406-396-5085
Liz Hamilton, executive director, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, nsializ@aol.com, 503-704-1772
Joseph Bogaard, executive director, Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition, joseph@wildsalmon.org, 206-300-1003
Kari Birdseye, Natural Resources Defense Council, kbirdseye@nrdc.org, 415-875-8243

Appeals Court Affirms Order Requiring More Water Be Spilled Over Dams to Help Salmon Survive
Added flow over dams helps juvenile salmon on migration out to sea SAN FRANCISCO – The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has sided with almost a dozen conservation and fishing organizations, the Nez Perce Tribe, and the State of Oregon in their efforts to improve wild salmon and steelhead survival as the fish migrate to the Pacific Ocean.

Almost a year ago, in April 2017, U.S. District Judge Michael Simon ruled that federal dam managers on the Columbia and Snake Rivers have to meet higher spill requirements in the Spring when baby salmon are migrating to the ocean – meaning they must allow more water to flow over the dams between April and mid-June, to help facilitate safe passage for young salmon. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) appealed that ruling. Today, a three-judge Appeals Court panel rejected that appeal and affirmed the increased spill levels, saying that: The district court properly concluded that the listed species remain in a “precarious” state, and that they will remain in such a state without further conservation efforts beyond those included in the 2014 BiOp.
. . .
Significant evidence from decades of studies show[s] that spill volumes higher than those proposed in the 2014 BiOp will lead to higher survival rates for outmigrating [juvenile salmon]. The new spill operations will begin tomorrow at some dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers bringing much needed protections for baby salmon migrating down river now. “After more than 20 years of federal failure, salmon are in desperate need of help now,” said Todd True, Earthjustice attorney representing conservation, fishing, and clean energy advocates in the case. “The measures the Court upheld will give salmon a fighting chance while the federal government catches up to the scale and urgency of what the law requires to protect these fish from extinction.” “Today’s decision is just the most recent of many court orders that try to ensure federal river-management agencies in the Columbia Basin protect and restore wild salmon,” said Tom France, regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), the lead plaintiff in the case that prompted the NMFS appeal. “All these decisions have been clear – the status quo isn’t working and the fish deserve better. The time is now for federal agencies to follow the law.” The ruling reinforces Judge Simon’s Order for increased 2018 spill levels, set to begin April 3 for dams on the Snake River and April 10 for dams on the Columbia River. “We’re very happy that the Court recognized the obvious benefits to salmon of running the river like a river should, with increased flows over the spillway that help get young salmon past the turbines and out to sea safely,” said Glen Spain, Northwest regional director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA). “It’s tragic that the federal agencies are still ignoring their own science in fighting spill at every step of the way.” The federal agencies point out that more water spilled over the dams means less is being used to generate electricity. Liz Hamilton, executive director of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association (NSIA), sees that as a false alarm, since the Northwest power grid is often faced with a surplus, especially in the Spring months. She also sees the economic impact of fewer fish on communities and small businesses across the Northwest. “Fewer fish could be a nail in the coffin for more iconic Northwest fishing brands,” Hamilton said. “I know of companies trying to decide whether this is their last year in existence – brands that fishermen would recognize and recommend. We need hope, not more despair. And at the spill level the court required – and that has now been affirmed on appeal – we are going to see larger adult salmon returns.” “Today’s Order is a victory for endangered salmon, starving orcas, and everyone that depends on the power of the legal system to stand up to big government,” added Giulia Good Stefani, staff attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Marine Mammal Protection Project. “The Court of Appeals upheld a carefully reasoned, fact-based trial court decision to increase the amount of water over the dams this Spring.” This year marks the fourth time since 2005 that increased spill has been mandated by the District Court. REPORTER RESOURCES:
Link to decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Earthjustice Columbia-Snake River Salmon Resource Page: <earthjustice.org:salmon>

For Immediate Release
December 14, 2023

Media Contact
Tanya Riordan, Policy and Advocacy Director
Save Our wild Salmon Coalition
tanya@wildsalmon.org
509-990-9777

Biden administration commits significant federal resources to rebuild Columbia Basin salmon, honor obligations to Tribes, and prepare for lower Snake River dam breaching

SEATTLE, WA –  The new federal commitments announced today by the White House, the States of Oregon and Washington and four Columbia Basin Tribes are an important first step toward a comprehensive solution to restore healthy and abundant salmon populations, and essential to honoring Tribal Treaty obligations.

The agreement provides a multi-year pause in litigation to allow for implementation of commitments, actions, and federal investments advancing the recovery of salmon, steelhead and other Native fish populations throughout the Columbia River Basin, including more than half a billion dollars in NEW federal funding to the region and additional resources for habitat restoration and fish passage infrastructure.

These federal commitments are a turning point in the long-standing litigation to protect and restore Snake River salmon, and they build on comprehensive bi-partisan efforts, conclusive science, regional planning, public input, and State, Federal and Tribal leadership.

The federal commitments, actions, and investments identified respond directly to The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI), a groundbreaking, comprehensive and visionary joint proposal from the “Six Sovereigns” (the states of Washington and Oregon and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Spring Reservation, and the Nez Perce Tribe).

The CBRI offers a comprehensive roadmap to rebuild imperiled native fish populations, honor Tribal treaty rights, and restore healthy ecosystems while supporting a robust Pacific Northwest economy. The CBRI explicitly calls for the services of the lower Snake River dams to be replaced and then the dams breached within two fish generations (approximately 8 years) to avoid extinction and begin rebuilding salmon populations to healthy and harvestable levels.

Federal investments to restore the lower Snake River and replace and modernize irrigation, energy, and transportation infrastructure provide significant economic benefits to Tribes and communities throughout the Columbia and Snake River Basins, while addressing the impacts of climate change and the crisis facing salmon and orcas.

“Save Our wild Salmon Coalition applauds the Tribal, State, Federal, and NGO partners collaborative efforts in advancing a comprehensive solution, and securing important investments to begin to recover imperiled fish populations, honor Tribal treaty rights, and restore the lower Snake River. We must work together, urgently and effectively, to implement and build on these important steps forward – to prevent salmon and steelhead extinction. Urgent action, leadership and strong support from stakeholders and policymakers across the Northwest is essential - to seize this historic opportunity, end the harmful status quo, and move forward a comprehensive plan and investments - benefiting the entire region and future generations.”  Tanya Riordan, Save Our wild Salmon

###

United States House of Representatives

***PRESS RELEASE*** April 12, 2018 Washington, DC – Today, Representative Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) issued the following statement on the House Natural Resources Committee advancing H.R. 3144, related to the management of the Federal Columbia River Power System, through a full committee markup: “Voting on H.R. 3144 is simply another waste of Congressional time and resources. This bill circumvents the judicial process, undermines the Endangered Species Act and National Environmental Policy Act, and prevents the Pacific Northwest from coming together to protect listed Columbia River salmon and steelhead. “Salmon are the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest, yet we have failed to be responsible stewards of these creatures and their environment. Congress should focus on actually helping this species recover, not undermining this process through backwards legislation not based on sound science or robust public processes. I will vote against this bill if it comes to the floor, and I urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to do the same.” ###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
 
January 9, 2023
 
CONTACTS:
Bill Arthur, Snake River Salmon Campaign Chair, Sierra Club, 206-954-9826
Mitch Cutter, Salmon & Steelhead Associate, Idaho Conservation League,  541-280-8474
Joseph Bogaard, Executive Director, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, 206-300-1003
 
Bonneville Power Administration woefully underfunds the needs of endangered fish, in spite of urgent requests from Northwest States and Tribes.
 
SEATTLE, WA  – On January 6, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) finalized its decision on how to distribute more than $500 million in surplus revenues gathered from power sales in 2022. The decision affirms the agency’s earlier proposal to spend just 10% ($50 million) of these revenues on fish and wildlife projects. Most of the revenues (70%) will be returned to BPA’s customers to reduce rates, while the remaining share (20%) will be used to reduce the agency’s multi-billion dollar debt load.
 
The meager share dedicated to fish and wildlife is a serious failure, as urgently needed salmon and steelhead recovery projects continue to go underfunded and most wild populations in the Northwest slide closer to extinction. The Biden Administration, despite its oversight of BPA and involvement in long-running litigation around salmon and dams, also failed by allowing BPA to stick with its proposed allocation of these funds.
 
“BPA continues its historic approach to short-changing imperiled Northwest salmon as they slide toward extinction in no small part due to the fish-killing dams that BPA operates that generated this huge surplus of funds,” said Bill Arthur, Chair of Sierra Club’s Snake River Salmon Campaign. “We are surprised and disappointed that the Biden Administration did not require more of BPA given the commitments made to break from its costly, failed approach that has helped to drive our region’s emblematic fish to the brink of extinction.  We must do better if we are going to break this cycle of failure and it is clear BPA will not lead the way.”
 
“This year, the Biden Administration committed to effective, creative solutions to begin restoring salmon and steelhead to abundance," said Idaho Conservation League's Salmon & Steelhead Associate Mitch Cutter. "But what we’ve seen with this recent decision is more business-as-usual. BPA is nickel-and-diming the Northwest’s iconic fish to extinction, profiting off of the very dams that are killing the fish, and the Administration is letting them get away with it.”
 
BPA’s preliminary proposal last year received comments from multiple conservation organizations, sovereign Tribes, and the states of Oregon and Washington. These comments uniformly asked for a larger share of surplus revenues for fish recovery programs, which the states and Tribes manage. Many of these programs have been strategically defunded since 2018, as the agency sought to “control costs” by maintaining flat spending levels for fish and wildlife projects. This strategy and inflation have had devastating effects on the states and Tribes, forcing employees to work under substandard pay and undermining the effectiveness of recovery projects. Some new priority projects, like reintroducing salmon into the Upper Columbia River – from which they’ve been blocked since the 1930s – have gone completely unfunded.
 
“The Northwest and the nation need clean, affordable energy andhealthy, harvestable fish populations. It must be ‘both/and’ not ‘either/or’. It’s wrong for BPA to continue to pit low-cost power against healthy salmon runs”, said Joseph Bogaard, Save Our wild Salmon’s executive director. “We need BPA looking forward rather than backward - a leader who will work with the region to both seize opportunities and solve critical problems. Northwest people need BPA working constructively with states and tribes and embracing its multiple public responsibilities – including protecting and restoring endangered salmon and steelhead populations and the irreplaceable benefits they bring to our communities and ecosystems."
 
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Sierra Club: http://www.sierraclub.org/washington
Idaho Conservation League: http://www.idahoconservation.org
Save Our wild Salmon Coalition: http://www.wildsalmon.org

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503 Contact: Press@ceq.eop.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

October 4, 2021

CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory Holds Roundtable Discussion with Tribal Leaders at Yakama Nation (WA)

Today, White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Brenda Mallory convened a roundtable discussion with Tribal leaders representing the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the Yakama Nation, and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission at the Yakama Nation in Washington State. During the roundtable, Chair Mallory heard from Tribal leaders about the importance of a healthy environment, concerns about fish populations, and Tribal priorities for restoration and conservation.

Chair Mallory highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration’s priorities as they relate to Tribal communities, including the President’s Build Back Better agenda and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, the America the Beautiful initiative, and the Administration’s commitment to address long-standing environmental injustices through efforts like the Justice40 Initiative. She also discussed the paramount importance of improving engagement with Tribal and indigenous communities on the care and management of public lands and waters, protecting sacred and ceremonial sites, and upholding trust and treaty rights, a key component of President Biden’s America the Beautiful initiative. This comes as CEQ is set to convene two Tribal consultations in the coming weeks to garner input on the initiative, with a particular focus on supporting tribally led conservation and restoration priorities.

“It is an honor to hear from these Tribal leaders and the Columbia Rivera Inter-Tribal Fish Commission about critical issues impacting salmon preservation and restoration. Tribal Nations have stewarded these lands since time immemorial and their voices and expertise on these issues are critical. The climate and extinction crises are affecting all of us, with indigenous communities being among the hardest hit and most affected,” said Chair Mallory. “President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will make historic investments in improving climate resilience, restoring and conserving nature, and clean water infrastructure in indigenous communities. These investments will also help bolster the President’s commitment to support Tribal sovereignty and self-governance.”

“Today, we were grateful to welcome Chair Mallory to the Yakama Nation for her first visit to Indian Country as Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Engaging with Tribal leaders and hearing the priorities of our Tribal communities is essential to strengthening the United States’ Nation-to-Nation relationship with Tribal governments. We look forward to the opportunity to be strong partners in addressing the climate crisis, the protection and restoration of our salmon and fish resources, and the prioritization of Tribally led conservation efforts,” said Yakama Nation Chairman Delano Saluskin.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal includes a number of historic investments for Tribal communities, including funds for Tribal climate resilience through adaptation and community relocation planning and the design and implementation of projects. In addition, the deal includes funding for construction, repair, improvement and maintenance of irrigation and power systems, safety of dams, water sanitation and other facilities that serve Tribal communities. The deal also makes key investments for Salmon recovery and ecosystem restoration programs.

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United States moves closer to negotiating with Canada to modernize international River Treaty

CONTACTS:
Pat Ford  (Save Our wild Salmon) 208.345-9067  pford@wildidaho.org (Boise)
Greg Haller  (Pacific Rivers Council) 503.228.3555 greg@pacificrivers.org   (Portland)
John Osborn MD  (Ethics & Treaty Project) 509.939-1290  john@waterplanet.ws (Spokane)
John DeVoe  (WaterWatch of Oregon) 503.295-4039 x1  john@waterwatch.org  (Portland)

Center for Environmental Law & Policy  |  WaterWatch of Oregon    |   American Rivers   |   Pacific Rivers Council  |  Save Our wild Salmon  |  Sierra Club  |  Columbia Institute for Water Policy
 
 Spokane – Today Northwest conservation groups and the fishing community praised the U.S. State Department for including ecosystem function in the nation’s negotiation position as it prepares to negotiate the Columbia River Treaty with Canada.   The State Department’s decision came in a May 20 letter received on May 28 by members of the Northwest Congressional delegation, and is based on Regional Recommendations issued in December 2013 by the Bonneville Power Administration and the Army Corps of Engineers.

 The State Department letter to the Northwest Congressional delegation states, “Based on the Recommendation, we have decided to include flood risk mitigation, ecosystem-based function, and hydropower generation interests in the draft U.S. negotiating position.  We hope to approach Canada soon to being discussions on modernization of the Treaty.”

In the face of mounting regional concern about the need for the United States to move forward and negotiate with Canada, the State Department letter emphasizes that modernizing the river treaty is a priority for the nation:  “The Administration recognizes the significant economic and cultural role the Columbia River plays in the lives of your constituents in the Pacific Northwest, including numerous communities in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.  We assure you that the future of the Treaty is a priority, and internal deliberations are gaining momentum.”   The  State Dept and the Council of Environmental Quality briefed the regional’s Senate staff on February 27 and May 5, and the House staff on May 27.

With glaciers melting in the headwaters and water temperatures rising in the lower Columbia River, climate change is already threatening the river and fisheries that depend on the river.  Adding  ecosystem function as a third treaty purpose co-equal with hydropower and flood risk management would encourage both Canada and the United States to co-manage the Columbia River as a single river, restore salmon to areas now blocked by dams, and reconnect the river with floodplains.     "There is solid, broad-based support among Northwest states, Tribes, businesses and citizens to promptly begin formal talks with Canada to modernize the half-century-old Columbia River Treaty for tomorrow's Northwest,” said Pat Ford, representing  Save Our wild Salmon.  “Conservationists and fishermen applaud the State Department for taking this needed step.” "WaterWatch of Oregon commends the Obama Administration for taking the initial steps needed to get the region to the goals of abundant salmon runs, healthy river ecosystems and economic vitality for the many communities that depend on the Columbia River." The basis for the State Department’s decision is “Regional  Recommendation for the Future of the Columbia River Treaty after 2024,” issued in December 2013.That recommendation includes restoring the ecosystem as a primary purpose of an updated treaty, co-equal to hydropower and flood control -- a feature that will make the Treaty a model of international water management.  “The Regional Recommendation gives the Obama Administration a unique opportunity to improve the health of an iconic international river.  The northwest Congressional Delegation, and in particular, Senators Murray and Wyden, are to be commended for recognizing the need to seize the moment,” said Greg Haller, Conservation Director for the Pacific Rivers Council.  All four Northwest states, 15 Columbia Basin tribes, fishermen and environmentalists support that recommendation.  Religious  leaders have joined in support of Tribes and First Nations, based on the Columbia River Pastoral Letter. “Canada and the United States together have stewardship and justice responsibilities to manage the river as a single ecologic system,” said John Osborn, a Spokane physician and a coordinator of the Ethics & Treaty Project. “In a time of climate change the international effort to modernize the Columbia River Treaty can by summarized with just four words:  ‘One River, ethics matter.’”     The Columbia River Treaty went into effect in 1964.  In 2024 flood-risk responsibility, now shared by Canada and the U.S., shifts to the United States.  Canada would only provide assistance when the U.S. requests help.  Such a change will have major impacts in the U.S. on reservoir levels, hydropower production, water supply, irrigation, and salmon.  As written, the recommendation includes a public process to explore innovative ways to manage river flows and flood risk.   
# # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — JUNE 26, 2023

CONTACTS:
Rick Williams, Ph.D, fisheries biologist, Boise ID: 208-861-1325
Richard Scully, Ph.D, fisheries biologist (ret.), Lewiston, ID: 208-241-4095
Joel Kawahara, President, Coastal Trollers Association, Quilcene, WA, 206-406-7026
Bob Rees, recreational fishing guide and executive director of Northwest Guides and Anglers
Association, Oregon City, OR: 503-812-9036
Grant Putnam, fishing guide and farmer, Oregon City, OR: 503-784-1217
Stan Kuick, recreational fisherman, Richland, WA: 509-430-7157
Nancy Hirsh, executive director of the NW Energy Coalition, Seattle, WA: 206-409-9217
Tanya Riordan, policy and advocacy director, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Spokane, WA: 509-990-9777

Congressional field hearing ignores the urgency for protecting salmon from extinction and opportunity to develop a comprehensive package to invest in Northwest communities and infrastructure

Today at 1:00 p.m. PDT, the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries holds a Congressional field hearing titled “The Northwest at risk: the environmentalist’s effort to destroy navigation, transportation, and access to reliable power.” According the House Committee on Natural Resources, the hearing will focus on “the multipurpose benefits of the Columbia and Snake Rivers and the Federal Columbia River Power System, in particular the lower Snake River dams.”

This hearing will be held in the Richland High School auditorium, at 930 Long Avenue in Richland, Washington.

With the notable exception of Ms. Jennifer Quan, West Coast Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the list of witnesses represents a set of interests who benefit from a heavily industrialized Columbia and Snake Rivers. The development of these rivers over the last century has come at tremendous cost to wild salmon and steelhead populations and the many benefits they bring to tribal communities and cultures, non-tribal fishing communities and businesses, and fish and wildlife populations like critically endangered Southern Resident orcas. These interests have long resisted change to the federal hydro-system – including lower Snake River dam removal – necessary to protect our region’s emblematic fish from extinction, and to restore them to abundance.

The Columbia-Snake River Basin was once the most productive salmon landscape on the planet, but today are just 1-3% historic levels. Many runs have been lost, and thirteen that remain are at risk of extinction and listed under the Endangered Species Act, including all four Snake River populations.

The science today is clear: restoring the lower Snake River by removing its four federal dams is an essential cornerstone of any credible regional salmon recovery strategy. Up to 70 percent of the out-migrating smolts are killed each year as a result of dam powerhouse encounters, hot stagnant reservoirs, predation, and extended travel time. Other factors today such as harvest play a much less significant role in salmon mortality by comparison.

There are no Tribal representatives among the hearing witnesses. More than 50 Tribes live in the Northwest; they are co-managers with the Northwest states and federal government on salmon recovery and management policies. Salmon has been central to Tribal cultures, diet and economies since time immemorial, and the federal government signed treaties with Tribes more than 150 years guaranteeing salmon in perpetuity. Our nation will fail to uphold its promises made with Tribes if salmon go extinct.

The campaign to restore the river has gathered steam in recent years, especially since Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) unveiled a proposal in 2021 to breach the dams and replace the hydropower, transportation and irrigation benefits they provide by investing billions in communities and new infrastructure.

Over the past several years, the Biden Administration and plaintiffs in the long-running court case over endangered fish and the federal hydro-system have paused the litigation to undertake confidential settlement discussions. The deadline for the current pause is Aug. 31.

In 2021, Sen. Murray and Gov. Inslee joined forces to study this issue and last August released their Lower Snake River Dam Benefits Replacement Report and Recommendations. The report found that the dams’ services can be replaced and that this must occur prior to dam removal. Gov. Inslee and our state legislature followed up on this report during this year’s legislative session. $7.5 million was set aside in the 2023-25 Washington State budget to develop transition plans for the energy, transportation, and irrigation services the dams provide.

Below are statements from scientists, fishing business leaders, NGO leaders and local residents:

Liz Hamilton, executive director for the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association: “Salmon fishing supports thousands of jobs and is an important part of our Northwest way of life. But fishing businesses are struggling for survival today, and the rock bottom runs and fishing closures have been devastating. We need all of our elected leaders leaning in and working on real solutions rather than misleading, stonewalling and sandbagging.”

Bob Rees, recreational fishing guide and executive director for the Northwest Guides and Anglers Association: “The record low returns of salmon and steelhead in recent years has hit my guiding business - and our family’s economy – very hard. The guides I work with face similar hardship. The sudden fishing closures have forced us cancel trips, disappointing our clients and reducing our income. Our salmon and steelhead are in deep trouble today – and we need committed leadership not divisive rhetoric from our elected officials.”

Richard Scully, Ph.D, IDFG fisheries biologist (ret.): “The science today is settled. The federal dams and their reservoirs are the greatest source of human-caused mortality for salmon and steelhead. Unless the lower Snake River dams are removed, we will lose its salmon and steelhead and the many the benefits they bring to our region forever. Time is running out. Rather than seeking real solutions, the politicians running this hearing offer misinformation and unhelpful rhetoric. Rep. Simpson (R-ID) said it perfectly: everything we do on this river, we can do differently. But the salmon need a river.”

Stan Kuick, recreational fisherman and Richland resident: “As a long-time resident of Richland, I find this hearing embarrassing. Snake River salmon and steelhead are not doing fine. They are in deep trouble today. Fishing opportunities are being closed and fishing businesses are struggling. Our nation is breaking its promises to tribes. None of this seems to matter. The witnesses in this hearing lash out at the Biden Administration and serve up the same misinformation and lies. It’s heartbreaking - these so-called leaders insist on defending failure when the solutions are right in front of us. Yes - we can replace the dams’ services and invest in our communities. No - we cannot replace wild salmon and steelhead once they are gone.”

Joel Kawahara, President, Coastal Trollers Association: "As a salmon fisherman I put food on people’s tables, just like farmers do. Declining salmon returns and fishing closures are hurting our businesses and communities. We don’t need another one-sided hearing. We need leadership committed to real solutions. Restoring Snake River salmon and replacing the dams’ services is a huge opportunity for our state and region to modernize infrastructure, create jobs, expand clean and affordable energy, keep farmers farming – and fishermen fishing.

