U.S. District Judge James Redden has proposed an order that would give federal agencies a "limited, voluntary remand" to add more elements to the 2008 salmon plan that Obama administration officials concluded were needed to satisfy the judge's earlier concerns. ...more

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council heard some disturbing news from agencies last week about how hard it would be to repel an invasion of quagga or zebra mussels from the Midwest, where they have caused billions of dollars in damage by plugging pipes at water plants and cooling systems. ...more

A new computerized crystal ball developed by climate scientists from the University of Washington and the Corps of Engineers says future dam operations could cope with big changes in the Columbia Basin they expect by 2060--much less snowpack and earlier melt in some places---to maintain an adequate power supply and reasonable flood protection. ...more

Despite more precipitation in much of the Columbia Basin during January after a semi-dry, cold December, the latest water supply forecast dropped precipitously over the past few weeks. ...more

The Pacific Fishery Management Council said last week in their post-season salmon review that 2009's Sacramento River fall chinook run was the most dismal return they had ever seen. The 39,530 fall chinook run was only about one-third of managers' preseason prediction, which was based on jacks that returned in 2008. ...more

Nearly 400,000 coho are expected to return to the Columbia River this year, according to harvest managers. That's down from last year's run of slightly more than one million fish. The run is mostly hatchery fish and is expected to be made up of about 245,000 early run fish, and 144,000 late run coho. ...more