Eighty years after the construction of Grand Coulee Dam blocked migratory fish, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation released 30 adult summer Chinook above the largest Columbia River dam. Read more

A NOAA Fisheries study has some bad news for southern resident killer whales. Their favorite prey—Chinook—are among the most vulnerable anadromous fish on the Pacific coast to climate change. Read more

Judges for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had plenty of questions for an Environmental Protection Agency attorney arguing to overturn a lower court decision requiring EPA to make plans for resolving water temperature problems in the lower Snake and Columbia rivers. Read more

A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals case is likely to determine who will develop a plan for water temperature issues in the Snake and Columbia rivers, and how soon those plans should be made—and not whether those plans will be developed. Read more

The Washington State Department of Ecology has proposed a permanent change to a state water quality rule that limits total dissolved gas (TDG), and would allow 125 percent saturation under certain conditions in the Snake and Columbia rivers. Read more

Although some areas in western Washington still suffer from severe drought, climate experts say cooler-than-average highs in much of the Pacific Northwest have blunted the drought’s potential this summer, despite below-normal precipitation. Read more

As record numbers of shad continue to migrate up the Snake and Columbia rivers, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council decided it’s time to look into the ecological impacts of having millions of additional fish in the Columbia Basin. Read more

The Yurok Tribe and two fishing organizations have asked a federal judge to reject the 2019 biological opinion for Klamath Project operations and send it back to the National Marine Fisheries Service to do-over. Read more

The two populations of Columbia Basin salmon listed as endangered and the 11 populations that are threatened under the Endangered Species Act will not be immediately affected by changes in the act that were finalized on Aug. 12. Read more

A Columbia River Chinook run is among several species added to NOAA Fisheries’ “subject to overfishing” and “overfished” lists, according to the agency’s annual report to Congress on the status of U.S. fisheries. Read more

It’s been a series of unfortunate events for endangered Snake River sockeye, and the people who track them. Read more

Twenty years after PacifiCorp applied to surrender its license in order to tear out Condit Dam in southwestern Washington, the process is officially complete. Read more

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission says the state's Department of Fish and Wildlife needs an additional $50.5 million to meet operating costs, capital needs and new responsibilities in 2020—which include recent state and federal laws enacted to promote salmon recovery—and approved m… Read more

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says between 200 and 300 gallons of oil at Lower Monumental Dam cannot be accounted for and may have leaked into the Columbia River from a turbine in Unit 2, prompting the agency to take the unit off line. Read more

Tony Grover, 66, retired from the Northwest Power and Conservation Council Aug. 19, ending a 17-year career with the Council. Read more

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council has recommended the Bonneville Power Administration continue funding 48 projects in its Fish and Wildlife Program that the Independent Scientific Review Panel reviewed. Read more

Along with dozens of letters urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to grant the Klamath River Renewal Corp. a license transfer—a necessary step to facilitate the removal of four dams on the Klamath River—a few groups and individuals are urging the agency to reject the transfer. Read more

The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde have purchased 23 acres of property adjacent to Willamette Falls, once the Blue Heron paper mill in Oregon City, according to a news release from the tribe. The site was once home to both Willamette and Clackamas bands, who were relocated to Grand R… Read more