Tanya Riordan, Policy and Advocacy Director for the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition: “The politicians who are doubling down on false information to defend costly, harmful, and out-dated dams are irresponsible. They are out of touch with the reality of the crisis facing salmon and the devastating cultural and economic impacts to tribal communities and our cherished Northwest fishing opportunities. We ask them instead to focus on bringing people together to develop durable, lawful, science based solutions and join in the effort to secure important infrastructure investments and to support communities throughout the dam removal and transition process.

Rev. AC Churchill, executive director for Earth Ministry / Washington Interfaith Power and Light: “As a faith leader, I know how challenging it can be to bring people together to make difficult decisions. How we care for our Earth while providing for our families is not a simple question and we need policymakers who are invested in bringing folks together to develop shared solutions including, solutions that protect salmon from extinction, uphold our nation’s promises to tribes, and meet other important challenges facing our region’s communities. I’m worried how the hearing in Richland today did little to bridge divides and instead further drove a wedge between communities who often have more in common than we are led to believe.”

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February 10, 2016 CONTACTS:
Joseph Bogaard, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, 206-300-1003 (U.S.)
Martin Carver, Aqua Environmental Assoc. 250-354-7563 (Canada)
Greg Haller, Pacific Rivers, 208-790-4105 (U.S.)
Bob Peart, Sierra Club of BC, 250-386-5255 x249 (Canada) Conservation, fishing and faith communities call for U.S and Canadian government collaboration as an essential step towards modernizing the Columbia River Treaty to protect the environmental values of this important trans-boundary river.   Fifty-one organizations and associations from the Northwest region of the United States and Canadian province of British Columbia sent a letter today to top policymakers on both sides of the border urging them to jointly develop and share critical information as an essential step to protecting and restoring the Columbia River and its watershed in advance of negotiations to modernize the 52-year old U.S.-Canada Columbia River Treaty. Signers of this letter include leaders from conservation, commercial and recreational fishing, and faith communities. They represent millions of people in both countries. The letter is addressed to Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephane Dion; United States Secretary of State John Kerry; and British Columbia’s Premier Christy Clark. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. “Modernizing the Columbia River Treaty to meet the challenges of the 21st Century must focus on protecting and restoring the health of this important river and its watershed,” said Martin Carver of Nelson, British Columbia. Mr. Carver is among the non-governmental leaders in Canada working with those in the United States to broaden the Treaty’s current scope to include a new purpose that prioritizes the protection and restoration of the Columbia River.

The scope of the original Treaty of 1964 was limited to just two purposes: coordinated power production and flood management.. The impending negotiations provide an opportunity to elevate the ecological needs of the river and address the mounting impacts of climate change. “The organizations signing this letter represent millions of people who understand that the health of the Columbia River and the interests of communities in both nations will be best served by Treaty negotiations based on collaboration rather than competition,” stated Joseph Bogaard, executive director of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition. “Though the Columbia River might span two countries, it is one river within its own watershed. Our two nations need to work together to manage and protect it as a single system.” The letter states that the greatest ecological benefit will be achieved “if all stakeholders can access and use a common analytic base. The modeling process should be transparent and informed by our combined best available science.” The coordinated development and sharing of information between the two countries has occurred before. The U.S. and Canada created an international board prior to the original Treaty negotiations to produce common technical analyses and evaluations for both nations. The letter urges policymakers in both countries to “examine this precedent for a common analytic base, and [to] update and expand it with modern tools, collaboration, and transparency.”   “The health of the Columbia River’s ecosystem was compromised from over-development in the last century and now climate change in this one,” said Greg Haller, conservation director for Pacific Rivers. “A modernized Treaty must protect and restore the health of the river, its fish and wildlife and help ensure that its communities are more resilient to the intensifying effects of climate change,” The letter cites the restoration of wetlands and floodplains, minimizing the impact of dam operations on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and the reintroduction of salmon into Canada as examples of what’s needed to improve the ecology of the river. “The Canadian portion of the river was heavily impacted by the construction of dams pursuant to the 1964 Treaty” said Bob Peart, executive director of the Sierra Club of BC.  “Treaty modernization offers the best chance for restoring some of the ecological values and environmental services that were lost when the dams were built and that continue to be impacted on a daily basis. The health of the river will benefit if both nations work together towards mutual environmental goals.” The 2,000 km long Columbia River originates in the Canadian province of British Columbia before flowing south into Washington State. It has been heavily dammed primarily for power, water storage and flood management. The Treaty was first established by the United States and Canada in 1964 to coordinate power production and flood management on the Columbia River. Important provisions of the Treaty are set to expire in 2024 and a window to update or modernize the Treaty opened in September 2014. Over the past 5 years in anticipation of 2024, both nations have begun preparing for negotiations.  
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December 11, 2017
Contacts:
Greg Haller, Conservation Director at Pacific Rivers: (503) 228-3555; greg@pacificrivers.org
Joseph Bogaard, Executive Director at Save our Wild Salmon Coalition: (206) 300-1003; joseph@wildsalmon.org On December 7th the U.S. Department of State announced that formal negotiations with Canada over the fate of the fifty-three year old U.S.-Canada Columbia River Treaty will begin in early 2018. A broad coalition of conservation, fishing and religious organizations representing hundreds of thousands of Pacific Northwest residents, hailed the announcement. “Conservation and fishing groups are encouraged that the two countries are moving forward with Treaty negotiations. Modernizing the Treaty to improve the health of the river and communities on both sides of the border is not just an opportunity, but also a critical need given the challenges salmon face in the 21st century,” said Samantha (Sam) Mace of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition. The Columbia River Treaty was originally ratified in 1964 to reduce the risk of floods in downstream cities like Portland, Oregon and to develop additional hydropower capacity. The Treaty accomplished these goals through the construction of three large storage reservoirs in British Columbia (Duncan, Mica and Keenleyside), which added 15.5 million acre-feet of storage capacity. Canada built Mica Dam larger than the Treaty required, adding another 5 million acre feet of non-Treaty storage for power production. The Treaty also spurred the construction of Libby Dam in Montana, which added an additional 5 million acre feet flood storage space and hydropower capacity. All told, these projects doubled the storage capacity of the basin – and dramatically reduced the river’s natural spring flows. Notably, consideration of the health of the Columbia River and its fish and wildlife populations were not included in the original Treaty. Not only did the construction of the dams result in the displacement of people, economies and cultures as a result of permanently flooded lands, it had a profound effect on salmon and other fish and wildlife species – and the communities that rely on them - on both sides of the border. While the Treaty has no formal end date, provisions that govern joint flood risk management operations are set to expire in 2024, which would have major ramifications for how reservoirs in the U.S. part of the basin are managed. Additionally, U.S.-based utilities are keen to reduce the amount of power they deliver to Canada each year as required by the Treaty. Conservation, fishing and faith organizations, on the other hand, view the pending negotiations as an opportunity to include “ecosystem-based function” – or health of the river - as a formal component of a modernized Treaty, on equal footing with flood risk management and hydropower production. Including ecosystem-based function would mean improved river flows to aid salmon’s out-migration to the ocean and improve water quality. It would also mean improved fish passage and reintroduction of salmon and steelhead into areas made inaccessible to salmon by dams in the U.S. and Canada. Treaty modernization also creates an opportunity to improve the governance of the Treaty to allow a more transparent and inclusive process for negotiations and implementation. “The Columbia River Treaty is often hailed as a model of transboundary river management. Adding ecosystem-based function and ensuring the governance of the river is transparent and inclusive will truly make the Treaty a model for international river management in the 21st Century”, said Greg Haller of Pacific Rivers. “We aim to prod both countries to achieve that goal.” Links -
Regional Recommendation and Cover Letter, U.S. Entity

For Immediate Release: Conservationists Urge the Biden Administration to Reinvigorate Columbia River Treaty Negotiations by Increasing Transparency and Regional Collaboration for Climate Resilience and Salmon Recovery ​

June 30, 2021

Media Contacts:
Greg Haller, Pacific Rivers: greg@pacificrivers.org and (208) 790–4105.
Joseph Bogaard, Save Our wild Salmon: joseph@wildsalmon.org and (206) 300-1003.

While much of the Pacific Northwest is suffering under record-breaking heat and expanding drought, a coalition of leading conservation, civic and faith organizations has sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling on the Biden Administration to redouble efforts to modernize the U.S.-Canada Columbia River Treaty by prioritizing the health of the river and improving the negotiation process to be more transparent and inclusive. They sent a companion letter to leaders in Canada commending their approach to treaty negotiations. ​The 57-year-old treaty authorized the construction of three dams in the Canadian portion of the Columbia River, and allowed the construction of Libby Dam on the Kootenai River in Montana. Since 1964, the treaty has governed hydropower and flood risk operations exclusively. Conservation and faith organizations, tribes, and First Nations have called for ecosystem function to be an additional, primary purpose of a new, modernized treaty. Treaty negotiations between the two nations began in 2018, but the coalition argues the U.S. process has been opaque and un-inclusive. In contrast, the Canadian government includes First Nations in the negotiations and regularly provides detailed information to the public. Speaking on behalf of the U.S. Treaty Conservation Caucus, Greg Haller, the Executive Director of Pacific Rivers, explains: “The Biden Administration can reinvigorate negotiations to modernize the Columbia River Treaty by addressing important environmental and social justice issues, and employing an inclusive and transparent approach to negotiations and treaty implementation.” Joseph Bogaard, Executive Director of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, adds: “The Canadians are providing a helpful blueprint the U.S. can, and should, emulate. Greater transparency and inclusiveness will lead to better outcomes for our communities, the river, and its struggling fish and wildlife populations.” The coalition has communicated a series of recommendations for the Biden Administration, including adding a representative for ecosystem function in treaty implementation; renewing and improving engagement with communities in the basin; and seeking, and considering, requests and proposals from the fifteen tribes in the U.S. portion of the Columbia River Basin. The letters to Secretary of State Blinken and Canadian leadership, along with other resources and information on the Columbia River Treaty, are listed below.

U.S. Treaty Conservation Caucus: Letter to Biden-Harris Administration (June 2021)

U.S. Treaty Conservation Caucus: Letter to Canadian Government and First Nations ​(June 2021)

U.S. Treaty Conservation Caucus is a broad coalition of advocates and nonprofit organizations working to represent forward-looking and restorative conservation, clean energy, civic, faith, fishing, and economic efforts and outcomes in the Columbia River Basin. The coalition consists of representatives from American Rivers, Center for Environmental Law and Policy, Earth Ministry, League of Women Voters of the United States, Pacific Rivers, Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition, Sierra Club, and WaterWatch of Oregon.

August 16, 2013

Local citizens, conservation groups call for better economic analysis, environmental review

Contact:       
Sam Mace, Inland NW Director, Save Our Wild Salmon 509-863-5696  
Kevin Lewis, Conservation Director, Idaho Rivers United, 208-343-7481  
Linwood Laughy, 208-926-7875

Local citizens and conservation groups applaud the announcement that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has delayed a controversial proposal to dredge behind Lower Granite dam including the shipping channel and ports of Lewiston and Clarkston. 

 The Corps originally wanted to begin dredging this winter but now admits that their proposal needs more thorough environmental review.   For the past several months citizens, conservation groups and the Nez Perce Tribe have raised serious concerns about the impacts on endangered wild salmon and economic costs of the Corps’ dredging plans, and the Corps failure to provide adequate analysis of either.

“We’re glad the Army Corps has delayed its ill-advised rush to dredge this coming winter,” said SOS Inland Northwest Director Sam Mace.  “We look forward to working with the Corps and others to now take a harder look at whether the dredging plans make sense for salmon or taxpayers.”

“The Corps needs to take this opportunity to complete an honest cost-benefit analysis of dredging the lower Snake River and seriously ask whether the perpetual dredging is the best solution to the growing flood risk sediment is causing for Lewiston, ID and Clarkston, WA,” said Linwood Laughy, local resident and author of Five Myths of Freight Transportation on the Lower Snake River.  “The agency also needs to address the immense taxpayer costs associated with maintaining the lower Snake waterway.”

“Our calls for further scrutiny have helped postpone this ill-conceived dredging plan,” said Kevin Lewis, Conservation Director for Idaho Rivers United.  “The American taxpayer expects and deserves a transparent and honest assessment of further subsidizing obsolete forms of shipping.”

# # #

August 16, 2013

Local citizens, conservation groups call for better economic analysis, environmental review

Contact:       
Sam Mace, Inland NW Director, Save Our Wild Salmon 509-863-5696  
Kevin Lewis, Conservation Director, Idaho Rivers United, 208-343-7481  
Linwood Laughy, 208-926-7875

Local citizens and conservation groups applaud the announcement that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has delayed a controversial proposal to dredge behind Lower Granite dam including the shipping channel and ports of Lewiston and Clarkston. 

 The Corps originally wanted to begin dredging this winter but now admits that their proposal needs more thorough environmental review.   For the past several months citizens, conservation groups and the Nez Perce Tribe have raised serious concerns about the impacts on endangered wild salmon and economic costs of the Corps’ dredging plans, and the Corps failure to provide adequate analysis of either.

“We’re glad the Army Corps has delayed its ill-advised rush to dredge this coming winter,” said SOS Inland Northwest Director Sam Mace.  “We look forward to working with the Corps and others to now take a harder look at whether the dredging plans make sense for salmon or taxpayers.”

“The Corps needs to take this opportunity to complete an honest cost-benefit analysis of dredging the lower Snake River and seriously ask whether the perpetual dredging is the best solution to the growing flood risk sediment is causing for Lewiston, ID and Clarkston, WA,” said Linwood Laughy, local resident and author of Five Myths of Freight Transportation on the Lower Snake River.  “The agency also needs to address the immense taxpayer costs associated with maintaining the lower Snake waterway.”

“Our calls for further scrutiny have helped postpone this ill-conceived dredging plan,” said Kevin Lewis, Conservation Director for Idaho Rivers United.  “The American taxpayer expects and deserves a transparent and honest assessment of further subsidizing obsolete forms of shipping.”

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CONTACT:
Rebecca Bowe | rbowe@earthjustice.org| 415.217.2093
Emily Nuchols | Emily@undersolenmedia.com |360.510.8696
Greg Stahl | greg@idahorivers.org | 208.721.0596
Joseph Bogaard | joseph@wildsalmon.org | 206.300.1003

PORTLAND, OR — Federal dam operators on the Columbia and Snake rivers must increase water releases over spillways at eight dams to improve survival rates for juvenile salmon migrating to the ocean starting in 2018, a federal court ruled today. Portland U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon found that current operation of these federal dams is causing continued irreparable harm to imperiled salmon and steelhead and that increased “spill” indisputably provides safer passage for juvenile salmon navigating the heavily dammed Columbia-Snake River Basin. In the meantime, the spill in place under court order since the summer of 2005 will continue.

“While we recognize that this relief will not eliminate the harm to salmon and steelhead from dam operations in the long run, we are encouraged that increased spring spill will be granted to reduce irreparable harm to juvenile salmon and steelhead,” said Earthjustice attorney Todd True. Together with the State of Oregon and the Nez Perce Tribe, Earthjustice sought the injunction to increase voluntary spill on behalf of the National Wildlife Federation, Pacific Coast Federation of Fisheries Associations, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Idaho Rivers United, the Northwest Energy Coalition and other conservation organizations and fishing business associations.

Fishermen were especially encouraged by the court's decision to require the agencies to provide increased spill until a new lawful plan is in place. “We’re relieved that the court will provide much-needed near-term help to salmon populations that call the Columbia and Snake rivers home,” said Amy Grondin, a Washington commercial salmon fisherman. “Family fishing businesses like mine have struggled for years due to low salmon populations. We can’t continue to wait for years for the federal agencies to finally get this right.”

“This is about much more than saving fish,” said Liz Hamilton, executive director of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association.  “Until the federal agencies are willing to comply with the law, we are glad short-term measures will be in place to give migrating fish the fighting chance they need. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to get this right.”

“We’re pleased that the court continues to closely examine the facts in this case and recognizes that these facts demand additional actions on behalf of Columbia and Snake River salmon and steelhead,” said Tom France, regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation.

Federal agencies are currently conducting a National Environmental Policy Act EIS Review in the wake of a May 2016 ruling that rejected the government’s latest salmon protection plan as illegal under NEPA and the Endangered Species Act. Agencies must consider removing the four lower Snake River dams as one of several alternatives in that analysis. Last fall, they held a series of NEPA scoping meetings to solicit public input on the new plan across the Northwest that drew thousands of people in support of dam removal. At a March 9 court hearing, however, Judge Simon indicated he was "disheartened" by feedback from concerned citizens that the agencies had not provided adequate information nor offered meaningful opportunity for input and dialogue.

The request for injunction also sought a moratorium on tens of millions in capital spending on projects that would extend the life of dams on the lower Snake River at a time when the agencies are supposed to be fully and fairly considering their removal.  The Court agreed with the conservation and fishing groups that these capital investments likely create “a significant risk of bias.”  While the Court did not grant the request for an immediate halt to spending on all future capital projects, it ordered the Corps to provide the groups with regular and timely advance notice of planned projects so that they may seek an injunction against those that “substantially may bias the NEPA process.”

"For more than two decades we've been asking federal agencies to do more for our endangered wild salmon,” said Kevin Lewis, executive director of Idaho Rivers United. “It's unfortunate we've had to go to court to get the results our salmon and people who depend on them need, and it's equally disturbing that the federal government continues to pour tens of millions of dollars into propping up four obsolete dams on the lower Snake River. It's simultaneously encouraging, however, that a federal judge has once again agreed with us."

REPORTER RESOURCES:

Judge Simon's decision to grant injunctive relief to the plaintiffs HERE.

Excerpts from Judge Simon's March 27 ruling on injunctive relief HERE.

Background and materials from Judge Simon's May 2016 ruling HERE.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — May 26, 2023

CONTACT:
Marc Sullivan, Save Our wild Salmon, sullivanmarc@hotmail.com, 360-504-3949

Diverse voices call on Biden Administration to act quickly to replace Snake River dams’ services and restore the river to recover endangered fish, uphold promises to Native American Tribes, and invest in communities and critical infrastructure

On May 25, business owners, Tribal members, fishermen, orca and salmon scientists, urban and rural residents, and youth from across the Pacific Northwest called on the federal government to urgently develop a plan to remove the four lower Snake River dams and replace their services before wild salmon – and the Southern Resident orcas that rely upon them - go extinct.

Hosted by the White House Council on Environmental Quality, yesterday’s three-hour listening session aimed to gather public input on litigation about the lower Snake River dams, which is currently paused to allow for mediation and settlement discussions to develop a durable, long-term plan to protect and restore endangered anadromous fish populations in the Columbia-Snake River Basin.

Last September, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report confirmed that removing the dams is essential to stop the decline in Snake River salmon populations, echoing decades of prior research that have said the same. The NOAA report includes restoring a freely-flowing lower Snake River as one of three “centerpiece recovery actions” needed to sustain and recover abundant populations of wild salmon and steelhead. Replacing the services provided by the dams is a necessary step in ensuring the region continues to have affordable renewable energy and reliable agricultural transportation and irrigation systems.

Many participants thanked Senator Patty Murray, Washington state legislators and Governor Jay Inslee for their leadership and support for planning how to replace the services currently provided by the dams as they urged the Biden Administration to honor its commitment to develop "a durable long-term strategy to restore salmon and other native fish populations to healthy and abundant levels," by taking concrete steps in this direction this summer.

Overall, 56 people provided testimony. 39 spoke in favor of restoring a free-flowing lower Snake River as part of a larger comprehensive regional solution for wild fish and communities. People also expressed support for passage and reintroduction of salmon above Grand Coulee Dam. Many speakers expressed grave concerns about current salmon and steelhead population levels and scientists’ predictions this year about continued declines and record low returns for at least some Snake River stocks. 17 attendees spoke out against dam removal. Overall, in the three Listening Sessions hosted by the Biden Administration this spring, 124 speakers expressed support for river restoration while 35 have opposed.

Select quotations from speakers are included below.

"Time and time again, BPA has prioritized power generation over salmon recovery. BPA has now been in charge of 40 years of failed salmon recovery plans costing over $25 billion. The result—we are now further away from salmon recovery and much closer to salmon extinction. It is clear that the status quo is not working." – Margie Van Cleve, Selah, WA

“I fish for Salmon to feed my family and community. Fishing is not just a sport to me; it is an integral part of who I am; it is in my Native Hawaiian and Native American culture, it is in my DNA, my blood. Fishing is part of my greater spiritual connection, and the Columbia Basin is my church (perhaps different from your church, but every bit as sacred to me as yours is to you).

We all know what we have to do; we’ve known it for a long, long time. We need to breach the four dams as soon as possible. We know we can replace the energy, transportation, irrigation and other benefits of the river; we do not need to make choices between power, medicine or food. The Biden Administration says they want abundant salmon, justice for tribes and a strong economy. Prove it to us; remove the lower Snake River dams before it is too late.” – Stevie Kapanui Parsons, Aloha, OR

"If this administration is to be remembered for its ‘America the Beautiful’ values, it cannot be complicit in the demise of salmon and of killer whales—not under the watchful eye of the right side of history. As an Indigenous historian, a treaty salmon sport fisher, and with all the power of my ancestors - honor the treaties and breach the Lower Snake River dams.” – Ashley Nichole Lewis, Quinault Indian Nation member, fishing guide, doctoral candidate

"I am a fourth generation wheat farmer. I live 19 miles from the nearest barging terminal. Recently a new operation opened and I can now ship my wheat less than a mile, and then have it moved to a rail line. My wheat farming neighbors and I do not care how our wheat gets to market. We need affordable, reliable means to ship our grain. Today fellow farmers must begin talks of possible solutions before the dams are removed. We need to listen to science - not the politicians.” – Bryan Jones, wheat farmer, Dusty, WA

“With each promised remedy came renewed hope that this would be the game changer. In reality, all these fixes were able to do was to postpone extinction of salmon in Idaho. And at a great expense to taxpayers, but more even more costly to tribes, small communities and their businesses that lost a vital part of their livelihood, their culture, their spiritual connection to things greater than themselves, their future existence.

I don’t want to lose hope. But these past 5 decades have been hard not only on my community, but on my optimism. This year’s runs may be some of the lowest in recorded history. Especially for steelhead. But I remain hopeful that we can recover salmon, protect the farmers that need affordable and dependable transportation and embrace new energy technologies that are quickly making these dams obsolete. And I am hopeful because politicians like our Rep. Simpson and Washington Gov. Inslee have shown political courage and leadership. Please support this process.” – Jerry Myer, fishing guide (ret.) and ranch manager, speaking for his family; Salmon, ID

"Power interests are nickel and diming our salmon runs to extinction. It has been done slowly, so few people notice the cause and effect. Well, it can’t be hidden any more. These dams in the lower Snake we are speaking of, they are more or less a blank checkbook selling our Salmon into extinction." – Stephen Gettel, Milwaukie, OR

"I am here today stepping out from class to give my comment because I believe that in order to return salmon in the Snake River to healthy and harvestable levels and invest in a future of clean energy, we need to take out the four lower Snake River dams. We can replace the energy provided by these dams with fully renewable energy and I urge you to take action on this for me, my siblings, my friends, and generations to come." – Tessa Alford, high school student, Lewiston, ID.

