A minor provision in a major spending bill that passed Congress Dec. 21 and was later signed into law may be the first step in removing power generation from federal obligations at three of the Willamette Valley Project's 13 dams. Read more
After spending 18 months working on its recommendation, the Governor's Salmon Workgroup in Idaho officially met for the last time on Dec. 15. Read more
Surplus hatchery summer Chinook salmon released in 2020 by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation have spawned in an upper Columbia River tributary, leaving salmon redds in an upper Columbia tributary for the first time in more than eight decades. Read more
The late Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.) predicted it would be the single most important piece of legislation ever to affect the Pacific Northwest. Read more
The Fish Passage Center says a scientific article published in Fish and Fisheries in October is technically flawed, and that the data presented do not support conclusions that ocean conditions—and not hydroelectric dams—are causing serious declines in Chinook salmon runs from Northern Califo… Read more
Three Northwest congressmen introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives Dec. 9 calling on President Donald Trump to immediately terminate power provisions of the Columbia River Treaty. Read more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a notice Dec. 16 soliciting comments, motions to intervene and protests regarding an amended license surrender application for four lower Klamath River dams, sought by PacifiCorp and Klamath River Renewal Corporation. Read more
The U.S. Department of Energy reports that a California company has developed a turbine for small hydropower projects enabling juvenile fish to pass through with 100 percent survival, according to preliminary results of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory tests. Read more
After learning about the successful operations at eight Columbia River System dams under a flexible spill agreement for the past two years, two members of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council praised the effort, while another asked about Oregon's intent to sue federal agencies despit… Read more
The Independent Scientific Advisory Board is preparing to take on two topics that have raised significant uncertainty in Columbia Basin salmon recovery—smolt-to-adult returns and what impacts them, and nonnative American shad, millions of which return to the Columbia Basin yearly. Read more
Scientists have long known coho salmon are especially sensitive to stormwater runoff. Some years, many die prematurely when they return to urban rivers to spawn. Read more
Thirty-five consumer-owned utilities in Oregon and the associations that represent them told Gov. Kate Brown they are "profoundly disappointed" with Oregon's 60-day notice of intent to sue the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation over the Columbia River System Operations Re… Read more
Federal defendants say a remedy proposed by environmental groups for the Willamette Valley Project (WVP) is "draconian," and fails to ensure that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can legally implement it, or that it would not harm upper Willamette River Chinook and steelhead, listed under th… Read more
Jennifer Anders, a member of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council representing Montana, will retire in January after eight years of service. She was appointed by Gov. Steve Bullock in 2013. Read more
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported a second oil spill in the Columbia River in December, this time at John Day Dam from a pinhole leak in a turbine guide bearing chiller, which spilled an estimated 63 gallons of oil. Read more