"I spent the spring of 1982 as a barge rider on the Columbia and Snake rivers working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, collecting juvenile salmon and steelhead from facilities at the 4 LSRD and McNary Dam on the Columbia and transporting them to below Bonneville Dam to release smolts. Like many other techno-fixes that have been tried, these efforts failed to restore a single ESA-listed wild salmon or steelhead stock from rivers in N.E. Oregon, S.E. Washington or Idaho." – Amy Grant, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist (ret.)

"We ask that our government correct the mistakes of the past by moving forward to replace the dams’ services while preparing to breach the four lower Snake River Dams. And please do so quickly. Our salmon and steelhead are running out of time." – Norm Ritchie, fisherman and boardmember, Association of Northwest Steelheaders, Gresham, OR

"I made a choice to stop guiding steelhead fishing due to decreased run size of steelhead populations. Seasons closed, businesses slowed, and my livelihood suffered. But more than anything, I felt guilty harassing a population that was already so depressed. The main issue, however, is not my guiding or fishing. The main issue is that Salmon and steelhead need rivers. The dams have reduced the Snake to a series of lakes." – Ian Faurot, McCall, ID

"And even during my relatively short time guiding, I have seen a steep decline in yearly averages to the point of full river closures up and down the Columbia corridor. So much so that I have lost full seasons and opportunities due to low steelhead returns and morally feeling unethical to target such a struggling fish." – KynsLee Scott, fly-fishing guide, Missoula, MT

Letter calls for collaborative and durable solutions to address impacts of Columbia Basin federal dams.

Feb 24, 2020

SEATTLE—In a letter to the Governors of Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana, energy company and conservation community leaders called on elected officials across the Pacific Northwest to prioritize collaborative solutions to address the issues surrounding the Lower Snake River, including the long-term decline of salmon and steelhead populations.

Signed by 17 leaders of energy companies, utilities and conservation organizations from across the Pacific Northwest, the group stressed the need to find long-term and durable solutions that would:
• Recover abundant and harvestable salmon and steelhead populations
• Honor identity and cultural values as well as federal treaties and responsibilities for Columbia Basin tribes
• Enhance regional economies including farming, transportation, fishing, recreation, port and tribal enterprises in the Columbia Basin
• Ensure electric system reliability, affordability and decarbonization

The letter comes with the expected release of the Columbia River System Operation Draft Environmental Impact Statement, an extensive document that could provide a springboard for stakeholders and elected officials to help solve the complex challenges the Pacific Northwest currently faces.

“It is clear that there is an urgent need for the region and all of us whose wellbeing is tied to the Columbia and Snake Rivers to come together to identify the actions and investments needed to recover harvestable salmon and steelhead populations, conserve other fish and wildlife, honor and protect tribal needs and way of life, and strengthen the electricity and agricultural services that communities rely on,” the group wrote. “A well designed regional strategic vision and plan that moves all interests forward together is the way these interconnected challenges will be solved.”

Representatives from the signed companies and organizations issued the following statements:

“This is an extremely complex challenge facing the stakeholders in the Pacific Northwest. I’m looking forward to the continued dialogue and looking for long-term durable solutions that meet all the shared goals developed by the group and outlined in the letter to the Northwest Governors.” K. David Hagen, General Manager, Clearwater Power Company

“It is encouraging that such a variety of stakeholders have started this dialog together. We are all blessed with the natural resources of the Pacific Northwest, including the Columbia and Snake Rivers, and we must work together to chart a path forward that provides the best long-term stewardship possible that meets our diverse interests, including environmental, social, and economic. I am honored to have been introduced to my fellow partners, who care so much about the Pacific Northwest and recognize the importance of the Columbia River. Developing a robust go-forward plan that meets everyone’s needs will be tough, but often the most challenging issues become the most rewarding opportunities. The importance of a successful outcome cannot be understated.” Frank Lawson, General Manager, Eugene Water & Electric Board

“Idaho Falls Power is committed to working collaboratively to better understand the needs of all stakeholders in our region to progress towards solutions that meet our diverse needs. I have appreciated the mutual respect and understanding this group of stakeholders has offered to each other and look forward to continuing progress.” Bear Prairie, General Manager, Idaho Falls Power

“The issues before us are complex but our mutual interests as a region are much greater than the issues that divide us. The time is now for us all to come together as a region to work collaboratively to restore fish, meet our energy needs and move progressively forward.” Chad Jensen, CEO, Inland Power and Light

“Our region’s salmon, steelhead, and orcas are going extinct, and with climate change, the challenges for the Northwest’s energy sector are equally urgent. Only by working together will we break the longstanding logjam over management of the Columbia River and Snake River federal dams. It’s time to stop fighting and to start asking what everybody needs.” Giulia Good Stefani, Senior Attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council

“We're optimistic we can achieve a solution because, regardless of their perspective, people on all sides of this issue want the same outcomes—restored salmon populations; farms that are able to grow and get their crops to market; protection of the interests of tribes and communities; and clean, reliable, and affordable electricity. So, we agree on what we’re trying to accomplish. We just need to figure out how best to get there and that’s an inherently collaborative process.” Nancy Hirsh, Executive Director, NW Energy Coalition

“We believe the energy aspect of this issue can be addressed successfully because we have a variety of options that will assure continued access to clean, reliable, and affordable electricity. So, as we address other facets of the challenge, such as restoring salmon, meeting the needs of agriculture, and protecting the rights and interests of tribes and communities, we’re confident that the energy system can adapt as required.” Wendy Gerlitz, Policy Director, NW Energy Coalition

“Dams are part of our modern human landscape and they create benefits and costs. These benefits and costs are human, cultural, environmental, economic, carbon-free hydropower, agricultural, water supply, flood risk management and many other things. PNGC is committed to working with the diverse parties who have signed this letter and others to develop long-term solutions that work for people, planet and prosperity. We need our leaders in State, Federal and Tribal governments to help us if we are to be successful in this endeavor.” Roger Gray, President and CEO, PNGC Power

“Signatories of this letter represent a broad alliance of river interests committed to restoring abundant salmon and steelhead runs. We are hopeful that diverse interests throughout the PNW will unite around meaningful recovery efforts.” David Doeringsfeld, General Manager, Port of Lewiston

“Columbia/Snake salmon and steelhead and our Northwest communities and economy face a set of linked problems today. The commitment reflected in today's letter to work together urgently on solutions that can bring everyone forward together is a critical step. I look forward to working with others to both address the challenges and seize the opportunities.” Joseph Bogaard, Executive Director, Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition

“We are more powerful together despite our differences. The people of the Northwest region feel similarly about the value of our salmon, the importance of species recovery, and the challenge of balancing the environmental, economic and social impacts of how we manage the Columbia River hydropower system. It is our responsibility to join forces, to learn from each other, and to work through the issues to resolution.” Debra Smith, General Manager/CEO, Seattle City Light

“It is time to bring people and communities together to forge a solution that restores abundant salmon and steelhead and a healthy river, sustain strong communities and local economies, and assure our region continues to benefit from reliable clean energy. The right plan and investments can rebuild harvestable populations of fish and strong economies for the future. It's time for political leaders to support and help move this important process forward.” Bill Arthur, Chair, Snake/Columbia River Salmon Campaign, Sierra Club

“We are focused on finding a long-term outcome that will enhance fish recovery while maintaining the crucial benefits the Snake River dams bring to the region, including clean, affordable and reliable power our customers depend on. These are complex issues that go back generations, and I believe the only path to enduring solutions is through this collaboration. These partnerships are crucial to the region and show that we are all working toward a common goal.” John Haarlow, General Manager and CEO, Snohomish County Public Utility District #1

“With wild salmon and steelhead slipping closer to extinction, a rapidly changing energy market, and a warming climate, there is an urgent need for cooperation and leadership to find a path to a prosperous future for the Pacific Northwest. Working together we can identify the investments and actions needed to rebuild abundant salmon and steelhead, while also strengthening the region's economy and river-dependent communities. Trout Unlimited believes that with shared values and a commitment to problem-solving success is within reach." Rob Masonis, Vice President for Western Conservation, Trout Unlimited

“For far too long this issue has been dominated by litigation and finger-pointing. It is time for the region to come together to craft creative and collaborative solutions that can protect and recover salmon and steelhead populations while maintaining clean, affordable and reliable electric power.” Joe Lukas, General Manager, Western Montana G&T

The full list of letter signers: K David Hagen, General Manager Clearwater Power Company Frank Lawson, General Manager Eugene Water & Electric Board Mark Johnson, General Manager Flathead Electric Cooperative Bear Prairie, General Manager Idaho Falls Power Chad V. Jensen, CEO Inland Power & Light Giulia Good Stefani, Senior Attorney Natural Resources Defense Council Nancy Hirsh, Executive Director NW Energy Coalition Wendy Gerlitz, Policy Director NW Energy Coalition Roger Gray, President and CEO PNGC Power David Doeringsfeld, General Manager Port of Lewiston Joseph Bogaard, Executive Director Save Our wild Salmon Coalition Debra J. Smith, General Manger/CEO Seattle City Light Bill Arthur, Chair, Snake/Columbia River Salmon Campaign Sierra Club John Haarlow, General Manager Snohomish County Public Utility District #1 Chris Robinson, General Manager & Superintendant Tacoma Power Rob Masonis, Vice President for Western Conservation Trout Unlimited Joe Lukas, General Manager Western Montana Electric Generating & Transmission Cooperative

Link to conservation and utility letter to the four Northwest governors here.

June 17, 2014

Latest Biological Opinion yet another rehash of court-rejected plan

Contact:
Todd True, Earthjustice: (206) 343-7340, ext. 1030
Liz Hamilton, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association: (503) 704-1772
Glen Spain, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations: (541) 689-2000
Joseph Bogaard, Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition: (206) 300-1003
Greg Stahl, Idaho Rivers United: (208) 343-7481

PORTLAND, Ore. – Today, 13 conservation and fishing groups filed a legal challenge of the latest federal plan for endangered Columbia and Snake River salmon. The organizations assert that the Obama administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) failed to address the core issues that triggered federal-court rejection of three previous plans, forcing another round of litigation just as momentum is building in the Northwest for a broadly supported stakeholder collaboration as an alternative to the courtroom. “This latest blueprint is virtually indistinguishable from the plan rejected by the district court in 2011, not to mention the several illegal plans before that," said Save Our Wild Salmon Executive Director Joseph Bogaard. “Rather than looking for ways to do what’s needed to safeguard imperiled salmon and bring people together, the federal agencies have opted to stick with a failed framework while trying an end-run around good science. Unfortunately for salmon, our fishing economy and Northwest people, little has changed in nearly two decades. The agencies are choosing conflict over collaboration, dragging the region back into court as a result.”

Conservation and fishing groups have successfully challenged previous salmon plans for failing to protect these treasured and invaluable Northwest icons, but were hoping to avoid another round of litigation by seeking a solutions-driven stakeholder process. Unfortunately, salmon advocates’ repeated calls over several years for such a collaboration, as well as for new measures to adequately protect fish, were met with near silence by federal agencies. Salmon groups have no choice but to hold the government accountable and ensure at-risk salmon and steelhead populations receive protections under the Endangered Species Act. “This supposedly ‘new’ plan once again fails to help salmon or boost salmon jobs, fails to meet the basic requirements of law and science, and fails to lay the foundation for a broadly supported stakeholder process that could work toward shared solutions,” said Glen Spain, Northwest Regional Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, the west coast’s largest trade association of commercial fishing families. “In some respects, such as cutting back spill, this version is actually a step backward from what's already been thrown out of court as ‘illegal, arbitrary and capricious.’ ” The federal plan not only squanders a chance to move the region forward toward shared solutions, it also rolls back spill – water released over the dams to help young migrating salmon reach the Pacific Ocean more safely. A basic level of spill has been in place under court order since 2006. A team of federal, state and Tribal scientists studying spill for nearly two decades concluded it is boosting salmon survival and adult returns. These same scientists predict that expanding spill above current levels could help recover many Columbia Basin salmon stocks. But instead of looking for ways to test that finding, NMFS’s plan moves in the opposite direction – ignoring sound science and allowing dam operators to cut spill below current levels. 
 “A 17-year scientific study demonstrates that spill is our most effective immediate measure to increase salmon survival across their life-cycle,” said Liz Hamilton, Executive Director of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, the region’s largest trade association of sportfishing businesses. “The court-ordered spill in place since 2006, combined with recent years of even higher spill due to heavy spring run-off, has resulted in more adult fish returning to the Columbia. That’s helped salmon businesses and the jobs they support, plain and simple.

“Despite the proven benefits of spill, expanding it to help recover fish has been largely opposed by Bonneville Power Administration and other federal agencies for nearly 20 years,” added Hamilton. “Fish returns are telling us that enhanced spill works. The salmon are talking, and it’s hard to fathom why NMFS, the science agency charged with restoring them, isn’t listening.”
 
The plan also fails to identify any new or additional measures to address the intensifying harm of climate change. “Climate change isn’t some future threat on the distant horizon – it’s here and harming already-endangered salmon as we speak,” said Bogaard of Save Our Wild Salmon. “Yet NMFS – an agency that certainly knows better – didn’t include a single additional new action to help salmon better survive the warming waters and altered river flows that climate change is bringing to the Columbia Basin. That’s more than a missed opportunity – it’s negligence.”

Idaho Rivers United Salmon Program Coordinator Greg Stahl added that the ongoing federal failure in the Columbia Basin underscores the need for a change in direction, away from expensive gridlock and toward solutions that work for the people of the Northwest and the nation.

“After two decades of creatively reinterpreting the Endangered Species Act, the federal agencies have shown their eagerness to protect the status quo trumps their interest in ensuring long-term protection and recovery of salmon and steelhead,” Stahl said. “Pacific Northwest residents, American taxpayers and our endangered salmon deserve more.”

Today’s legal challenge was filed by Earthjustice on behalf of the following conservation groups, sport and commercial fishing organizations, and clean energy advocates: National Wildlife Federation, Washington Wildlife Federation, Idaho Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, Institute for Fisheries Resources, Idaho Rivers United, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, American Rivers, International Federation of Fly Fishers, Salmon for All, NW Energy Coalition, and Columbia Riverkeeper.

The challenge, also called a supplemental complaint, can be viewed here.
 
-30-

For further information:

Press Release (PDF): Federal agencies squander chance for progress on Northwest salmon (June 17, 2014)

SOS Factsheet I (PDF): 2014 Columbia-Snake River Salmon Plan: The Salmon Community's Analysis (June 2014)

SOS Factsheet II (PDF): Salmon Advocates' Challenge of the FCRPS Biological Opinion: Summary of Legal Claims and Background (June 2014)

Salmon and Fishing Plaintiffs Legal ComplaintFiled with United States District Court Challenging the 2014 Columbia-Snake River Salmon Plan (June 17, 2014. PDF)

September 9, 2013

Contact:
Gilly Lyons, Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition: (503) 975-3202
Liz Hamilton, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association: (503) 704-1772
Glen Spain, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations: (541) 689-2000

Another rehash of court-rejected plan could force more legal action and stall progress toward meaningful salmon protections

Portland, Ore. – Today, the Obama administration’s NOAA Fisheries released a “new” draft plan for protecting endangered Columbia and Snake River salmon that fails to address the issues that triggered federal-court rejection of the three previous plans. If finalized as is, this plan risks continued legal battles just as momentum is building for a broadly supported solutions process.

The government's final plan must be submitted by the end of the year to meet a court-ordered deadline.

“Unfortunately, the latest blueprint barely changes the plan rejected by the district court in 2011, despite that court’s clear direction that federal agencies must do more to safeguard imperiled salmon and steelhead,” said Save Our Wild Salmon executive director Joseph Bogaard.

Conservation and fishing groups, along with the State of Oregon and Nez Perce Tribe, have successfully challenged previous salmon plans for failing to protect one of the Northwest’s most iconic and treasured species. The groups expressed disappointment with the new draft plan, and about the missed opportunity to change course for salmon in the Columbia Basin.

“Today’s plan squanders three big opportunities: to help salmon, to boost salmon jobs, and to lay the foundation for a broadly-supported collaboration among fishermen, farmers, energy users, and others who want to work toward shared solutions,” said Glen Spain, Northwest regional director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. “This latest draft threatens to continue the deadlock over Columbia and Snake salmon by failing to include the stronger protections that our salmon need and that the law requires. The federal agencies really fall short here, but they still have a chance to get it right in the final plan.”

The opportunity for progress centers on salmon spill – water sent over the dams to help migrating young salmon reach the Pacific Ocean more safely. A basic level of spill has been in place under court order since 2006. Federal, state and Tribal scientists have studied the impacts of existing spill and concluded that it is boosting salmon survival. These scientists say expanding spill could help stabilize or maybe even recover some salmon stocks. But instead of considering this in its draft plan, NOAA Fisheries would allow dam operators to roll back current spill to even lower levels, rejecting sound science in the process. “A 16-year study indicates that spill is the most effective immediate measure to increase salmon survival across their life-cycle,” said Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association executive director Liz Hamilton. “The court-ordered spill in place since 2006 has been good for juvenile salmon on their way to the ocean, producing more adult fish back to the river, which has in turn helped salmon businesses and the jobs they support. Based upon extensive analyses, we are convinced that salmon managers need to test higher levels of spill to further increase adult returns. Testing expanded spill is consistent with implementation of adaptive management and should be the centerpiece of any credible salmon plan. Instead, NOAA appears to be ignoring this important information and allowing for less spill during a critical time for Endangered Species Act-listed fish.”

Bill Arthur, deputy national field director for the Sierra Club, said the government’s “Groundhog Day” approach to Columbia salmon restoration is getting old.

“Rather than repackaging a failed and illegal plan and hoping for a different outcome, NOAA Fisheries should rethink and redo its approach in the final plan,” Arthur said. “Expanding spill and employing other effective measures will help salmon, help salmon economies, and give regional collaboration a running start – all of which will help the Northwest move away from gridlock and toward real solutions that work.” -30-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

Five Myths about Freight Transportation on the Lower Snake River

July 22, 2013

Contact: Sam Mace, Inland NW Director, Save Our Wild Salmon 509-863-5696

Kevin Lewis, Conservation Director, Idaho Rivers United, 208-343-7481

Linwood Laughy, 208-926-7875

Five Myths about Freight Transportation on the Lower Snake River

Local citizen debunks misinformation about the value of the lower Snake River waterway

(Spokane) North Idaho resident Linwood Laughy has crunched the numbers used by the Corps of Engineers and the Port of Lewiston to justify the lower Snake River barge waterway and discovered their claims are grossly inaccurate and out of date.

Download the Five Myths Report (pdf) here.

Despite misleading claims that barging on the lower Snake River is efficient, environmentally benign, cost-effective and vital to the region’s economy, the reality is that the Snake corridor is an aging and increasingly obsolete mode of transportation that drains scarce taxpayer dollars from other pressing infrastructure needs. Barging on the lower Snake contributes only 5 percent of the total goods shipped on the larger Columbia system.

Laughy’s analysis, The Five Most Blatant Myths about Freight Transportation on the Lower Snake River, puts the lie to the arguments of government agencies with a vested interest in the status quo. Barging on the Snake River is not the most fuel-efficient method of transportation nor does it keep trucks off the highways. In fact, with farmers investing in new infrastructure such as the McCoy unit train loader near Oakesdale, WA, using truck-rail to move grain has become competitive with shipping by truck-barge.

July 22, 2013

Contact: Sam Mace, Inland NW Director, Save Our Wild Salmon 509-863-5696

Kevin Lewis, Conservation Director, Idaho Rivers United, 208-343-7481

Linwood Laughy, 208-926-7875

Local citizen debunks misinformation about the value of the lower Snake River waterway

(Spokane) North Idaho resident Linwood Laughy has crunched the numbers used by the Corps of Engineers and the Port of Lewiston to justify the lower Snake River barge waterway and discovered their claims are grossly inaccurate and out of date.

Download the Five Myths Report (pdf) here.

Despite misleading claims that barging on the lower Snake River is efficient, environmentally benign, cost-effective and vital to the region’s economy, the reality is that the Snake corridor is an aging and increasingly obsolete mode of transportation that drains scarce taxpayer dollars from other pressing infrastructure needs. Barging on the lower Snake contributes only 5 percent of the total goods shipped on the larger Columbia system.

Laughy’s analysis, The Five Most Blatant Myths about Freight Transportation on the Lower Snake River, puts the lie to the arguments of government agencies with a vested interest in the status quo. Barging on the Snake River is not the most fuel-efficient method of transportation nor does it keep trucks off the highways. In fact, with farmers investing in new infrastructure such as the McCoy unit train loader near Oakesdale, WA, using truck-rail to move grain has become competitive with shipping by truck-barge.

Meanwhile, the Corps and taxpayers are faced with expensive measures to address the growing flood risk to Lewiston, ID and Clarkston, WA caused by millions of cubic yards of sediment piling up behind Lower Granite dam. Tens of millions of dollars will be needed for ongoing dredging and long-term raising of levees. The Corps is expected to release a final sediment management plan later this summer in hopes of beginning expensive dredging this winter.

“My analysis is based on publicly available data and basic arithmetic,” said Clearwater Valley resident Laughy. “The Port of Lewiston is shipping a fraction of what is once did while the costs of maintaining the waterway are skyrocketing. Costs that will be shouldered by taxpayers, not waterway users,” the former educator and outfitter continued.

“This discussion is long overdue. We need a transparent assessment of what these four aging dams will cost both taxpayers and salmon, and how our infrastructure can better serve both fishermen and farmers,” said SOS Inland NW Director Sam Mace. “When bridges are deteriorating and the high-value dams on the Columbia are in need of repairs, are the four lower Snake dams worth their rising costs?”

“The path toward restored salmon runs and an efficient modern transportation system for farmers and shippers may be dam removal. That option is on the table for salmon. Mr. Laughy’s report proves it should also be on the table for taxpayers,” said IRU Conservation Director Kevin Lewis.

May 16, 2023
For Immediate Release
Contact: Tanya Riordan, Policy and Advocacy Director, Save Our wild Salmon, tanya@wildsalmon.org

GOVERNOR INSLEE SIGNS WASHINGTON STATE BUDGETS- TAKING IMPORTANT NEXT STEPS TOWARDS HONORING TREATY RESPONSIBILITIES TO TRIBAL NATIONS AND RESTORING ENDANGERED SALMON IN THE LOWER SNAKE RIVER

Olympia, Wash., (May 16, 2023) — Today, Governor Inslee signed the 2023-25 Washington State budgets confirming that honoring Tribal treaty rights and saving lower Snake River salmon from extinction are important priorities. The final Transportation and Operating Budgets provide over $7 million dollars to begin planning to transition the energy, transportation, and irrigation services currently provided by the four aging dams on the lower Snake River. These plans are the concrete next steps to recover salmon, restore the lower Snake River and maintain clean energy and agriculture in the region.

Decades of scientific analysis and studies conclude — including a recent report from NOAA —the lower Snake River must be restored to stop salmon extinction, and save endangered Southern Resident Orcas whose primary food source is Chinook salmon.

The four lower Snake River dams are federally owned and operated, and the final decision of breaching will be made by the federal government. Urgent action to develop specific plans to restore the lower Snake River in collaboration with Pacific Northwest policy makers, the Biden Administration, Tribal Nations, and stakeholders is necessary. Last summer Sen. Patty Murray and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee stated in their final Lower Snake River Benefits Replacement Recommendations, the services the four dams provide can be replaced, and Washington State should move forward on “concrete next steps”. Gov. Inslee and Washington State legislators followed through on commitments made, and funding was included in the final 2023-25 budget, to begin the necessary planning to transition the services of the lower Snake River dams.

“These plans will enable us to strengthen and diversify our regional economy, and modernize our energy, transportation, and irrigation infrastructure as we work to stop the extinction of Snake River salmon.”–Representative Fitzgibbon, House Majority Leader

“The funding provided by the Washington State Legislature is an important step forward to bring people together, to help answer the remaining technical and financial questions, and begin planning to restore the lower Snake River in a manner that invests in NW people, cultures, communities and energy and transportation infrastructure.” –Senator Rolfes, Chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee

Transportation:
Barge transportation has declined on the Lower Snake River by over 50% in the last few decades. The transportation budget includes $5 million for an analysis of highway, road, and freight rail transportation needs and alternatives to accommodate the remaining freight that still moves by barge through the lower Snake River dams. Although this plan must prioritize and focus on relevant planning measures to determine effective alternatives to barging, and be completed prior to the stated final report deadline, [to stop salmon extinction], it is an important step forward.

“With thorough planning and stakeholder engagement, we can provide effective, efficient rail and road infrastructure to maintain agricultural transportation in Southeast Washington.” – Senator Shewmake, Vice Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee

Energy:
Washington state remains committed to clean, renewable energy. The final 2023-25 Operating Budget provides $2 million in funding, consistent with our state’s clean energy goals, to develop a detailed action plan to transition lower Snake River dam’s energy services in a manner that maintains reliability, adequacy, and diversifies and improves the resilience of the electric power system.

The lower Snake River dams are aging and will require 21 new turbines in the coming decade, costing over $600 million. Mitigation for the decline of salmon has cost over $26 billion dollars and will only increase. These funds create a roadmap to instead put those resources towards replacing and improving our energy system, providing more output in summer and winter, when power is most needed, resulting in better year-round reliability and higher system value to the region.

"Washington state's commitment to clean, renewable energy paves the way for a brighter, more sustainable future. Should the Federal Government decide to remove the Snake River dams, we need to be ready with a plan to replace affordable, reliable, and clean energy sources as well as the riverine transportation network. This budget will allow us to be ready on day one.”
– Senator Salomon, Vice Chair of the Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks Committee

Irrigation:
Continued irrigation of the 53,000 acres of land that draw water from the Ice Harbor pool on the lower Snake River is important. These large corporate and family farms produce products such as potatoes, onions, and fruit. The final 2023-25 Operating Budget provides $500,000 in funding for an analysis to plan for irrigation availability during drawdown and after the lower Snake River is restored, maintaining important agricultural production and jobs.

"By taking these important steps towards restoring the lower Snake River and honoring our treaty responsibilities to Tribal Nations, we are not only saving a precious species from extinction, but we are also investing in our communities and creating a sustainable future for generations to come."–Senator Saldaña, Deputy Majority Leader

Our region has spent tens of billions of taxpayer dollars on mitigation efforts, yet we’ve failed to recover even one of the 13 populations of salmon on the brink of extinction today. We have an urgent and historic opportunity right now to overcome decades of conflict, litigation, and the failed status quo— and instead work together, honor our treaty responsibilities to Tribal Nations, invest in communities and infrastructure, develop new clean energy sources, and ensure salmon abundance for future generations.

"We thank Governor Jay Inslee and the Washington legislature for demonstrating true leadership to advance economic, environmental and energy security for Washington state. By investing in planning and transitioning to comprehensive solutions, Governor Inslee is leading us towards a vision for a Pacific Northwest where both salmon and communities thrive.” –Erin Farris-Olsen, Regional Executive Director for National Wildlife Federation, Northern Rockies, Prairies and Pacific Region

“It’s very exciting to see the Washington Legislature take the next step on clean energy development to enable replacing the energy services of the lower Snake River dams. The preparation of a resource assessment and an action plan will move forward the work that needs to be done in a thoughtful way to ensure reliability and affordability for our electricity services,” – Nancy Hirsh, Executive Director, NW Energy Coalition

“These studies are essential to supporting Pacific Northwest communities and the Washington economy. They will lay the foundation for a thriving region with a free-flowing Snake River. We are grateful for state budget writers, Governor Jay Inslee, and the Washington state legislators for their commitment to a future with clean energy, innovative infrastructure, and robust populations of wild salmon and steelhead.” – Alexei Calambokidis, Washington Policy Manager, Trout Unlimited

“We are grateful to Governor Jay Inslee and the Washington legislature for recognizing the critical importance of funding transportation, energy, and irrigation studies. This essential step, which was outlined in the 2022 Joint Federal-State Process on Salmon Recovery, will ensure that services provided by the dams are replaced and will pave the way for the removal of the four lower Snake River dams. Together, we will create a comprehensive plan that supports both the local and regional economy while also recovering wild salmon and steelhead populations. Urgent action is needed to restore a free-flowing Snake River, and this funding represents a vital step towards achieving that goal.” – Rob Masonis, Vice President of Western Conservation, Trout Unlimited

“By passing critical funding for transportation, agriculture, and energy studies, the State of Washington is moving forward towards a free-flowing Snake River. Now it’s time for Idaho and Oregon to follow suit: the Northwest Congressional delegation must work together to create a better future for our communities, regional economy, and wild salmon and steelhead.” – Greg McReynolds, Intermountain West Director, Trout Unlimited

“We know we can effectively replace the transportation, energy, and irrigation services of the 4 lower Snake River dams with reliable, affordable, modernized systems - but we must act urgently. Snake River salmon teeter on the brink today. Once they disappear, we cannot replace them or the many benefits they provide to our land, waters, cultures, and wildlife. Salmon, orca and fishing advocates applaud Governor Inslee and the Washington State Legislature for taking the necessary next steps to effectively plan for replacing the services and to stop salmon extinction.” – Joseph Bogaard, Executive Director, Save Our wild Salmon 

"Earthjustice has represented fishing and conservation groups in court for years to compel compliance with our environmental laws and restore healthy salmon. That litigation is now paused, because we believe the best way forward is to work with the Biden administration, PNW policy makers, and stakeholders to develop and implement a comprehensive solution that includes restoring the lower Snake River. The funding Gov. Inslee requested and the legislature provided is an important step forward." – Todd True, Senior Attorney, Earthjustice

"The region, including Washington ratepayers, have spent over $20 billion dollars on actions that have failed to recover Snake and Columbia River salmon. The measures proposed by Governor Inslee and funded by the Washington legislature provide an historic opportunity to move forward with the plans to transition the services from the Lower Snake River dams and restore the river and its once abundant salmon runs." – Bill Arthur, Chair Sierra Club Snake/Columbia River Salmon Campaign

“On the heels of listing the Snake River as #4 on our Most Endangered Rivers Report, American Rivers commends the State of Washington for following through on the actions identified in the Murray/Inslee Report to move us toward a future without the lower four Snake River dams. The analysis from Washington state will be a giant leap forward in taking the steps necessary to replace the services the dams provide so that they can be removed to help recover Snake Basin Chinook, sockeye, and steelhead in the heart of America’s salmon country. Our hope is that in the not-too-distant future, we will be able to remove the Snake River from our Most Endangered Rivers Report and celebrate a river on the road to recovery.” – Kyle Smith, Snake River Director, American Rivers

“Governor Inslee and the Legislature recognized the urgency for salmon, and responded with a path forward that will modernize the benefits from the river and provide the best hope for salmon dependent communities and orca. This is a legacy pivot from 30 years of failed strategies and a vital step for salmon recovery that will benefit all of us, including our important fishing industry across the Pacific Northwest.” – Liz Hamilton, Executive Director, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Assn. (NSIA)

“Washington Conservation Action is grateful to our communities for advocating successfully for increased salmon recovery funding across all regions of the state. Local experts – from the Snake River in the southeast to Puget Sound basins in the northwest – have long identified what’s needed to ensure future generations have access to salmon,” said Mindy Roberts, Puget Sound and Salmon Program Director, Washington Conservation Action. “Each basin is different though. So while we embrace the opportunity to direct critical funds for locally vetted, on-the-ground actions, we know we need to do even more to save salmon from extinction.”

“Change is coming to the Pacific Northwest and the lower Snake River. To save salmon, steelhead, and orcas from extinction; deliver justice to indigenous Tribes; and create a thriving regional economy, we need to restore a free-flowing lower Snake River. The blueprints created by Washington state agencies will ensure that no community gets left behind through this transition. We thank Governor Inslee and the Washington Legislature for their leadership, and we urge elected officials from Idaho and Oregon to support and participate in this effort.” – Mitch Cutter, Salmon & Steelhead Associate, Idaho Conservation League

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April 29, 2019

Contact:
Sam Mace, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, sam@wildsalmon.org , 509-863-5696
Robb Krehbiel, Defenders of Wildlife, rkrehbiel@defenders.org, 206-883-7401
Bill Arthur, Sierra Club, billwarthur@gmail.com, 206-954-9826
Jacqueline Koch, Jacqueline.Koch@NWF.org, 206-687-8546

Snake River Forum will convene stakeholders to collaboratively develop a contingency plan

SEATTLE, April 28, 2019 — With support from Governor Inslee and 43 lawmakers in the House and Senate, the Washington State legislature included funding in its final state budget to convene a stakeholder forum recommended last fall by the Governor’s Southern Resident Orca Recovery Task Force. The forum represents a critical next step to bring stakeholders together to proactively identify and detail the needs of communities in the event the federal government decides to remove four dams on the lower Snake River to protect salmon and help orca facing extinction today.

“We are extraordinarily grateful that the legislature followed Governor Inslee’s lead to begin urgently-needed contingency planning if federal agencies decide dam removal is necessary to restore our salmon and orcas,” said Sam Mace, Inland Northwest program director for the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition. “We look forward to working with Governor Inslee and stakeholders in the state to move this critical dialogue forward in 2019.”

Restoring abundant salmon populations to the Columbia-Snake River Basin has important implications for communities along the lower Snake River as well as tribal, commercial and recreational fishing communities upstream and downstream who have long suffered from reduced fisheries due to the dams’ and reservoirs’ devastating effects on Northwest native fish.

Mace added: “This good news is particularly well-timed given Congressman Mike Simpson’s (R-ID) announcement last week to work with others in our region to find effective ways to address Bonneville Power Administration’s serious financial challenges and the plight of endangered wild salmon and steelhead. We are encouraged to see leadership emerging in both states. The problems facing salmon, orca and energy in the Northwest can’t wait.”

Last Tuesday in Boise, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson announced his commitment to restoring salmon to Idaho in keynote comments at a day-long conference on salmon, energy and communities [ https://www.boisestate.edu/sps-andruscenter/2019-environmental-conference/ ]. He and his staff are “asking hard questions” and working with affected stakeholders to identify options for replacing the services currently provided by these dams in the event that they need to be removed. Representative Simpson noted that the financial challenges facing the Bonneville Power Administration and steep decline of salmon stocks that return to Idaho are becoming more urgent to his constituents in Idaho. He emphasized the need for the Northwest to address these inter-related problems or run the risk that “someone else will write it and impose it upon us.”

A stakeholder-led discussion that examines the economic and social costs, benefits and tradeoffs of restoring the lower Snake River by removing its four dams has never occurred in Washington or other Northwest states.

“For decades, our elected officials have avoided the difficult conversations we need to have about the lower Snake River dams and their impact on salmon and orcas,” said Robb Krehbiel, Northwest representative for Defenders of Wildlife and member of the Southern Resident Orca Task Force. “Bringing people together to work collaboratively on solutions that help salmon, orca and our communities is the right next step. Time is not on our side. Salmon and orca advocates are very grateful to the Orca Task Force, Governor Inslee and the legislature for recognizing this need and supporting this much-needed conversation.”

“Commercial fishermen like me look forward to the opportunity to participate in this dialogue. Fishermen and farmers have a lot in common. Now is the time for food producers from both sides of the state to begin work together on solutions that work for both communities,” said salmon fisherman Amy Grondin, who, with her husband, co- owns Duna Fisheries in Port Townsend. “For too long, farmers and fishermen have been pitted against each other and this must change. We all want to make a living and do our jobs and we need real solutions that help make this possible. Our communities need to work together to develop an action plan regardless of what the government decides—dams in or dams out."

“Funding Snake River stakeholder discussions is critical for Washington communities to assure their voice is heard and interests addressed if the four lower Snake River dams must be removed - which the science shows is essential for salmon and orca,” said Bill Arthur, Sierra Club Salmon Campaign Coordinator. “This is a great complement to Congressman Simpson’s comments recently at the Andrus Center Conference in Idaho. It is gratifying to see Washington and Idaho step up and begin to look at solutions that can work for communities while taking actions essential for salmon and orca.”

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Feb. 1, 2016

CONTACTS:
Greg Stahl, Idaho Rivers United, greg@idahorivers.org, (208) 343-7481
Aaron Altshuler, Patagonia, aaron.altshuler@patagonia.com, (503) 525-2552
Bill Arthur, Sierra Club, billwarthur@gmail.com, (206) 954-9826
Joel Kawahara, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (206) 406-7026
Todd True, Earthjustice, ttrue@earthjustice.org, (206) 343-7340 x1030
Joseph Bogaard, Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition, joseph@wildsalmon.org, (206) 300-1003


More than 250,000 Urge Feds to Do More to Save Salmon
Their message: Lower Snake River dam removal demands full, fair consideration in the upcoming EIS

PORTLAND, OR— Along the West Coast and nationally, conservation groups, fishing business associations and others have tallied the public input to date that their members have submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers in response to a federal court order requiring a new plan for protecting Columbia and Snake River salmon from harmful dam operations, and the results are impressive.

More than 250,000 individuals have submitted comments since early October when the federal agencies’ (Army Corps of Engineers, Bonneville Power Administration, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation) public comment period began. The vast majority of these comments are urging the Corps to remove the four lower Snake River dams in order to bring back healthy, fishable populations of wild salmon and steelhead. And there is still time for people to weigh in, as the public comment period does not close until Tuesday, Feb. 7. By that date, all comments gathered in recent months by Earthjustice, Save Our Wild Salmon, the Sierra Club, American Rivers, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and many other allied organizations and businesses will be sent to federal agencies. Some organizations will also submit detailed policy comments.

The agencies that manage the federal dams on the Columbia and Snake River have been required to undertake this planning process under the National Environmental Policy Act, after their latest plan was rejected by a federal court in Portland, Oregon in May 2016.  It was the fifth plan in a row the courts have thrown out. The judge wrote that while “these efforts have already cost billions of dollars … they are failing” and that “the system literally cries out for a major overhaul.” The court urged that new alternatives be fully examined, including “the reasonable alternative of breaching, bypassing, or removing one or more of the four Lower Snake River Dams.”

Some comments pointed to the economic threats to the sport- and commercial-fishing industries. “I live and work along the lower Columbia River, and my work and ability to support my family depend on strong runs of salmon and steelhead,” wrote Evan Burck of Portland, OR.

Other concerns include the massive sockeye salmon die-offs in 2015, which were attributed to overly-warm water in the Columbia-Snake system.

Still more comments describe dam removal as a smarter use of taxpayer dollars than continuing to shore up aging dams built in the 1970s that produce a relatively small amount of power.

"Patagonia has been fighting to remove the four deadbeat dams on the lower Snake River for over 20 years because we know how destructive and unnecessary they are,” said Aaron Altshuler, a store manager at Patagonia. “Negatively impacting salmon habitat and migration as well as limiting recreational activities are but two of the many reasons to remove these low value dams and let the Snake flow freely again."

"Our Lewiston community opposed the dams before they were built,” said Curt Chang, who oversees O.A.R.S.’ operation in Idaho, where he’s worked for more than four decades fostering the tradition of dories on Idaho's Rivers. “For more than 40 years, we compromised to make way for a heavily subsidized barging corridor. But these dams no longer make sense. It’s time to free the Snake River for our wild salmon, our communities and our businesses."

“These dams don't make sense for people or for salmon,” wrote Edwina Allen of Boise, ID. “As we have seen after removing the dams on the Elwha in the Olympic Peninsula, the salmon return in abundance. Let's put our tax dollars where they can build a better future, not toward spending huge amounts on repairing aging, outdated dams.”

"We've now known for a long time that the lower Snake River dams are failing economically and devastating Idaho's iconic native fish,” said Kevin Lewis, executive director of Idaho Rivers United. “IRU joins the quarter million voices calling on the federal government to follow the law and act in a fiscally responsible manner."

The sheer volume of comments indicates that many residents of the Pacific Northwest strongly support restoring a freely-flowing lower Snake River and believe the federal government must take dam removal seriously in the upcoming EIS.

There’s one more week to add public voices to the discussion. Comments are being accepted online at comments@crso.info and must be submitted before the Feb. 7 deadline.

###


December 21, 2016

Contacts:

Sam Mace, Inland NW Director
Save Our Wild Salmon
509-863-5696
sam@wildsalmon.org

Howard Garrett, Director
Orca Network
360-320-7176
howard@orcanetwork.org

New Report Highlights 10 Wildlife Conservation Priorities for the Trump Administration

Wild Snake River spring/summer Chinook salmon among List of Imperiled Species threatened by four lower Snake River dams, climate change

Washington, D.C. – As the Obama Administration prepares to hand over the reins of the executive branch to President-elect Donald Trump, the DC-based Endangered Species Coalition released on Wednesday a “Top Ten” list of imperiled species in need of strong conservation measures. The report, “Removing the Walls to Recovery: Top 10 Species Priorities for a New Administration,” highlights some of the most significant threats to vanishing wildlife such as wild salmon, jaguars and elephants, and identifies important actions the next administration could take to stop their decline and begin to rebuild these populations.

The report includes the imperiled wild Snake River spring/summer Chinook, threatened by four aging and outdated dams on the lower Snake River.

“We nominated Snake River chinook for this report because with climate change, these four money-losing dams become deadlier each summer, when reservoir water temperatures become lethally hot, causing fish kills” said Save Our Wild Salmon Inland Northwest Director Sam Mace.  “But if we free the Snake River of these dams, wild salmon will once again access thousands of miles of pristine, high-elevation habitat that can provide an ark for salmon in a warming world.”

Snake River Chinook salmon, are among the longest and highest-migrating salmon on the planet – often swimming 1,000 miles upstream and climbing more than 6,000 feet in elevation to reach their spawning grounds. More than 130 other species depend upon salmon, including orcas, bears and eagles.

“Since Northwest rivers began to flow, a population of orcas known as the Southern Residents have relied on Columbia basin salmon to sustain them.  Spring chinook that spawn in the Snake River basin are especially critical for survival of this unique and now endangered orca community.  Unfortunately, the lower Snake River dams have decimated this critical food source.  The impact these dams have on this precious, but dwindling, population of orcas, must be addressed.” said Howard Garrett, Board President of Orca Network.

Some of the species in the report, such as the Joshua tree and Elkhorn coral are foundational species, which play a critical role as building blocks for their ecosystems, but are threatened by global climate change.

Other critically important species in the report are keystone species, such as Hawaii’s yellow-faced bee, the jaguar, and the Snake River salmon. All keystone species have a disproportionately large impact on other species and ecosystems, relative to their abundance. For instance, Hawaii’s yellow-faced bee is a pollinator impacted by habitat loss.

The jaguar of the southwest United States is a keystone predator. It is particularly threatened by habitat fragmentation caused, in part, due to impenetrable immigration barriers along the U.S. – Mexican border. The report urges Mr. Trump to abandon plans to further fortify the southern border, and to make existing barriers more wildlife-friendly.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined to list the greater sage grouse—an umbrella species—as endangered in 2014, citing an unprecedented region-wide habitat conservation effort, tied to state and federal conservation plans. However, several appropriations riders offered in Congress in 2016 would block implementation of these conservation plans, as well as any future Endangered Species Act protections for the imperiled bird. Meanwhile, grouse numbers have declined by 90 percent from historic levels. Protecting umbrella species like sage grouse conserves habitats on which many other species rely.

“Our native fish, plants and wildlife are critically valuable and part of the legacy we leave for future generations of Americans,” said Leda Huta, executive director of the Endangered Species Coalition. “We hope the next administration takes seriously its responsibility to protect endangered species and habitat. The fate of species is in their hands. Their actions could dictate whether species such as the vaquita, the red wolf, and others, become extinct in the wild.”

The remaining species featured in the Endangered Species Coalition’s report include the African elephant, Bald cypress tree, the wolf, and the vaquita – a small endangered Mexican porpoise.

Endangered Species Coalition member groups nominated wildlife species for the report. A committee of distinguished scientists reviewed the nominations, and decided which species should be included in the final report. The full report, along with links to photos and additional species information can be viewed and downloaded   from the website: http://removingthewallstorecovery.org.

The Endangered Species Coalition produces a “Top 10” report annually, focusing on a different theme each year. Previous years’ reports  are also available on the Coalition’s website.

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Nez Perce Tribe Calls for National Leadership from the Administration and Congress:

Murray-Inslee Report on Replacing the Service of the Lower Snake River Dams

Lapwai, ID – The Nez Perce Tribe called for national leadership from the Administration and Congress to prevent salmon extinction today in anticipation of the report commissioned by Senator Murray and Governor Inslee on replacing the services of the lower Snake River dams.

“Salmon – the icon of the Pacific Northwest – are facing an extinction crisis, and need a restored lower Snake River. The subsidized services provided by the four dams that have turned the Snake into a lake can be replaced and addressed, and in doing so we will be charting a smarter, better future for the Northwest and the Nation,” stated Chairman Samuel N. Penney.

“The Murray-Inslee Report will provide even more support for taking action now to restore the lower Snake River and invest in the Northwest in a way that will ensure that this region leads the Nation and the world. Now is the time for National leadership and action from the Administration and Congress to work on solutions to address a status quo that is antiquated and only works for a select few to provide a future that would work for everyone,” stated Vice-Chairman Shannon F. Wheeler.

The Biden Administration issued a statement this spring on Columbia Basin salmon indicating that “we cannot continue business as usual” and that “Doing the right thing for salmon, Tribal Nations, and communities can bring us together.” https://www.whitehouse.gov/ceq/news-updates/2022/03/28/columbia-river-basin-fisheries-working-together-to-develop-a-path-forward/ The Nez Perce Tribe, Columbia Basin Tribes, Northwest Tribes, and tribes across the Nation support Congressman Simpson’s legislative proposal that includes restoring the lower Snake River, making a significant new investment in fish and wildlife funding and ensuring the tribal and state fish and wildlife managers – not the Bonneville Power Administration – are in charge, reintroducing salmon in the Upper Columbia and Upper Snake Basins, and funding actions including Pacific lamprey passage, sturgeon protection, and addressing the hatchery infrastructure backlog.

ATNI Resolution 2021-23 (https://nezperce.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ATNI-Res-2021-23.pdf); NCAI Resolution 21-009 (https://www.ncai.org/AK-21-009.pdf)

The Northwest Tribes recently expressed their support for the leadership and actions that the Administration and Congressman Simpson, Governor Brown, Senator Cantwell, Senator Murray, and Governor Inslee have taken to date and renewing their urgent call for action from the Administration and Congress. ATNI Resolution 2022-23 (https://atnitribes.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Res-2022-23-expressing-thanks-for-salmon-leadership.docx.pdf).

The Nez Perce Tribe recently announced its vision for contributing to replacing the energy provided by the Lower Snake River Dams. https://vimeo.com/710582042

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JUNE 8, 2015

Plan lacks meaningful action, and fails to address downstream mortality from dams and intensifying climate impacts.

 Contact:
Joseph Bogaard, Save Our wild Salmon,
206-300-1003, joseph@wildsalmon.org

Background: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its plan to recover endangered Snake River sockeye salmon today. This imperiled population was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1991. 24 years later, the world’s highest and longest-migrating sockeye population remains endangered and far from recovery.
 
The following is a press statement from Save Our wild Salmon Coalition executive director Joseph Bogaard:
 
“NOAA’s 2015 plan for endangered Snake River sockeye salmon perpetuates many mistakes and inadequacies of earlier related federal efforts: a failure to address dam-caused mortality, an over-reliance on research and under-reliance on meaningful science-base actions, and the establishment of a permanent hatchery program in a misguided effort to make up for the plan’s serious shortcomings.
 
While the Idaho Department of Fish and Game is to be commended for bringing Snake River sockeye back from the brink of extinction in the late 1990s and early 2000s through the use of an emergency-room hatchery program, the world’s highest and longest migrating sockeye salmon today remain at grave risk. This “new” plan does not contain the necessary actions to protect and rebuild this unique and irreplaceable population. The survival of Snake River sockeye depends upon a lawful, science-based action plan that meets the essential life cycle needs of natural-origin (non-hatchery)  fish. While we will need more time to carefully analyze this plan, we see three fatal flaws based on an initial review.
 
First, this plan relies on the illegal, inadequate Federal Columbia River Power System Biological Opinion (BiOp) which fails to adequately mitigate these salmon’s largest source of human-caused mortality – the Columbia and Snake river dams and reservoirs. The courts have invalidated five Columbia Basin BiOps since this population was first listed under the Endangered Species Act. Challenged again by salmon and fishing advocates, the State of Oregon and the Nez Perce Tribe, the “new” 2014 BiOp closely resembles the illegal 2011 plan it is supposed to replace, with one exception. The 2014 BiOp reduces spill – strongly supported by regional scientists as our most effective salmon measure short of dam removal.
 
Second, this new sockeye plan relies upon a permanent hatchery and captive broodstock program. The government’s temporary emergency conservation hatchery strategy that saved sockeye from imminent extinction 20 years ago now serves as this plan’s strategic foundation. According to scientists, the recovery and de-listing of Snake River sockeye can only be achieved by returns of 2500 natural-origin fish annually for 8 consecutive years. Given, for example, the high downstream dam-caused mortality and the growing impact of climate change, this plan will not restore sockeye and further is highly improbable to protect them from extinction over time.
 
Third, like many previous government plans, this one over-relies on research, monitoring and assessment and under-relies on meaningful, science-based actions needed now to dramatically increase survival of out-migrating smolts and returns of adult fish.”

June 30, 2017
 
CONTACTS:
Wendy Gerlitz, Policy Director, NW Energy Coalition, Portland, OR – wendy@nwenergy.org; 503-449-0009
Bill Arthur, Sierra Club, Shoreline, WA – billwarthur@gmail.com, 206-954-9826
Dr. Deborah Giles, Ph.D Whale Researcher, Friday Harbor, WA – giles@whaleresearch.com, 916-531-1516
Amy Grondin, Commercial Salmon Fisherman, Port Townsend, WA – 206-295-4931
Todd True, Earthjustice, Seattle, WA, ttrue@earthjustice.org, 206-406-5124 (cell)
Sam Mace, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Spokane, WA, sam@wildsalmon.org; , 509-863-5696
 
House bill would weaken the Endangered Species Act and increase costs and uncertainty for Northwest communities and businesses by protecting failed recovery efforts.

SPOKANE, WA (June 30, 2017) – Business and conservation leaders from across the Pacific Northwest announced their opposition to a U.S. House bill that would overturn a decision by a U.S. District Court judge that the federal government is not doing enough to rebuild endangered salmon and steelhead populations. The legislation would rubberstamp the failed recovery efforts of the federal government, which has spent $16 billion without recovering a single endangered salmon population. Yesterday, Pacific Northwest Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05), Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-03), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), Kurt Schrader (OR-05), and Greg Walden (OR-02) introduced legislation that seeks to block a federal court order requiring increased protections of threatened and endangered salmon in the Columbia and Snake Rivers.  The bill is aimed at an April decision by U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon that requires federal, state and tribal fisheries experts to work together to improve conditions in the Columbia and Snake Rivers for baby salmon that migrate to the ocean in the Spring.  The Court’s Order would take effect in April, 2018. In the meantime, fisheries experts have been working together to reach an agreement on the details of dam operations under the Court’s Order.  The new bill would stifle this cooperation and harm salmon survival and recovery efforts.

The bill is also aimed at a May 2016 decision by the Court that rejected the federal government’s most recent plan to protect endangered wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia-Snake River Basin. The May 2016 decision was the fifth consecutive plan deemed illegal by three different judges across two decades. As the Court observed in that decision: For more than 20 years . . . federal agencies have . . . continued to focus essentially on the same approach to saving the listed species—hydro-mitigation efforts that minimize the effect on hydropower generation [and] focus on habitat restoration. These efforts have already cost billions of dollars, yet they are failing.

Wendy Gerlitz, NW Energy Coalition: “This bill is a clear attempt to politicize salmon recovery issues. In fact, the conservation community, farmers, businesses, utilities and their customers actually agree on many facets of this issue – enhancing the value of our renewable hydropower resources, growing our Northwest economy, and restoring the salmon.  Instead of political rhetoric that divides us, we need an inclusive process informed by science, engineering, and economics to craft a path forward that works to maximize the value of our clean hydropower, protects and creates jobs in our communities and restores the salmon.”
 
Bill Arthur, Sierra Club: “This legislative proposal is misguided, counter-productive and based on an extremely poor understanding of the plight of our salmon and any realistic changes to how Columbia Basin hydro-system would operate to better protect salmon.  We need to follow the science and the law and keep uninformed and damaging political efforts from undermining our best chance for effective salmon recovery.”
 
Dr. Deborah Giles, Ph.D, Center for Whale Research: “The science is undeniable today. Lack of prey – Chinook salmon – is the single biggest threat to the future of our critically-endangered Southern Resident Orcas. The severe prey shortage today hurts whales directly, and it makes other problems orcas face worse – like toxins and vessel noise. This bill is not just an attack on science and law; it is also an attack on our orca who need more salmon – not less – to survive and recover. This is terrible legislation that Northwest people must work to stop.
 
Amy Grondin, Commercial Salmon Fisherman: “ ‘Alternative facts’ might be popular in Washington D.C. today, but we don’t need that here in the Northwest. Here are some real facts: Columbia Basin salmon are in big trouble today. Our fishing seasons are small and getting smaller. Across the board, returns this year are predicted drop by 25% compared to last year. Managers were forced to close fisheries this spring due to the unexpectedly low returns. Fishing communities that have already made big sacrifices to protect salmon are facing big hits in the coming years. We need constructive lasting solutions; if this bill becomes law, it’s going to drive a stake through the heart of many fishing businesses on the coast and inland.”
 
Sam Mace, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition: “Inland Northwest fishermen care deeply about our salmon and steelhead.  They provide family recreation, jobs and sustenance.  With this year’s perilously low fish runs, it is disappointing that our own Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers wants to run roughshod over the interests of so many of her constituents who care about salmon. Instead of dividing people as this legislation does, she should support the comprehensive environmental review ordered by the court last year.  Instead she wants to blow up the best avenue for avoiding more uncertainty and the loss of our region’s iconic fish.”
 
After invalidating the 2014 Columbia Basin Salmon Plan last spring, the U.S. District Court ordered NOAA to produce a new legal plan in 2018 and the Action Agencies (ACOE, BPA, USBR) to complete a comprehensive environmental analysis (NEPA Review) that looks at all credible recovery options including the removal of the lower Snake River dams. All Snake River salmon populations are currently listed under the ESA; many scientists agree that extinction will be unavoidable with these four dams in place.
 
If it becomes law, this legislation will uphold the invalidated 2014 Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS) Biological Opinion (BiOp) until 2022. It will also overturn the March 2017 court order to increase spring spill over federal dams on the lower Columbia and Snake Rivers. Spill releases water over the tops of dams and delivers out-migrating juvenile salmon more quickly and safely to the ocean. It is our region’s most effective action in the near-term to improve survival of endangered salmon populations while we work to develop a legally-valid, scientifically-credible and fiscally-responsible plan for Columbia Basin salmon.
 
This bill is particularly poorly timed, as adult salmon returns to the Columbia Basin are down this year. Fisheries managers have predicted that adult returns this year to the Columbia and Snake Rivers and their tributaries will drop significantly compared to last year. Certain populations, like B-run steelhead, are in dismal shape. Just 1100 wild fish are expected to return to the Columbia Basin in 2017. These extremely low returns have alarmed managers and triggered fishing closures in Washington, Oregon and Idaho this spring.
 
The bill can be viewed here:
https://mcmorris.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/MCMORR_021_xml.pdf

August 7, 2018 Contacts:
Sam Mace, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, 509-863-5696
Rein Attemann, Washington Environmental Council, 206-334-6472
Robb Krehbiel, Defenders of Wildlife, 206-883-7401
Dr. Deborah Giles, Orca Salmon Alliance, 916-531-1516

The 15-group coalition calls for urgent action and political leadership to rebuild salmon populations and restore and reconnect healthy rivers and resilient watersheds to protect Southern Resident orcas from extinction.

WENATCHEE, Wash. – Leaders of the Orca Salmon Alliance delivered more than 43,000 citizen comments to Governor Jay Inslee and the co-chairs of the Emergency Southern Resident Task Force,  created by the Governor through executive order earlier this year.  Delivery of the public comments emphasized urgency and called for leadership at a press conference outside the Task Force’s third meeting – at the Confluence Technology Center in Wenatchee on Tuesday, August 7. The “Sound the Alarm for Orcas” citizen petition was created and circulated by the Orca Salmon Alliance. It has been signed by more than 43,200 members of the public who are committed to the survival and recovery of Southern Resident orcas and the Chinook salmon they depend upon. The petition calls on Governor Inslee and the Task Force to develop a series of recommendations that will halt the decline of the Southern Resident orcas and recover the salmon, watersheds and ecosystems they depend on for survival. The petition specifies categories of action that the Task Force must address, including:

• Prioritize Chinook salmon habitat restoration and fish-barrier removal projects that will most benefit orcas.
• Increase Chinook salmon productivity and survival in the Columbia River Basin by maximizing beneficial spill at the lower Snake and Columbia River dams.
• Increase funding for pollution prevention and clean-up programs.
• Identify and meet an ecologically relevant noise reduction goal.
• Address risk reduction for oil spills and improved safety measures for oil transportation.
• Create a permanent Orca Recovery Coordinator position to manage, direct, and coordinate recovery efforts.

Further, the petition calls on the Task Force to prioritize an overall goal of growing and managing healthy, resilient, connected and functional ecosystems. Continued and expanded reliance on technologies and human interventions – rather than on functional ecosystems – will be unlikely to meet the needs of salmon, orcas and people. Sam Mace, Inland Northwest Program Director for the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition: “Rebuilding healthy Columbia and Snake river salmon populations must be a cornerstone of any effective plan to protect Southern Resident orcas from extinction. Salmon – and therefore orcas – require cooler, more resilient and connected rivers. We need Governor Inslee and other elected officials bringing people together around shared solutions.”
 
Rein Attemann, Puget Sound Campaign Manager for the Washington Environmental Council: “The extinction of Southern Resident orcas is on the table today. Without political leadership and commitment to act immediately  from Northwest sovereigns and stakeholders, we will risk losing these irreplaceable whales forever.” Dr. Deborah Giles, Science Advisor to the Orca Salmon Alliance: “This is a five-alarm emergency. These whales need more salmon now. Immediate measures are crucial to ensure their access to the salmon currently available, and to restore vital stocks throughout the orcas’ range. Without immediate and effective measures, these whales will not survive.” Robb Krehbiel, Northwest Representative, Defenders of Wildlife: “Southern Resident orcas face a multitude of threats, including a lack of salmon and toxic contamination destroying our watersheds. Orcas and salmon depend on clean water, healthy shorelines and estuaries, free-flowing rivers, and protected watersheds for survival. They need change immediately, not years from now.” The Southern Resident orcas’ urgent fight for survival was on tragic, graphic display over the past two weeks as J35 (Tahlequah), carried her lifeless newborn daughter on her head in what many have described as a procession of grief. Tahlequah’s calf died just 30 minutes after birth. Accompanied by members of her pod, Tahlequah’s mourning for her daughter continued for at least 10 days through the waters of Salish Sea near the San Juan Islands. The heartbreaking procession, shared around the world through video and in photographs, has inspired an international call to save these iconic orcas. On March 2018, in response to a series of deaths in the critically endangered Southern Resident orca population that brought them to their lowest population level in 30 years, Governor Jay Inslee created the Southern Resident Recovery Task Force. The Task Force is led by co-chairs Les Purse and Stephanie Solien, and includes more than 40 regional representatives of government agencies, stakeholders, scientists, Tribes, and non-governmental organizations. Just 75 Southern Resident orcas remain today – the lowest number in 34 years. The population was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2005; its population since then has further declined and there has not been a successful birth among the Southern Residents in nearly three years. Task Force members are scheduled to deliver an initial list of recommended actions that the Governor and Legislature can take in order to stop and reverse the Southern Resident orcas’ decline toward extinction by November 1st of this year. Three working groups have been set up to advise the Task Force on the three primary causes of decline: lack of available prey, toxic contamination and vessel/boat noise/interference. Orca Salmon Alliance was founded in 2015 to prevent the extinction of the Southern Resident orcas by recovering the wild Chinook salmon populations upon which the whales depend for their survival.  OSA members include Orca Network, Defenders of Wildlife, Save Our Wild Salmon, Washington Environmental Council, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Earthjustice, Endangered Species Coalition, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Puget Soundkeeper, Center for Biological Diversity, Seattle Aquarium, Whale Scout and Toxic Free Future. www.orcasalmonalliance.org ###

August 4, 2022

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Bill Arthur, Director, Columbia Basin Salmon Campaign
Sierra Club
206-954-9826

Liz Hamilton, Executive Director
Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association
503-704-1772

Jacqueline Koch, Media Representative
National Wildlife Federation
206-687-8546

Parties Ask Court to Extend Stay in Legal Fight for Endangered Snake River Salmon
Urgent action is needed to restore salmon and other native fish populations

PORTLAND, Ore.—Today fishing and conservation groups in long-running litigation to protect endangered salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers joined with the State of Oregon, Nez Perce Tribe and United States to ask the U.S. District Court to extend a stay of the litigation by up to one year.

The request for a stay extension is based on commitments the Biden Administration has made to develop and implement “a durable long-term strategy to restore salmon and other native fish populations to healthy and abundant levels, honoring Federal commitments to Tribal Nations, delivering affordable and reliable clean power, and meeting the many resilience needs of stakeholders across the region.”

The Administration’s commitments also recognize that “[i]n the face of climate change, urgent action is needed to restore salmon and other native fish populations to healthy and abundant levels.”

The motion to extend the stay states that any party can ask the Court to lift the stay if the Biden Administration fails to take timely and sufficient action to meet the commitments it has made.

The motion to stay litigation filed with the Court and exhibits filed along with the motion can be found here on the Earthjustice website.

***

Plaintiffs in the case issued the following statements:

“This joint request to extend the litigation stay for up to a year is based on the Biden Administration’s unequivocal commitment to urgent and bold action and a new direction for salmon restoration in the Columbia and Snake River Basin. We welcome that commitment. The science is clear; the time for action is now and the centerpiece of successful action that will avoid extinction in the near-term and allow salmon to return to a healthy abundance over time is restoring the lower Snake River and breaching four dams there. We look forward to working with leaders in the Biden Administration to move forward together and start taking action that will restore the lower Snake River and its irreplaceable wild salmon. As the documents filed with the Court today make clear, however, if the Administration does not live up to its commitment to act urgently and boldly starting now, we will not hesitate to ask the Court to lift the stay so we can return to litigation and our request for an injunction.”

Todd True, Lead counsel for the fishing and conservation plaintiffs
Earthjustice

“The Biden Administration has made clear that business as usual ‘is not working’ and ‘will not achieve the goals of restoring salmon populations and ecosystem functions.’ We agree—there is an urgent need for action. The science is settled and clear that we need new, bold efforts—including restoring the Snake River—to avoid extinction and achieve harvestable abundance. We are committed to working with the Biden Administration, the tribes and Northwest leaders to achieve a durable and just solution that works for salmon, orca, communities and tribes.”

Bill Arthur, Director, Columbia Basin Salmon Campaign
Sierra Club

“Our salmon and steelhead are in crisis and our fishing communities are too. We urgently need bold action from the Biden Administration with actionable timelines. This extension of the litigation stay is an opportunity for the Administration to put its money where its mouth is. If they fail to act quickly and decisively, we will not hesitate to return to court to protect the fish. We hope we don’t have to do that, but we are prepared to if it is our only option.”

Liz Hamiton, Executive Director
Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association

“Salmon are running out of time and barreling toward extinction. We are encouraged that the Biden Administration has demonstrated through its words and recent reports a commitment to a comprehensive approach to salmon recovery, but time is of the essence. We need to breach all four lower Snake River dams to restore abundant salmon, meet our commitments to Columbia River Tribes, and ensure the Northwest’s economy and way of life endure and thrive for future generations.”

Erin Farris-Olsen, Regional Executive Director
National Wildlife Federation

Background:In a court battle that goes back more than 25 years, Tribes, fishing groups and conservation organizations have challenged federal agency hydropower systems operation plans, because of their failure to protect threatened and endangered salmon in the Columbia River basin. Three different federal judges have declared five different federal plans illegal, but today, meaningful progress is finally underway toward a new approach that can reverse the decline toward salmon extinction. In this litigation, Earthjustice represents National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, National Sportfishing Industry Association, Northwest Energy Coalition, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Columbia Riverkeeper, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Institute for Fisheries Resources,and Federation of Fly Fishers International.

The Nez Perce Tribe and state of Oregon are also aligned with these groups. A broad group of supporters and advocates is pushing to restore the Snake River and save wild salmon.

Earthjustice is a legal nonprofit that uses 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. Learn more about its work to address the biodiversity crisis.

# # #

For Immediate Release
April 4, 2018 Press Statement
Joseph Bogaard, executive director, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition
206-300-1003; joseph@wildsalmon.org Salmon Extinction or Restoration?
Putting the Lower Snake River Dam Power Replacement Study in context

A new study finds that replacing the energy services of the lower Snake River dams is both feasible and affordable. The estimated price tag to replace the dams’ energy with clean, renewable resources: pennies per day – or a little more than $1 per month for the average Northwest household. (A recent poll finds a clear majority of Washington State voters willing to pay far more – up to $7/month – to restore wild salmon). This replacement cost does not consider the savings associated with avoiding the long-term capital costs of maintaining the aging dams or not spending money on salmon recovery efforts that aren’t working. Furthermore, the cost may drop considerably thanks to the plunging cost of renewables and fine-tuning the portfolio of energy replacement resources. This groundbreaking study has big implications for Northwest salmon restoration efforts. “This Power Replacement Study explodes the myth that we can’t have both wild salmon and clean energy. Instead it shows that we can remove these four deadly dams, restore one of our nation’s great salmon rivers and improve the Northwest’s energy system. Scientists have told us for decades that removing the lower Snake River dams is the most effective – and likely only – way to protect endangered wild salmon and steelhead from extinction. For twenty-five years, our government has wasted public money on convoluted efforts more designed to protect status quo dam operations than the wild salmon and steelhead populations headed toward extinction today. Federal agencies have spent more than $12 billion on salmon programs in the Columbia Basin in just the past two decades. It is one of our nation’s most expensive endangered species programs, but it has failed to recover even one of the Basin’s thirteen imperiled populations. The government’s costly approach has pushed wild salmon, orca and other fish and wildlife populations closer to extinction and failed our region’s fishing communities and energy consumers. Law, economics, and justice require us to protect and restore wild salmon facing extinction in the Columbia-Snake Basin. Different – and far more effective – actions are required. The big question: will our efforts moving forward finally meet the needs of wild salmon – or will we remain stuck in the past, with last century’s mindset and technologies? The old way – still being pushed by federal dam agencies – has failed. It has come at high cost, but delivered a low return. This new report tells us we can and should follow the advice of biologists: remove these four deadly dams to protect an irreplaceable species from extinction. We save the public’s money, create thousands of jobs, strengthen our energy system, and protect the climate.

The 2018 Power Replacement Study findings tell us that removing the lower Snake River dams is a no-brainer – a good and necessary investment in the region’s economy and ecology. The benefits of restoring the lower Snake River and protecting its wild salmon from extinction become even more apparent when one takes a full, fair look at the costs and benefits of dam removal as well as dam retention. Keeping these dams in place will prove even more costly in the years ahead as these aging projects deteriorate. Replacement of the dams’ worn-out turbines over the next ten years, for example, is predicted to cost at least $1.5 billion. Today’s costs for O&M, sediment management, and lock repairs at the dams all greatly exceed the Army Corps’ past estimates and will continue to rise even higher over time. Dam removal will not only avoid forever these types of escalating costs, but it will deliver tremendous benefits – a restored, resilient river ecosystem and wild salmon and the cultures and jobs they support – that are unachievable by any other means. For pennies a day, or about $1 a month, we can have the largest river restoration in U.S. history, return 140 miles of free-flowing main stem river and open the gates to more than 5,000 river and stream miles in the most pristine, contiguous, high-elevation salmon habitat remaining in the lower 48.”

September 7, 2018

Contact:
Sam Mace, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Spokane WA, 509-863-5696

Statement from Sam Mace, Inland Northwest Project Director, Save Our wild Salmon: “Salmon, fishing and orca advocates across Washington State and the Northwest breathed a big collective sigh of relief upon learning that the ‘Salmon Extinction Rider’ (Section 506*) championed by Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers has been removed from the final 2018 Energy and Water Resources Appropriations Bill.

"Conservationists and fishing advocates are very grateful to Senator Murray for her strong leadership and to others in the Northwest Congressional delegation for protecting from political interference the integrity of science and ongoing legal processes affecting Columbia Basin salmon recovery. Their unwavering opposition to this damaging rider during this Congressional session has been critical for protecting wild salmon and the irreplaceable benefits they deliver to our state and regional economy, culture and environment. This summer's heartbreaking display of grief by Tahlequah, the orca mother with her lifeless calf, underscores exactly what's at stake if we fail to protect and rebuild our salmon populations in the Columbia Basin and across the region.

“If it had become law, this legislative rider would have weakened protections for Columbia Basin’s endangered wild salmon and steelhead populations and harmed the communities and fish and wildlife populations that value and rely upon them. The Committee Report language concerning Columbia Basin salmon that ultimately accompanied this spending bill is disappointing and wrong-headed. Fortunately, however, it should have no effect on federal laws, ongoing court proceedings or current salmon restoration activities in the Columbia and Snake rivers."

Background: Dubbed the ‘Salmon Extinction Rider’ by conservationists, Section 506 had been championed by Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers. The one-sentence legislative rider would have had the effect of rolling back ‘spill’ at the eight federal dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers. Spill has been collaboratively studied by tribal, federal and state fisheries biologists and managers for more than two decades. Salmon scientists in the Pacific Northwest strongly support increased levels of spill (water sent over dams rather than through spinning turbines) up to 125% total dissolved gas in order to help juvenile salmon migrate more quickly and safely to the Pacific Ocean. ‘Spilled’ salmon go through powerhouses far less frequently, survive the journey through the federal dams and reservoirs in higher numbers and – most importantly – return as adult salmon at higher levels.

Increased levels of spill are viewed by scientists and salmon and fishing advocates as an essential interim measure to improve salmon survival while the region develops a more effective, long-term plan that must include the removal of the four lower Snake River dams.

*SEC. 506. None of the funds made available in this Act, or federal funds provided from any other source, may be used to operate the Federal Columbia River Power System hydroelectric dams in a manner that is inconsistent with the Army Corps of Engineers’ 2017 Fish Operations Plan.

###

For Immediate Release—March 31, 2023

Public calls on White House for plan to replace Snake River dams

SEATTLE—Today, fishermen, energy experts, rural businesses and families, salmon and orca advocates, and youth leaders all called on the federal government to develop a plan to remove the four lower Snake River dams and replace the services they provide before Northwest salmon go extinct.

Hosted by the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the listening session aimed to gather public input on litigation about the lower Snake River dams, which is currently paused to allow for mediation.

Last July, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report confirmed that removing the dams is essential to stop the decline in Snake River salmon populations, echoing decades of prior research that have said the same. Replacing the services provided by the dams is a necessary step in ensuring the region continues to have affordable renewable energy and reliable agricultural transportation and irrigation systems.

Participants thanked Senator Patty Murray, Washington state legislators and Governor Jay Inslee for their leadership in planning how to replace the services currently provided by the dams.

An additional listening session will be held on Monday, April 3, from 10:00am to 1:00pm PDT.

Quotations from today’s session are included below.

“...[B]reaching the lower Snake River dams creates opportunity to redirect resources to the other system dams that provide flexibility when paired with variable energy resources and new or emerging resource science and technologies, better preserving, and expanding our clean energy portfolios, particularly useful to small market remote rural counties like mine… Restoration of the lower Snake River fish runs is widely beneficial to many Americans and their economies. A Copernican-like shift of leadership and allocation of federal resources for mitigating and replacing lost services required before breaching the LSRD is critical and a key step forward to a better, more resilient environment and energy future.”
Ken Hayes, Commissioner, Clallam County PUD

“The importance of these fish and the outfitting & guiding industry to these rural Idaho communities cannot be overstated. Yet fishing outfitters and guides and their communities continue to helplessly watch the downward arc of Idaho’s anadromous fish. Their hardship is not hypothetical; it is real and immediate and long-endured.”
Aaron Lieberman, Executive Director, Idaho Outfitters & Guides Association

“We support an expedient decision and process to remove the four lower Snake River dams and replace the services they provide. The restoration of a free-flowing river is essential for the Northwest Tribal Nations. Salmon recovery is central to environmental justice for the Northwest’s Indigenous communities. It enhances their opportunities for cultural, subsistence and commercial fishing, and honors the treaty obligations of the United States.”
Rein Attemann, Washington Conservation Action

“I’ve gone to the San Juan Islands every year to look for the Southern Resident [orcas] and I used to see them every summer without fail, but now these sightings have become few and far between as the orcas become dispersed in search of dwindling chinook salmon…The Snake River salmon are teetering on the edge of extinction and the Southern Resident orcas are speeding ever closer to function extinction. With support for breaching growing among political leaders, right now is the time for the Biden administration to act.”
Owen Begley-Collier, 17-Year Old Orca Advocate, WYORCA

“Building the Snake River dams in order to make Lewiston/Clarkston a seaport has failed to produce the economic response that was the promise that sold these projects in the 1960’s. Construction of the lower Snake dams was a high-risk experiment in social engineering that has placed an iconic salmon species at risk. Please fix this problem—breach the dams and replace the lost services. We owe it to the Tribes, and we owe it to ourselves.”
Don Parks, Resident of Redmond, Washington

“The Snake basin contains the largest area of high-quality Pacific salmon and steelhead habitat left in the lower 48 states. This habitat is increasingly important for them as climate change proceeds, providing a haven of cold waters and the habitat integrity and complexity they need to build and maintain healthy, resilient populations. And yet, even here in the best of the best habitat remaining, the impact of the dams on our salmon and steelhead is unquestionable. Downstream, salmon and steelhead populations on the John Day Rivers and Yakima Rivers must cross three and four dams, respectively. These populations are returning at sustainable rates, nearly four times as high as salmon and steelhead in the Snake basin, which must cross 8 dams and are reaching critical thresholds of risk.”
Helen Neville, Senior Scientist, Trout Unlimited

“...Cascade Fisheries recognizes that actions taken in the Snake River benefits all salmon species in the Columbia by decreasing water temperatures in the mainstem of the Columbia River. Colder water temperatures will help ensure these endangered salmon and steelhead species have a better chance of survival through their journeys through the gauntlet of 14 large dams on the river. With warmer air temperatures and reduced snowpack in our mountains as a result of climate change, now is [the] time to act to ensure survival of these iconic fisheries.”
Christine Parson, President, Cascade Fisheries

“The [NWEC 2022] study concludes that a diverse resource portfolio consisting of wind, solar, demand response, storage, and market purchases at an annual cost of $277 million was able to sufficiently replace the energy, capacity value, and ramping historically provided by the four lower Snake dams.”
Sara Patton, Former Executive Director of NW Energy Coalition

# # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 13, 2023

CONTACT: Marc Sullivan, Save Our wild Salmon, sullivanmarc@hotmail.com, 360-504-3949
Joseph Bogaard, Save Our wild Salmon, joseph@wildsalmon.org, 206-300-1003

Public delivers clear mandate to Biden Administration: Restore the lower Snake River and its endangered wild salmon and steelhead populations

SEATTLE (July 13, 2023)  – More than 82,000 people across the Northwest and nation recently delivered a clear message and mandate to the Biden Administration, calling for the restoration of a free-flowing lower Snake River, which is critical to recover threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead populations. Strong public support for planning and investments to remove the lower Snake River dams and replace their services was delivered to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in response to a request from the administration for public comment regarding the restoration of Columbia River salmon and other native fish.

Marc Sullivan, Western Washington Coordinator for the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, said, “While CEQ has yet to officially report the total number of comments received by the July 3 date requested, based on public comments posted and reports from Save Our wild Salmon members and allied conservation, fishing and community organizations, we are certain that support for restoration of a free-flowing lower Snake constituted the overwhelming majority.”

The comments were consistent with a September 2022 finding by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that breaching the lower Snake dams was “essential” and a “centerpiece action” for any comprehensive salmon recovery plan for the Columbia-Snake Basin.

The written comments also echoed public input received in a series of “listening sessions” conducted this spring – on March 31, April 3, and May 25 – addressing the salmon crisis in the Columbia River Basin. In the three sessions, organized by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), 78 percent of speakers expressing a clear opinion called for breaching the four outdated, harmful, costly dams and restoration of the lower Snake River and its imperiled fish populations.

The listening sessions and written comment period occurred as talks continued between the U.S. government and plaintiffs challenging the Trump Administration’s 2020 salmon recovery plan. These input processes offered stakeholders and other members of the public who are not directly involved in the long-running litigation an opportunity to provide feedback to the Federal agencies on Columbia River Basin salmonid restoration. The current pause in litigation seeks to develop a comprehensive regional solution for salmon and communities as an alternative to continued legal action. The current pause in the litigation will expire on August 31.

“The public has spoken and with great clarity. When it comes to these iconic Northwest species, extinction is not an option. Meaningful recovery of abundant, harvestable salmon and steelhead runs is both a necessity and an opportunity for the communities, cultures and economy of our region,” said Joseph Bogaard, executive director of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition.

# # #

Sept 9, 2018 Contact:
Ron Richards, retired commercial salmon fisherman, 360-477-5367
Joseph Bogaard, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, 206-300-1003

Witnesses for the majority will attack court-guided salmon recovery activities and critical science-based salmon protection measures such ‘spill’ at federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers.

Representative Dan Newhouse will host Congressional Field Hearings in Pasco, WA on Monday, September 10 at 10 am at the Pasco City Council Chambers at 525 N. 3rd Avenue. Congressman Newhouse says that the hearings are designed to “educate Congress and others about benefits of the federal Columbia River power system and help dispel misinformation.” Salmon and fishing advocates fear that the hearings will be used as a platform to further propagate misinformation, drive key stakeholders apart and make regional community-based solutions more difficult to achieve.

Court-guided salmon recovery activities including ‘spill’ at federal dams are certain to be key subjects at these hearings. HR 3144 was introduced into Congress last year by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and co-sponsored by Rep. Newhouse. As law, this legislation would overturn a 2016 federal court ruling that invalidated the government’s latest salmon plan for the Columbia Basin, roll back court-ordered salmon protections (increased spill at federal dams) and fatally constrain the NEPA review currently underway that should examine all credible salmon protection alternatives in the Columbia Basin - including the removal of four dams on the lower Snake River - in order to protect its endangered wild salmon and steelhead populations from extinction. As recently reported in Politico, a battle in Congress has broken out over a legislative rider, Section 506 (dubbed the ‘Salmon Extinction Rider’ by conservationists) in the Energy and Water Resources spending bill. Section 506 would roll back 'spill' at federal dams that was put in place by court order last January to help critically endangered salmon and steelhead populations.

Ron Richards, co-founder of Western Gas Resources, former commercial salmon fisherman, and former resident of Richland (WA), “These relentless attacks on salmon recovery activities in the Columbia Basin must stop. They hurt our already-imperiled salmon populations in the Columbia Basin and harm and divide our communities. As a former businessman, retired commercial salmon fisherman and someone who has lived on both sides of the Cascades, I can’t fathom why Representatives Newhouse and McMorris-Rodgers continue to push these kinds of divisive initiatives. Why pit fisherman against farmer? It’s wrong, it’s wasteful, and it’s damaging our economy and environment. These so-called leaders are stuck in the past when we really need to move forward. Fishermen are eager to work with farmers to figure out solutions that work for all of us. Our leaders should be bringing our communities together rather spreading misinformation and driving us apart.

“Lawful, science-based solutions that help both fish and farm can provide a huge economic boost in Eastern Washington, especially if we take advantage of the tremendous scientific talent pool, and the solar and wind power resources available in the greater Tri-Cities region.”

Joseph Bogaard, executive director, Save Our wild Salmon, “Left unchecked, Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers would replace good science with bad politics. It’s that simple. Endangered wild salmon populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers – and the hungry orcas and struggling fishing communities that depend on them - need more help today, not less. Legislation like HR 3144 and Section 506 divides people at a time when we need to come together and work together on shared solutions to our common problems. It is really the only way forward.” Joseph Bogaard and Ron Richards plan to attend the Congressional Field Hearing Pasco on Monday, Sept. 10. Links to related information:

HR 3144 legislative language American Fisheries Society Statement on HR 3144 Scientists’ Letter to Northwest Policymakers re: benefits of spill at the Columbia and Snake River dams (2017)

Snake River Salmon and Steelhead Returns – 1950s – 2017 Congressional Factsheet Opposing HR 3144:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 19, 2023

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

Rising River Temperatures Take a Toll on Snake River Salmon

SEATTLE (Sept. 19, 2023) — Throughout this summer, temperatures have been rising to lethal levels in the Columbia River Basin. Save Our wild Salmon Coalition and 16 NGOs released a weekly Hot Water Report, tracking water temperatures in the lower Snake and lower Columbia river reservoirs and reporting how increasingly hot waters impact cold-water-reliant salmon and steelhead leading to their low returns each year. The 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. The four reservoirs on the lower Snake River are large, stagnant pools that absorb enormous amounts of solar radiation that cause the water to warm. These waters inundate and destroy diverse micro-habitats that healthy rivers support, including cold-water refuges that salmon and steelhead rely upon during their migration.

Below, we present a summary of the highest water temperatures recorded in each of the 4 reservoirs in the lower Snake River and the number of days the reservoirs reached above the 68°F “harm” threshold—the legal and biological limit scientists identified to protect salmon.

• Ice Harbor Dam: On 8/19/23, the reservoir behind the Ice Harbor Dam registered the highest temperature recorded this summer—72.73°F over 4 degrees above the 68°F threshold. The Ice Harbor reservoir registered above 68°F for 62 days.
• Lower Monumental Dam: On 8/20/23, the Lower Monumental reservoir registered a high water temperature of 71.71°F. The Lower Monumental reservoir registered above 68°F for 60 days.
• Little Goose Dam: On 8/20/23, the Little Goose reservoir registered a high water temperature of 71.24°F. The Lower Monumental reservoir registered above 68°F for 60 days.
• Lower Granite Dam: The Lower Granite reservoir was the first reservoir to reach 68°F this summer. This reservoir registered a high temperature this summer of 71.20°F on August 22, 2023. Lower Granite reservoir registered above 68°F for 32 days, fewer days compared to other reservoirs, due to the US Army Corps of Engineers' annual release of cold waters from the Dworshak reservoir. However, the benefit of this cold water release does not last long in the heat of the summer and does not cool the other three downstream lower Snake reservoirs.

For over 60 days, salmon and steelhead migrated through water temperatures between 68°F - 72°F on the lower Snake River. Migration stops altogether when water temperatures reach 72 to 73°F. Salmon that have stopped or slowed their migration, and languish for days or weeks in warm water, begin dying from stress and disease. This summer, due to hot water in the reservoirs of the lower Columbia and lower Snake rivers, roughly 80% of the returning adult Snake River sockeye that entered the mouth of the Columbia River died before spawning.

Since the completion of the dams on the lower Snake River, wild Snake River fish returns have plummeted and are far below the levels required to delist them from the Endangered Species Act, much less meet their Columbia Basin Partnership recovery goal. According to Nez Perce Tribe fishery scientists, nearly half of Snake River salmon and steelhead populations have reached quasi-extinction thresholds—a critical threshold signaling they are nearing extinction, and without intervention, many may not persist. In addition, without big improvements in water quality, federal scientists predict that adult Snake River sockeye survival will further decline by 80% in coming years, likely resulting in extinction.

A restored lower Snake River would provide the largest availability of high-quality free-flowing, cold-water habitat for salmon populations to recover to significant levels of abundance, mitigating the impacts of changing ocean conditions and climate change. The benefits of dam removal would improve the ability of migrating fishes to access high-elevation, groundwater- and snowmelt-fed freshwater refuges, likely increasing survival and productivity in what will be an otherwise inhospitable future climate.

Salmon and steelhead—and endangered Southern Resident orcas and other fish and wildlife that highly depend on salmon—are running out of time. The current status quo to keep 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 to reduce heat pollution known as hot water temperatures. At this moment, we have an urgent opportunity to restore ecosystem health across the basin and recover salmon and steelhead by removing the four lower Snake River dams and replacing the dams’ services. We must develop and deliver a comprehensive solution to restore a healthy, and resilient lower Snake River, protect the Northwest native fish from extinction, and uphold our nation's promises to Tribes by reconnecting this emblematic fish to 5,500 miles of pristine, protected river and streams in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

The Hot Water Report is a joint project of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, American Rivers, Association of Northwest Steelheaders, Columbia Riverkeeper, Earthjustice, Endangered Species Coalition, Environment Oregon, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Wildlife Federation, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Orca Network, Sierra Club, Snake River Waterkeeper, Wild Orca and Wild Steelhead Coalition.

# # #

March 23, 2023

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

Bill Arthur, Sierra Club, billwarthur@gmail.com,  206-954-9826

Miles Johnson, Columbia Riverkeeper, miles@columbiariverkeeper.org, 541-436-3625

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Salmon advocates respond to Rep. Newhouse's bill to "protect the four lower Snake River dams"

Joseph Bogaard, Executive Director, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition: 
"The legislation proposed by Reps. Newhouse and McMorris-Rodgers is an attempt to double down on a failed, illegal, costly, and harmful status quo that would lock in "extinction-is-the-only-option” strategy for critically endangered wild salmon and steelhead in the Snake River Basin. 

The proposed legislation will only serve to deepen uncertainty and evade pressing problems facing Northwest salmon and our communities and economy. 

And, unfortunately, their proposal misses an enormous opportunity to bring people together around shared solutions that can restore healthy salmon populations, create jobs, invest in clean energy, modernize critical infrastructure and assure a brighter and more prosperous future for all people of the Northwest. 

Decades of scientific research make clear that restoring the lower Snake River is necessary to protect its wild salmon and steelhead from extinction. It is also feasible and affordable.  With effective planning and input from Northwest policymakers, Tribes, stakeholders, communities, and federal agencies, we can develop a collaborative, comprehensive solution-- ensuring salmon abundance for future generations, AND a reliable, affordable clean energy system, modernized transportation system, and robust agricultural and fishing industries. 

Salmon and fishing and orca advocates remain committed to working with the people and policymakers of our region to craft solutions for salmon and our communities that move everyone forward together. We appreciate the bipartisan leadership by policymakers in the Pacific Northwest and by the Biden Administration to bring people together to develop durable solutions that will protect Northwest’s native fish from extinction and restore them to harvestable abundance."

——————

Bill Arthur, Chair, Sierra Club Columbia/Snake River Salmon Campaign:
"Reps. Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers legislation offers no solutions but attempts to lock in a failed and costly status quo.  The salmon and steelhead of the Snake river today swim at the brink of extinction. The current approach to recovery will never meet the requirements of the Endangered Species Act nor achieve restoration needed to uphold our nation’s treaty rights responsibilities or support healthy sport, commercial and tribal fishing economies and communities.  The courts have ruled six times that the federal plans are inadequate and illegal.  The plan Reps. Newhouse and McMorris-Rodgers want to enshrine, adopted under the Trump administration, assures we remain on a path to extinction, litigation, and increased uncertainty for everyone.  

Fortunately, as Governor Inslee and Senator Murray, and Rep. Simpson have demonstrated, we can responsibly replace the services provided by the dams, restore the Snake River and meet ESA and treaty rights requirements.  The Biden Administration is moving foward with recognition we must meet our legal and moral requirements to protect and restore these imperiled fish. We can invest in better transporation and energy systems that create a stronger future with abundant salmon. We are pleased that the vast majority of the Northwest congressional delegation and the Governors of Washington and Oregon are seeking solutions that work for everyone."

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Miles Johnson, Legal Director, Columbia Riverkeeper: 
"Representative Newhouse is fear-mongering: The Lower Snake River dams provide no meaningful flood control and removing them would not put people in danger from increased flooding. Representative McMorris Rodgers should stop lying about the science: The National Marine Fisheries Service and the American Fisheries Society agree that dam removal is necessary to protect Snake River salmon from extinction and to rebuild abundant, fishable populations. Much like climate change, the scientific debate about what Snake River salmon need is over. Leaders who continue to deny it sound increasingly tone deaf and detached from reality."

Here is a link to the Newhouse website and today’s press release:

Newhouse Introduces Bill to Protect Four Lower Snake River Dams, Clean Energy, Jobs, and Transportation in the Pacific Northwest

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Save Our wild Salmon is a coalition of 40+ conservation organizations, fishing associations, clean energy and orca advocates working together to protect and restore healthy, abundant fishable populations of salmon and steelhead in the Pacific Northwest for the benefit of people, fish and wildlife, and ecosystems.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 27, 2023

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

Save Our wild Salmon Coalition applauds today’s Presidential Memorandum prioritizing the federal government’s salmon recovery commitments - and directing immediate actions to protect and restore 'healthy and abundant' salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia-Snake River facing extinction today.

“Conservation and fishing advocates from across the Northwest and the nation applaud the historic Memorandum issued by President Biden today”, said Tanya Riordan, Save Our wild Salmon’s Policy and Advocacy Director. “With this directive, the President is sending a clear message to the Bonneville Power Administration, Army Corps of Engineers and other relevant agencies and leaders within the federal government that business-as-usual is no longer acceptable, a “whole of government” approach is required, and agencies must immediately align priorities, plans, and actions to ensure the United States is meeting its Treaty obligations to Pacific Northwest Tribes. Protecting and restoring healthy, harvestable and abundant populations of wild salmon and steelhead and other native fish populations in the Columbia and Snake rivers is a national priority.”

With this Memorandum, President Biden is directing action by all relevant federal agencies to leverage and prioritize existing authorities and resources to restore abundant native fish populations, on an urgent timeline. The President is also directing the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to explore opportunities to develop partnerships with Tribal Nations and States in the Pacific Northwest to ensure that Federal, Tribal, and State entities work together to achieve this obligation.

Restoring healthy, fishable wild salmon and steelhead populations and the irreplaceable benefits they bring to communities, other fish and wildlife species including endangered Southern Resident orcas, and freshwater and marine ecosystems is critical for maintaining and strengthening our region’s economy, culture and ecosystems.

Our coalition of conservation and fishing advocates believes that durable solutions must right historic wrongs and restore healthy, self-sustaining fish populations across the Columbia Basin. It should re-establish passage and reintroduce salmon in blocked areas, and protect, restore and reconnect degraded mainstem and tributary habitat, including the removal of the four lower Snake River dams.

In addition to federal action and investments to restore the lower Snake River, a comprehensive plan must support ongoing Washington State efforts to plan for and replace the limited services provided by these four dams. We can effectively modernize our energy, transportation, and irrigation infrastructure as we also work to stop the extinction of Snake River salmon and steelhead.

Restoring a freely-flowing lower Snake River is not only essential for protecting its imperiled anadromous fish populations. It also represents one of our nation’s very best salmon recovery opportunities today. Lower Snake River dam removal will restore 140 miles of mainstem river habitat in southeast Washington State and re-establish productive access for endangered fish to more than 5,500 miles of pristine, protected, high elevation upstream habitat in northeast Oregon, central Idaho and southeast Washington State. It will significantly increase survival of salmon and steelhead in the Snake River Basin by reducing water temperatures, dam powerhouse encounters, disease, reservoir predation, energy expenditure and out-migration travel time.

Steep declines in these wild fish populations are harming communities and businesses across the Northwest. Dozens of populations and sub-populations of salmon and steelhead have already been driven to extinction. Many populations that remain return are at less than 5 percent their historic levels. In 2023 and in countless other years, record or near-record low fish returns to the Columbia River and its tributaries have caused Tribal, recreational and commercial fisheries to be severely constrained and/or cancelled, causing significant economic loss across our region.

Conservation and fishing advocates appreciate the focused efforts recently to develop a lawful plan to restore salmon abundance in the Columbia and Snake rivers, but must emphasize that many populations, including all stocks remaining in the Snake River Basin – sockeye, spring/summer and fall chinook, and steelhead – face certain extinction without immediate, meaningful, science-based recovery actions. Salmon and steelhead – and the orcas and other fish and wildlife that depend upon them – are simply running out of time.

Presidential Memorandum on Restoring Healthy and Abundant Salmon, Steelhead, and Other Native Fish Populations in the Columbia River Basin

Presidential Memorandum Fact Sheet: President Biden Takes Action to Restore Healthy and Abundant Wild Salmon and Steelhead in the Columbia River Basin

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Statement from the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition regarding the October 14 announcement from the Yakama and Lummi Nations about the future of the Columbia River, federal dams, and fish and wildlife in the Pacific Northwest.

October 14, 2019

For further information, contact:
Joseph Bogaard, executive director, joseph@wildsalmon.org, 206-300-1003
Sam Mace, Inland Northwest Program Director, sam@wildsalmon.org, 509-863-5696

Indigenous peoples in North America have suffered unimaginable loss and dispossession since the arrival of foreign settlers. Though the construction of federal dams and their reservoirs on the Columbia and Snake rivers have produced significant benefits for people in the Northwest, the development of the Columbia Basin has also inflicted profound harm to Native communities, including the loss of lands and waters, fish and wildlife, and economies and cultures.

As original inhabitants, Sovereign Nations, and co-managers of fish and wildlife resources in the Northwest, the Yakama and Lummi Nations offer unique perspectives, values and expertise regarding the management of the Columbia River Basin. We are committed to hearing and better understanding their vision for the future of the Basin, its communities, and its fish and wildlife resources.

The intensifying effects of climate change today are disrupting ecosystems, economies and cultures worldwide, including here in the Pacific Northwest. This fact increases the urgency for conversation and collaboration. Save Our wild Salmon recognizes the major contributions the lower Columbia River dams make to our regional energy system, and we are committed to working with all governments—Tribal, state, and federal— and people to help ensure healthier, more resilient and sustainable economies, ecologies and cultures into the future.

The Save Our wild Salmon Coalition has not evaluated or discussed removing dams on the lower Columbia River. We are, however, deeply involved in the dialogue upstream concerning the lower Snake River. SOS endorsed restoring the lower Snake River by removing its four federal dams in 1998 after a thorough review and discussion of relevant law, science, and economics among our member organizations. Since then, regional efforts to protect and recover wild Snake River salmon and steelhead have proven costly and inadequate. Restoration of the lower Snake River is urgently needed to avoid extinction of several salmon and steelhead populations and maintain and enhance the many benefits these fish deliver to people and ecosystems in the Northwest and nation.

Honest dialogue and true collaboration lie at the heart of solving the salmon and climate crisis. Effective and lasting solutions must be inclusive, strengthen communities, and ensure resilience and health for people, fish and the waters that we all rely upon.

August 4, 2022

CONTACT:
Joseph Bogaard, Executive Director
Save Our wild Salmon Coalition
Joseph@wildsalmon.org
206-300-1003

The Save Our wild Salmon Coalition welcomes the Biden Administration's commitment to developing durable solutions for endangered wild salmon and steelhead in the Snake and Columbia rivers.

Seattle WA, Joseph Bogaard, Executive Director of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition (SOS) today welcomed news of an agreement to extend a stay in litigation challenging a Trump-era salmon plan and a costly and ineffective approach to protect and restore abundant salmon populations and the irreplaceable benefits they bring to the Northwest and nation.

“The Biden Administration has agreed with plaintiffs, including multiple SOS member groups, to extend a pause in the long-running litigation by making far-reaching and important commitments to protect and restore endangered salmon and steelhead and the Southern Resident orcas that rely upon them. If these commitments are kept, it’s great news, not just for these emblematic species, but for everyone in the Northwest and nation. What we’ve been doing for decades hasn’t worked. We urgently need a new approach that is legally defensible, scientifically-credible and fiscally-responsible.”

Today, the Biden Administration joined plaintiffs including the State of Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribe, and a dozen fishing and conservation organizations represented by Earthjustice, in asking the U.S. District Court in Oregon to approve the agreement to extend the stay for thirteen months - until August 31, 2023. The Court approved this request by the parties earlier today.

Attached to the motion to extend the stay was a detailed commitment by the Biden Administration to “…supporting development of a durable long-term strategy to restore salmon and other native fish populations to healthy and abundant levels, honoring Federal commitments to Tribal Nations, delivering affordable and reliable clean power, and meeting the many resilience needs of stakeholders across the region.”

“These are the core elements of the comprehensive regional solution that Northwest salmon, orcas and people so urgently need. It’s more critical now than ever that Northwest members of Congress come together to support the leadership of Sen. Murray, Gov. Inslee and the Biden Administration to develop, fund and begin to implement a solution that restores a freely flowing lower Snake River coupled with community and infrastructure investments that move everyone forward together. SOS supports a comprehensive regional solution for salmon and our communities, and we remain committed to working with the people, stakeholders and policymakers of the Northwest to address the urgency and seize this opportunity."

The motion to stay litigation filed with the Court and exhibits filed along with the motion can be found here on the Earthjustice website.

July 28, 2017

Contact:
Zac Kauffman, Sawyer Paddles and Oars, (541) 535-3606 zac@paddlesandoars.com
Joseph Bogaard, Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition, (206)-300-1003 joseph@wildsalmon.org

Gold Hill, OR. Save Our Wild Salmon and Sawyer Oars announced a partnership today that will benefit fisheries through a series of limited edition “Artisan Series Oars” with a percentage of sales supporting Save Our Wild Salmon conservation efforts to protect and restore wild salmon, steelhead and the healthy river systems they depend on.

The “Sawyer Artisan Series” feature prints of fish species from artists around the country passionate about fisheries and fishing art. The first two are ”The Steelhead” by Link Jackson and ”The Brown Trout” by Ty Hallock. These oars showcase Sawyer’s and each artist’s ability to create rugged yet highly functional art.

The timing is perfect for this alliances as part of Sawyers 50th anniversary. At our 45th, we realized that we don’t just make paddles and oars, we make memories. For anglers, some of their fondest memories are with the critical salmon and steelhead fisheries around the world.
- Pete Newport, President of Sawyer Oars

“This is a great partnership for us,” said Zac Kauffman, V.P. of Sales & Marketing for Sawyer. “It allows us to interact with the vibrant Save Our Wild Salmon community and pair up our most popular oars with an ancient cause, helping us give back to the fisheries that are so cherished by all”.

Sawyer was founded by legendary canoe racer Ralph Sawyer in 1967 and in the first few years began collaborating with Willie Boats on drift-boat oars. Ever since, the company has been at the forefront of the rowing culture. Today, Sawyer is employee owned and shares the passion for boating and for putting the best oars into the hands of dedicated river users.

“Save Our Wild Salmon is honored to partner with Sawyer on this project to raise awareness and funds to support our advocacy efforts,” says Joseph Bogaard, executive director of the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition. “Healthy fisheries, healthy rivers and responsible companies like Sawyer Paddles and Oars remind us all about how environment and economy can, and must, go hand-in-hand”.

Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition (SOS) is a 25-year-old coalition of conservationists, fishermen and clean energy advocates working together to protect and restore abundant, self-sustaining and fishable populations of salmon and steelhead by improving the rivers and watersheds that they depend upon for the benefit of people, wildlife and their ecosystems.

August 16, 2017
 


Contacts:


David Cannamela, M.S., dacannamela@gmail.com, 208-890-1319


Rod Sando, M.S., rosando@mindspring.com, 503-507-5386
 



Boise, ID – Today, 46 natural resource scientists delivered a letter to members of Congress and Governors in Northwest states highlighting the well established and empirically demonstrated evidence supporting the benefits of “spill” – water releases over the tops of federal dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers during the juvenile out-migration to the Pacific Ocean during the spring and summer months. Spill has proven to be one of the most effective immediate dam management options to help improve the survival of young salmon and increase adult returns in the years that follow.



The letter can be viewed here: https://tinyurl.com/ybbetfvw

Dave Cannamela, retired fisheries biologist (Boise, Idaho): “Spill is without a doubt the most effective interim measure we can implement to help maintain critically endangered salmon, steelhead, and lamprey populations in the Columbia and Snake Rivers.  While spill is only an interim measure it is a very important one because it buys us time to work collectively to develop a durable, effective, long-term solution.  Everyone will benefit when salmon and the ecosystem, economy, and cultures they support are restored.”
 


Despite long-standing scientific support and a 20-year ongoing collaborative study involving state, federal, and tribal scientists from across the region, spill has met strong resistance from some agencies and industries in the Pacific Northwest. Because spilled water is not sent through turbines, it can modestly reduce the overall production of hydro-electricity in the Columbia-Snake River system.
 


Following up on his May 2016 ruling that invalidated the 2014 Columbia Basin Salmon Biological Opinion (Federal Salmon Plan), U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon required federal defendants in April this year to collaborate with plaintiffs to develop a plan that increases spill to levels currently allowed by state law in order to improve survival of imperiled salmon as they migrate through the federal dams and reservoirs. Up to 70% of the Snake River salmon and steelhead are killed by the eight dams and reservoirs on the lower Snake and lower Columbia rivers.
 


Rod Sando, retired biologist and former director of the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority (Woodburn, Oregon): “While the court’s order to increase spill will help improve the survival of salmon as they migrate past the dams, much more is needed. The science, for example, indicates that spill levels above the current total dissolved gas (TDG) cap may have further benefits to smolt survival. This is considerably more than the court ordered starting in the spring of 2018. Spill up to 125% TDG reduces migration time, reduces the number of fish exposed to deadly turbines, reduces predation and delivers more fish more quickly and safely to the ocean.  It improves adult salmon returns in later years.”
 


This 2016 ruling and 2017 order for injunctive relief to increase spill has been challenged by five Northwest lawmakers who recently introduced legislation that would block this court order, lock in illegal, inadequate status quo operations for the hydro-system at least through 2022, and prohibit study of any measures to help salmon that would reduce energy production in the hydro-system, including additional spill and lower Snake River dam removal.
 
Many scientists view spill as our region’s most effective option for improving the survival of endangered wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Snake River Basin and giving them a fighting chance until a legally valid plan has been developed.

The urgency has increased this year given the devastatingly low returns of wild steelhead to Columbia and Snake Rivers. Steelhead returns to date are 10-15 percent the ten-year average. Yesterday, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game announced a prohibition on the harvest of any steelhead during its fishing season this year, delivering a big blow to scores of fishing businesses and communities in central Idaho.
 


Given the intensifying impacts of climate change, spill is an essential interim measure for the endangered fish of the Snake River Basin. There is a growing recognition by scientists that imperiled salmon and steelhead are unlikely to survive the combined effects of the lower Snake’s four lethal dams and growing climate impacts. Federal agencies, Northwest states and the people of our region must act quickly and work together on a new, science-based approach to salmon restoration or risk losing these iconic fish forever.
 


Today, there are thirteen wild salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia-Snake River Basin listed under the Endangered Species Act. Five consecutive federal plans have been rejected by three different judges across two decades. More than 10 billion American taxpayer and Northwest energy consumer dollars have been spent by federal agencies on Columbia Basin salmon restoration in the last twenty years, though not a single population has recovered.



A version of the letter can be viewed here: https://tinyurl.com/ybbetfvw

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August 25, 2022

Association of Northwest Steelheaders
Columbia Riverkeeper
Defenders of Wildlife
Earthjustice
Idaho Conservation League
Idaho Rivers United
National Wildlife Federation
Natural Resources Defense Council
Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association
NW Energy Coalition
Sierra Club
Save Our wild Salmon Coalition
Trout Unlimited

SNAKE RIVER: Energy, fishing, conservation groups respond to Sen. Murray’s & Gov. Inslee’s presumptive plan for dam replacement

SEATTLE—Groups across the Northwest today called on elected leaders from the region to fulfill their commitment to salmon restoration in the Columbia Basin, including breaching the four lower Snake River dams as soon as possible.

On Thursday, Washington Sen. Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee released recommendations on the dams, as well as a final report on replacing their services. The officials said they are committed to action that will make dam breaching viable, noting that extinction of salmon and the orca that feed on them is “categorically unacceptable.” They stressed the need for immediate action to replace—or mitigate—the dams’ services in advance of breaching.

Organizations called Sen. Murray’s and Gov. Inslee’s recommendations a presumptive path to dam replacement.

In a statement, Gov. Inslee said that the status quo is not an option, and that saving salmon is imperative. “The state and federal governments should implement a plan to replace the benefits of the Lower Snake River Dams to enable breaching to move forward,” Inslee said.

“We will not permit Washington state to lose its salmon,” the governor and senator promised in their recommendations.

Organizations said they would hold state and national leadership accountable to their commitment to expeditious movement, which organizations said includes breaching the dams by the end of the decade.

Organizations released the following statements.

* * * * *

“The Sierra Club applauds Senator Murray and Governor Inslee for setting forth a presumptive path for breaching the four lower Snake River dams as part of a Columbia Basin salmon plan. The Snake River is the single best opportunity to restore salmon abundance on the West Coast, help our orca, and begin to address long neglected treaty rights responsibilities to the tribes. The joint statement made clear we need to replace the services of the dams before we remove them. The statement was also clear that ‘extinction of salmon, orca and other iconic species in the Pacific Northwest is categorically unacceptable’ and ‘breaching of the Lower Snake River Dams should be an option...and that it must be an option we strive to make viable.’ As the final report from Murray/Inslee shows we can responsibly replace the services from the dams. We call on the Northwest delegation to join with Senator Murray, Governor Inslee, and the Biden Administration to put the investments in place as expeditiously as possible to replace the services and breach the dams to avoid extinction and secure abundant salmon recovery. We are committed to working with all parties to move this forward and hold our leadership accountable for following through on these commitments.” Bill Arthur, Chair, Sierra Club Snake/Columbia River Salmon Campaign

“We agree with the recommendations from Senator Murray and Governor Inslee that lower Snake River dam replacement services can and must be in place so we can breach the Snake River dams as soon as possible. We are pleased to see the emphasis on taking action now, as it is vital to enabling this transformation. While the path forward toward a decarbonized energy system will have its challenges, the region must lean into comprehensive planning and implementation now, so that we can begin to acquire the suite of clean energy resources that will maintain an affordable, clean, and more reliable energy grid. Thank you, Senator Murray and Governor Inslee, for helping to chart our direction." Nancy Hirsh, Executive Director, NW Energy Coalition

“The fishing and conservation groups Earthjustice represents recently agreed to extend a stay of their litigation over dam operations because we believe this is a moment of opportunity for the Biden Administration to work in close coordination with Senator Murray, Governor Inslee, and the rest of the Northwest delegation to address and resolve this decades-long controversy. We will continue our work to advocate for removal of the four lower Snake River dams, which is the only solution to restore healthy wild salmon.” Todd True, Senior Attorney Northwest Regional Office, Earthjustice

“NSIA will be forever grateful to leadership that recognizes that for fish and the fishing industry to succeed, we all must succeed. Our industry has paid the price for the decimation of Snake River stocks, and we are eager to get to work with other leaders in the region to modernize our power, irrigation and transportation systems. Leadership that brings us together for solutions will bring salmon, steelhead and our industry back from the brink. But we need to start today in order to preserve these iconic fish runs and the communities that depend upon them.” Liz Hamilton, Executive Director, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association

“Governor Inslee and Senator Murray claim that salmon extinction and the status quo are unacceptable. But today’s recommendations will have tribes, salmon, orcas, and the communities that rely on them getting their pie in the sky (if they still exist), after we spend decades showering powerful interests with federal money. This sounds suspiciously like the status quo.” Miles Johnson, Senior Attorney, Columbia Riverkeeper

“Inaction is the greatest ally of extinction and today's report from Sen. Murray and Gov. Inslee provides a critical roadmap of the actions necessary to save imperiled salmon populations. The Murray-Inslee report, combined with the recent words and reports from the Biden administration, and the ongoing leadership of Rep. Simpson, Rep. Blumenauer, and Gov. Brown, together demonstrate a shared commitment to a comprehensive and inclusive approach to salmon recovery that leaves no one behind. Now it's essential that we transform these commitments into action, including breaching the Lower Snake River dams, to ensure we restore abundant salmon populations, fulfill treaty obligations to Columbia River Tribes, and revitalize the Northwest’s economy for future generations.” Collin O’Mara, President and CEO, National Wildlife Federation

"This moment is urgent for salmon recovery in the Columbia River Basin, and we are closer than we’ve ever been to resolving the decades-long conflict between dams and salmon in the Pacific Northwest. We are inspired by the Inslee-Murray report, and the leadership of Gov. Brown and Rep. Blumenauer. We look to our elected leaders across the Pacific Northwest to join them to swiftly advance a comprehensive solution to replace the services that the lower Snake River dams provide and save salmon from certain extinction.” Jason Wedemeyer, Executive Director, Association of Northwest Steelheaders 

“Recovery is within our grasp: we can bring back our fish and do so in a way that strengthens the regional economy, repairs critical infrastructure, retains services, and lifts Columbia Basin communities. Senator Murray and Governor Inslee have shown us a path forward, but we must move quickly beyond these recommendations to pass legislation, remove the lower four Snake River dams, and make critical investments while there is still time for Pacific Northwest salmon and steelhead.” Greg McReynolds, Snake River Campaign Director, Trout Unlimited

“Mile-for-mile, the Snake River basin contains the coldest, most undisturbed stream habitats in the Lower 48. The bottom line is that if we are going to make major investments in wild fish recovery, the Snake is the place to put our money. Restoring a free-flowing Snake River is the most significant action we can take for Pacific salmon and steelhead in the contiguous United States." Helen Neville, Chief Scientist, Trout Unlimited

"Conservation and fishing advocates across the Northwest are deeply grateful for the leadership of Sen. Murray and Gov. Inslee for their efforts to address one of our nation’s largest and most pressing river restoration, salmon recovery, and environmental justice issues. The framework Sen. Murray and Gov. Inslee provided today marks an historic step toward ending decades of loss, uncertainty and expense associated with a failing status quo. Sen. Murray and Gov. Inslee have clearly stated we should move forward with a plan to replace the benefits of LSRD, and implement a new comprehensive approach to protect and recover salmon and steelhead populations facing extinction today. Our region and nation must work together to develop and begin to implement a plan to restore the lower Snake River, honor the treaty rights of Northwest tribes, invest and upgrade aging infrastructure, and create new economic opportunities for communities across our state and region that includes coastal and inland farmers and fishers. We understand there is much work to do to transition the services the lower Snake River Dams provide. We are ready to work, with the urgency the situation demands, with state and federal policymakers, Tribes, stakeholders, and communities to ensure a strategic, effective transition." Joseph Bogaard, Executive Director, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition

“In the decades-long effort to recover salmon and steelhead, science has finally taken precedence over hyperbole. We are on the precipice of undertaking the largest river restoration and species recovery project in history, coupled with a transformational shift in upgrading critical infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest. We need swift action and bold leadership from our other elected officials to bring this across the finish line. We understand there is much to be done to plan and secure investments to transition the LSRD services effectively, yet emphasize the urgency of this matter.” Nic Nelson, Executive Director, Idaho Rivers United

“Defenders urges policymakers to take swift action to make the infrastructure investments necessary to enable dam removal. With Southern Resident orcas increasingly reliant on Columbia River Basin salmon, restoring these runs to abundance is absolutely critical to preventing their extinction. With only 73 whales left, there is no time waste.” Kathleen Callaghy, Northwest Representative, Defenders of Wildlife

“This is a watershed moment in the standoff over the Snake River dams. Senator Murray and Governor Inslee are clear – the dams are replaceable, and the status quo is done. It will take hard work, and the dams cannot come out today, but now is the moment to build a clean energy future that doesn’t sacrifice Snake River salmon or ignore the many injustices perpetuated by these dams against the Columbia River Basin Tribes.” Giulia Good Stefani, Senior Attorney, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)

“Senator Murray and Governor Inslee have laid out what is necessary for river restoration. We agree that the dams’ most important services can and must be replaced, but time is of the essence. If we actually want to restore salmon and steelhead, Murray and Inslee must establish a concrete timeline for completing necessary studies and infrastructure improvements, deauthorizing the dams, and restoring the lower Snake River. Across the Northwest, people are recognizing that the status quo is unsustainable, irresponsible, and unjust. It’s time to act and deliver a future that makes all communities whole, including those who’ve been left behind for far too long." Mitch Cutter, Salmon & Steelhead Associate, Idaho Conservation League

Statement from Joseph Bogaard, executive director
Save Our wild Salmon Coalition
Southern Resident Orca Task Force meeting, Wenatchee, Washington
August 7, 2018

Nothing in memory has focused our collective attention so sharply on the Northwest’s longstanding failure to protect and restore its wild salmon and steelhead populations as the heart-wrenching spectacle this summer of J35 – Tahlequah, the grieving orca mother - ferrying her lifeless newborn for nearly two weeks through the waters of the Salish Sea in a grim and public procession.

The Southern Residents are a unique community of orcas that have plied the marine waters of the Northwest for hundreds of thousands of years feeding mainly on large fatty – and once-abundant – chinook salmon. Human-caused salmon population declines, however, have driven the Southern Resident orcas to the brink of extinction. Without urgent, bold, science-based action that protects and restores robust salmon populations and the functional, connected and resilient rivers and watersheds they need, our region’s iconic whales will likely go extinct.

Scientists and salmon advocates have long advised Northwest policymakers: the longer we delay truly protecting and restoring endangered wild salmon and steelhead populations, the greater the pain. The urgent plight of the orcas today tragically illustrates this point.

For a very long time, salmon have delivered abundance to Northwest lands and waters. So it should surprise no one that the steep salmon declines over the past half-century have come at great cost – for tribal and non-tribal fishing cultures, communities and economies, for more than 130 other salmon-reliant species, including of course Southern Resident orcas, and for the health and productivity of Northwest ecosystems generally. An ancient and sacred relationship is being severed.

The survival of Southern Resident orca depends today on urgent science-guided action, creative political leadership, and a commitment by Northwest people.

No single measure will save the Southern Resident orcas from extinction, but – with its millions of acres of protected, high quality habitat and exceptional chinook recovery potential - restoring robust salmon populations in the Columbia-Snake River Basin must be a top priority for any effective orca strategy. Governor Inslee's leadership is needed on these two actions to restore healthy rivers and wild salmon in the Columbia Basin:

(1) INCREASED ‘SPILL’ AT FEDERAL DAMS: Washington State must work with Oregon and federal dam managers to increase 'spill' (to 125% total dissolved gas) at the lower Snake and lower Columbia River dams starting in 2019 in order to dramatically improve the survival of juvenile salmon as they migrate through the federal hydrosystem to the Pacific Ocean. This is an immediate measure to increase salmon populations in Northwest waters in the near-term.

(2) A RESTORED LOWER SNAKE RIVER: Governor Inslee must support chinook salmon recovery by removing four dams to restore a free-flowing lower Snake River and provide better access to thousands of miles of prime salmon habitat upstream in the Snake River Basin.Restoring a free-flowing lower Snake River is our best chinook restoration opportunity on the West Coast. The Governor must begin work now with policymakers, sovereigns and stakeholders to develop a comprehensive, regionally-generated, science-based salmon/river restoration package that invests in and responsibly transitions affected communities. This is among our most promising longer-term measures, and planning must begin now.

The Save Our wild Salmon Coalition urges the Orca Task Force to include both these essential measures among its larger set of recommended actions  - and Governor Inslee to act urgently on them.

For further information, contact:
Joseph Bogaard, joseph@wildsalmon.org; 206-300-1003
Sam Mace, sam@wildsalmon.org; 509-863-5696

For Immediate Release:
Statement from the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition re: joint statement from Senator Murray and Governor Inslee re: Columbia-Snake River Basin salmon recovery
May 14, 2021

CONTACTS:
Joseph Bogaard, executive director, joseph@wildsalmon.org, 206-300-1003
Sam Mace, inland northwest director, sam@wildsalmon.org, 509-863-5696

Salmon and fishing advocates in the Pacific Northwest were disappointed by the recent statement from Senator Murray and Governor Inslee rejecting the transformative proposal unveiled in February by Congressman Mike Simpson (R-ID) and joined in April by Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). With his framework, Rep. Simpson seeks to address a set of linked problems facing people and salmon in the Columbia Basin and across our region. He has invited Northwest people and policymakers to provide input and work with him to develop a comprehensive regional solution. At the heart of his $33B proposal is the restoration of the Snake River and its critically endangered salmon and steelhead populations through dam removal coupled with major investments in fishing and farming communities and clean energy and transportation infrastructure.

Many years of scientific information - and the fish themselves - are delivering an unambiguous message: without urgent leadership and meaningful action, the extinction of Snake River salmon and steelhead is inevitable. The Nez Perce Tribe's recent Extinction Assessment for Snake River Basin fish predicts the disappearance of dozens of distinct salmon and steelhead sub-populations in the years ahead unless there is immediate intervention.

It is also important emphasize the high cost of maintaining a failed status quo - species extinction, abrogation of our nation's responsibilities to tribes, job loss, and escalating costs, conflict and uncertainty for all involved.

In their joint statement today, Senator Murray and Governor Inslee recognize that a "comprehensive, long-term solution...is needed now more than ever" and they call for a "regional process that is based on science, consensus and ensuring all voices are heard.” While this is a critically important step, time is not on our side. Much more will be needed in the weeks and months ahead.

The development of a "comprehensive long-term solution" that avoids salmon extinction and achieves regionally-developed recovery goals in the Snake River Basin depends upon committed leadership by public officials in the Northwest and urgent action by Congress in Washington D.C., including:
1. Leadership: with active engagement by Senator Murray and Governor Inslee and other regional policymakers.
2. Action:In partnership with Congress, Northwest people must develop and act on a comprehensive plan in months, not years.
3. Funding: Congress must appropriate funds in 2021 to support regional collaboration and, more importantly, the implementation of robust action plan developed as part of that collaboration that includes restoring the lower Snake River by removing its four federal dams.

The Save Our wild Salmon Coalition stands ready to work with Senator Murray, Governor Inslee and other regional policymakers to support their leadership and participate in their process to help it achieve its goals.

We also applaud Congressman Simpson for his visionary proposal and for triggering a much-needed conversation in the Northwest around the future of wild salmon and the health and prosperity of our communities and economy. We're also grateful for the steady leadership of Governor Kate Brown and the State of Oregon and engagement of Congressman Earl Blumenauer. We look forward to continuing to support their leadership and work with them to develop and implement the comprehensive solutions our salmon and orcas, and our Tribal and non-tribal communities so urgently need.

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September 7, 2018

Contacts:
Joseph Bogaard, joseph@wildsalmon.org, 206-300-1003
Sam Mace, sam@wildsalmon.org, 509-863-5696

Statement from Joseph Bogaard, executive director of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition re: 'Free the Snake!' Flotilla and RiverFest events this weekend

On Saturday, Sept 8, two distinct events are being organized in eastern Washington communities: the 4th Annual ‘Free the Snake!’ Flotilla will gather in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley at Chief Timothy State Park and the RiverFest Celebration at Columbia Park in Kennewick, WA.

More information on both event, including sponsors can be found at these links:

http://freethesnake.com

https://www.pascochamber.org/riverfest.html

Working closely with Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment and other partners, Save Our wild Salmon helped co-organize the first Free the Snake! Flotilla in 2015. It is now an annual event; its attendance and numbers of sponsors have grown each year. Its attendees are deeply concerned about wild salmon and steelhead populations spiraling toward extinction and the loss of the irreplaceable benefits they deliver to our region’s communities and ecosystems. Tribal and non-tribal attendees will gather together on traditional Nez Perce lands to express our collective support for removing four high-cost, low value federal dams in order to restore the lower Snake River and its imperiled native fish populations.

According to its website, RiverFest 2018 will showcase “the benefits of the rivers and the hydrosystem. Businesses, community organizations and people of all walks of life throughout the region have joined together to host RiverFest 2018...to help raise awareness about the overall hydrosystem, specifically the Snake River dams that are vital to our economy.”

Though the Flotilla and RiverFest will attract distinct communities with different concerns, these two events and the people attending them are inextricably bound to each other. Rather than talking past each other in media this weekend, the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition would like to extend an invitation to meet with the leadership of the Pasco Chamber of Commerce and others in the Tri-Cities region interested opening a dialogue about the linked challenges our communities face and begin to explore ways to address them together.

The Save Our wild Salmon Coalition and its partners and allies are committed to protecting and restoring abundant, self-sustaining, harvestable populations of salmon and steelhead to the Columbia and Snake River Basin for the benefit of people and ecosystems. In 1998, we began a campaign to remove the lower Snake River dams as best and likely only way to protect its endangered native fish from extinction. We also now know how interconnected our ecosystems are as the salmon from Snake and Columbia Rivers provide essential prey for critically endangered Puget Sound orcas.

Since the early 1990s, American taxpayers and Northwest energy consumers have spent as much as $16 billion on salmon recovery efforts in the Columbia-Snake River Basin. Five consecutive plans during this period have been found inadequate and illegal by three different judges, most recently in 2016. Despite this time and expense, not one of the Columbia Basin’s thirteen imperiled salmon and steelhead populations have recovered. In fact, virtually all populations show steady declines in recent years.

Salmon losses in the Columbia and Snake Rivers have come at great cost – to many tribal communities and cultures, and to scores of non-tribal fishing communities and economies along the coast and inland to Idaho. The crisis facing Southern Resident orca today is symptomatic of the intensifying salmon problems we face not only in the Columbia Basin, but across the Northwest region.

Based on this record, the status quo approach to salmon recovery in the Columbia Basin isn’t working for anyone. It has brought high costs and persistent uncertainty to the communities and ecosystems of the Columbia Basin and the Pacific Northwest. Unless we come together and embrace a new approach, these high costs and uncertainties will only grow.

We understand that change can be difficult. Change is ongoing, however, as we wrestle with new needs and opportunities and it can bring benefits if we build solutions that work for all. We look forward to the opportunity to meet with the Pasco Chamber of Commerce and others in the Tri-Cities to better understand your interests and concerns – and to begin a discussion to explore shared solutions that comply with federal laws and treaties, protect and restore endangered salmon and the benefits they deliver, and invest in our communities and expand economic opportunities in the Basin and our region.

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2023

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

Save Our wild Salmon Coalition statement re: 8/31 decision to extend FCRPS BiOp litigation pause to allow additional time for settlement talks re: the federal hydro-system and Columbia/Snake River salmon recovery:
 
Today, parties to the long-running legal battle over the Federal Columbia River Power System Biological Opinion (FCRPS BiOp) announced an extension of the litigation pause to allow additional time for settlement discussions. The litigation was first paused in October 2021. It was then extended in July 2022 through August 31, 2023 (today). Now the plaintiffs (Nez Perce Tribe, State of Oregon and conservation and fishing NGOs led by Earthjustice) and defendant (Biden Administration) have announced an additional extension for 60 days.

Save Our wild Salmon appreciates the significant commitment of time and resources by the Biden Administration, and Northwest sovereigns and stakeholders over the past 22 months in an effort to develop a comprehensive regional solution that finally protects and recovers abundant, harvestable salmon and steelhead populations in Columbia/Snake River Basin.
 
Restoring healthy, fishable wild salmon and steelhead populations and the irreplaceable benefits they bring to communities, other fish and wildlife species including endangered Southern Resident orcas, and freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems is critical for maintaining and strengthening our region’s economy, culture and ecosystems. Salmon recovery is also essential for upholding our nation’s 150-year old Treaty commitments to Northwest Tribes.
 
The Save Our wild Salmon Coalition has not been a party to this litigation nor have we participated in the litigants’ discussions. Developing and delivering a comprehensive regional solution for endangered fish populations and regional communities and economies represents both a necessity and an opportunity for the people, lands and waters of the Northwest and nation.
 
Our coalition of conservation and fishing advocates believes that a durable solution must right historic wrongs and restore healthy, self-sustaining fish populations across the Columbia Basin. It should, for example, re-establish passage and reintroduce salmon in blocked areas, including above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee dams in the Upper Columbia River; protection, restoration and reconnection of degraded mainstem and tributary habitat; and removal of the four lower Snake River dams.

In addition to federal action and investments to restore the lower Snake River, a comprehensive plan must support ongoing Washington State efforts to plan and replace the limited services provided by these four dams. We can effectively modernize our energy, transportation, and irrigation infrastructure as we also work to stop the extinction of Snake River salmon and steelhead.

Restoring a freely flowing lower Snake River is not only essential for protecting its imperiled anadromous fish populations. It also represents one of our nation’s very best salmon recovery opportunities today. Lower Snake River dam removal will restore 140 miles of mainstem river habitat in southeast Washington State and re-establish productive access for endangered fish to more than 5,500 miles of pristine, protected, high elevation upstream habitat in northeast Oregon, central Idaho and southeast Washington State. It will significantly increase survival of salmon and steelhead in the Snake River Basin by, for example, reducing water temperatures, dam powerhouse encounters, disease, reservoir predation, energy expenditure and out-migration travel time.
 
Steep declines in these wild fish populations are harming communities and businesses across the Northwest. Dozens of populations and sub-populations of salmon and steelhead have already been driven to extinction. Many populations that remain return at less than 5 percent their historic levels. In 2023 and in countless other years, record or near-record low fish returns to the Columbia River and its tributaries have caused Tribal, recreational and commercial fisheries to be severely constrained and/or cancelled.
 
We appreciate the focused efforts recently to develop a lawful plan to restore salmon abundance in the Columbia and Snake rivers, but must emphasize that many populations, including all stocks remaining in the Snake River Basin – sockeye, spring/summer and fall chinook, and steelhead - face certain extinction without urgent, meaningful, science-based recovery actions. Salmon and steelhead – and the orcas and other fish and wildlife that depend upon them – are simply running out of time.
  ###

February 7, 2021

CONTACT:

Joseph Bogaard, Executive Director, 206-300-1003, joseph@wildsalmon.org (Seattle)
Sam Mace, Inland Northwest Director, 509-863-5696, sam@wildsalmon.org (Spokane)

Save Our wild Salmon Coalition Statement re: Congressman Simpson’s groundbreaking proposal for restoring Northwest salmon populations and investing in communities and infrastructure.

The Save Our wild Salmon Coalition (SOS) welcomes Rep. Mike Simpson’s (R-ID) ambitious proposal to protect and restore abundant and harvestable populations of salmon and steelhead in a manner that also, importantly, supports our region’s farming and waterfront communities, expands our clean energy economy, and honors our nation’s responsibilities to Tribal Nations in the Northwest.

View: Congressman Simpson introduce his "Northwest in Transition" announcement.

We appreciate the hard and thoughtful work by Congressman Simpson and his staff to develop this initiative. It opens an urgently needed discussion and opportunity to comprehensively address a set of linked challenges facing our region’s communities, economies and natural resources. We urge other members of Congress to carefully consider this proposal and to work with the region’s policymakers, sovereigns and stakeholders to help refine and advance it. At SOS, we look forward to collaborating with Northwest people and policymakers to help seize this important opportunity.

Salmon and steelhead populations are critical to Northwest cultures, economies and ecosystems. They support Tribal and non-tribal communities and businesses on the coast and inland. Salmon are essential to the survival of endangered Southern Resident orcas and their presence benefits more than a hundred other fish and wildlife species in the Northwest. Salmon, however, are in steep decline and many populations face extinction.

One of our nation’s greatest fish and wildlife restoration opportunities today can be found in the Snake River Basin in central Idaho, northeast Oregon and southeast Washington State. The science is clear: removing the four lower Snake River dams is critical for protecting its endangered salmon and steelhead from extinction and represents our best opportunity for restoring abundant, harvestable populations in the Columbia Basin.

Importantly, Congressman Siimpson’s proposal is about much more than salmon recovery. It also includes significant investments in Northwest infrastructure and jobs related to agriculture, transportation and energy, and for the waterfront communities of Lewiston (ID) and Clarkston (WA).

This proposal also recognizes the pressing need to address historic injustices against Native American Tribes. It would take important steps to restore access to harvestable salmon and to uphold our nation’s Tribal responsibilities.

SOS was formed in 1991 in response to the nation’s first listing for salmon under the Endangered Species Act: Snake River sockeye. The SOS coalition consists of more than 40 regional and national conservation organizations, recreational and commercial fishing associations, and clean energy and orca advocates working to protect and restore abundant, self-sustaining and harvestable populations of salmon and steelhead in the rivers and coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest.

www.wildsalmon.org

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December 17, 2018

Contacts:
Earthjustice: Todd True, (206) 434-7340 ex. 1030, ttrue@earthjustice.org
Sierra Club: Bill Arthur, (206) 954-9826, billwarthur@gmail.com
Coastal Trollers Association: Joel Kawahara, 206-406-9774, joelkaw@earthlink.net
Save our Wild Salmon Coalition: Sam Mace, 509-863-5696, sam@wildsalmon.org

The agreement calls for increased spill over Snake and Columbia River dams in the spring.

Portland, OR — The states of Oregon, Washington, the Nez Perce Tribe and three federal agencies, including the Bonneville Power Administration, today announced an interim agreement to help endangered salmon and steelhead populations navigate a series of dams and reservoirs in the Columbia River basin. The interim agreement requires increased “spill” over the dams during the spring season. Increasing spill is a stop-gap measure that helps flush juvenile fish along their perilous river migration to reach the ocean where they mature. 
 
The U.S. District Court in Portland has been hearing a long-running case regarding management of the dams and their impacts on endangered salmon and steelhead populations. In a filing with that court, the parties to the interim agreement set out dam operations for 2019 through 2021 that require “flexible spill” during the spring juvenile salmon migration season at levels equal to or higher than those required by prior court orders. The most comprehensive scientific analysis available demonstrates that these higher levels of spill will increase juvenile salmon survival and subsequent adult returns.
 
Last week, Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced a $1.1 billion effort to aid struggling Southern Resident orcas that frequent the Puget Sound. One aspect of the Governor’s effort is support for modifying the State’s dissolved gas standards as called for in the interim agreement. Snake River Spring Chinook, which are just one of several at-risk salmon runs that directly benefit from this increased spill, are a critical element of the endangered orcas’ diet. Spring Chinook are themselves endangered, largely due to the harmful impacts the federal dams and their reservoirs have had on their survival.  The following are statements from the lead attorney for the fishing and conservation groups in the case in Portland, plaintiff organizations, and other groups focused on restoring salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest:
 
“This Agreement is a small step forward for Snake and Columbia River salmon. It is a stop-gap measure to help struggling salmon populations for the next three years,” said Todd True, Earthjustice attorney. “It is not, however, the kind of major overhaul of dam operations, that the imperiled salmon – and critically endangered Southern Resident Orcas – so urgently need if they are going to be part of our region’s future. We should ultimately be working toward restoring a free-flowing lower Snake River by removing the four lower Snake River dams. If we use the next two years to put in place the kind of actions that will revive orcas and salmon, this interim agreement will be worth it. If we fail to use this opportunity to take bold action, we will fail not only the salmon and the orcas, but ourselves and future Northwesterners.” “This interim agreement is a positive step to help more young salmon survive their perilous journey down the Columbia and Snake Rivers to the ocean. It is important to recognize that even this small step for salmon and orcas would not be possible if the misguided legislation introduced by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers earlier this year had become law,” said Bill Arthur with the Sierra Club, one of the plaintiffs in the Portland lawsuit.” He continued, “Senator Murray played a critical role this year to defeat this legislation in the Senate. Reps. Adam Smith and Pramila Jayapal also joined with Senator Murray in a letter to Senate/House leadership opposing this anti-salmon bill in the House. This damaging legislation would have prohibited these higher levels of spill from occurring and blocked even studying removal of the lower Snake River dams. Our salmon and orca will benefit because of the leadership of Senator Murray and Reps. Smith and Jayapal to protect our core environmental laws and Northwest values. We deeply appreciate their leadership.”
 
Joel Kawahara, commercial salmon fisherman and board member of the Coastal Trollers Association, added, “The crisis facing orca and salmon today is not new. Tribal and non-tribal communities on the coast and inland have also been suffering for many years from the steep decline of salmon in Washington State and the Northwest. Both orca and people rely on healthy, abundant populations of salmon. This interim agreement is a step in the right direction in the near-term, but the urgency for action remains. Fishermen are ready to work with affected farmers and others to develop effective solutions for all involved.”
 
Sam Mace, Inland Northwest Director for Save Our Wild Salmon, said “eastern Washington’s sportfishermen, fishing businesses and river advocates are glad to see wild salmon and steelhead catch a break, despite Rep. McMorris-Rodgers efforts to steamroll common-sense protections.  But it is not enough.  With the right investment package and transition planning, dam removal is our best path towards restoring fisheries and providing new economic opportunities for our river towns and businesses.” The interim plan announced today will be implemented during the same time that the federal government is working to complete a new biological opinion and comprehensive National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis of the dams’ impact on endangered salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River basin and on Puget Sound orcas. The full NEPA process and biological opinion are scheduled to be completed in 2021 and under the interim agreement, the parties to the lawsuit have indicated they do not intend to continue litigation through this time period. 
 

New study shows Columbia River Basin’s natural capital worth $198 billion annually

July 6, 2017

Contact:
D.R. Michel, Upper Columbia United Tribes, 509.209.2412, dr@ucut-nsn.org
Sara Thompson, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, 503. 238.3567, thos@critfc.org
Greg Haller, Pacific Rivers, 503.228.3555 ext. 205, greg@pacificrivers.org
Joseph Bogaard, Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition, 206-300-1003, joseph@wildsalmon.org
David Batker, Earth Economics, 253.678.1563, dbatker@eartheconomics.org

Spokane, WA (July, 6th, 2017)—A new report, released today, shows that the Columbia River Basin’s natural capital provides $198 billion in value annually, in food, water, flood risk reduction, recreation, habitat, aesthetic and other benefits. At 258,000 square miles, the Columbia River Basin is the foundation for communities, fish and wildlife and economic activity from the headwaters in British Columbia, Wyoming and Nevada, through Idaho, Washington and Oregon and through coastal fisheries up to Southeast Alaska. Fifteen Columbia Basin Tribes and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) contributed to and supported the development of this report.

The report also shows that modernizing dam management and increasing water flows in below average water years would enhance the basin’s natural capital value enhancing salmon runs.  A modest 10% increase in ecosystem-based function would add $19 billion per year to the basin’s value. The report’s release comes at a critical time for the renegotiation of the Columbia River Treaty, which is due for an update in 2024.

"This report comes at a time when the region is poised to take a historic step to modernize the Columbia River Treaty," stated Jaime A. Pinkham, Executive Director for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. "There is vast potential for natural capital remaining in the Columbia River system. These findings tell negotiators that incorporating ecosystem based function into the Treaty will broaden and expand the economic benefits that can co-exist with flood control and energy production. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity.”

As it stands, the Treaty currently has only two primary goals: flood-risk management and hydropower generation. Tribes, NGOs, and other regional stakeholders are asking that a third goal, ecosystem-based function, be added to a modernized treaty. Ecosystem-based function is a concept introduced by the tribes during the development of the regional recommendation. It acknowledges what nature provides and peoples’ obligation to protect and nurture it.

“Updating the Columbia River Treaty to include ecosystem-based function and improving dam management would benefit everyone who lives in this sacred place. It would benefit our economy, our wildlife and our culture. It is our responsibility to present and future generations to make this happen for the benefit of all.” stated D.R. Michel, Executive Director of the Upper Columbia United Tribes.

According to the report conducted by Tacoma, WA-based non-profit Earth Economics, adding this provision to the Treaty would prove immensely valuable to the region.

The report clearly outlines both present and future natural resource values in economic terms that are useful to inform the integration of ecosystem values into a modernized Columbia River Treaty.

"The findings in this report provide ample evidence that improving the health of the Columbia River makes good economic sense," said Greg Haller, Conservation Director for Pacific Rivers. "Those who say that the region spends too much on salmon recovery should read this report carefully. Changes in dam and reservoir operations to mimic seasonal flow patterns and reduce river temperatures will boost wild salmon populations significantly, thereby generating tremendous economic benefits for the region at very little cost."

The Columbia River Basin is globally recognized for its natural capital of abundant watersheds and rivers, immense forests, wetlands, native vegetation, farms, diverse wildlife and diverse outdoor recreation opportunities. These assets have supported tribes and residents for millennia, but with industrial and urban development, the basin’s rich resources have been degraded. When assets, whether built or natural, are not managed sustainably, economic loss occurs.

“An updated Columbia River Treaty needs to enhance, not degrade, the largest asset in the Basin, natural capital.  With improved dam management just a small increase in the ecosystem-based function will provide far greater and more sustainable value and jobs.” Stated David Batker, President of Earth Economics.

Understanding and revitalizing the Columbia River Basin’s natural economic assets has been a key goal for Columbia Basin Tribes and residents. Further information about this report is available at the Upper Columbia United Tribes website.

View the full report here.

View a brochure here.

View Frequently Asked Questions here.