The Columbia Basin Collaborative’s (CBC) Integration and Recommendations Group held its first official meeting late last month virtually over Zoom. This was the first of a year-long series of meetings focused on regional salmon recovery that originated from a four-state agreement signed last fall.

In September the EPA issued discharge permits to the Army Corps of Engineers that will limit hot water and oil pollution stemming from the four Lower Snake River dams. This is a significant step in the effort to cool down river temperatures that are lethal to migrating salmon and steelhead, and a culmination of IRU’s work over the last 30 years to hold dam operators accountable to the Endangered Species Act.

However, recent activity has not only renewed hopes of restoring the lower Snake River to a free-flowing river and saving endangered salmon and steelhead, but has signaled that “The times they are a-changing.”

Portland, OR – Earthjustice, on behalf of a coalition of fishing and conservation groups, today joined with Biden administration agencies, the State of Oregon and the Nez Perce Tribe to seek a pause until next summer in litigation challenging the latest federal plan for hydropower operations on the Snake and Columbia Rivers. The request for a stay includes an agreement for specific dam operations in 2022. If the Court grants the stay, these parties have committed to use the time to work together to develop and implement a comprehensive, long-term solution that could resolve the long-running litigation over dam operations in National Wildlife Federation v. National Marine Fisheries Service.

Environmental restoration, social justice, clean-energy measures, and endangered species recovery. These sound like pillars of the Democratic platform, yet it’s an Idaho Republican championing these efforts in the Pacific Northwest.

Eastern Washington legislators are using small fluctuations in spring Chinook to tout that dams and fish can coexist, but these arguments miss the reality that salmon populations are still far below recovery goals and on a downward trend.

It is our uncompromising mission to ensure that salmon and steelhead do not go extinct. The science, empirically and unequivocally, shows us that the required path to recovery of Idaho’s salmon and steelhead is through restoring the Snake River to a free-flowing, natural river. We will go to court to ensure that our fish are not relegated to a history book, but let me be clear, we would rather be working together with the Tribes, farmers, and regional representatives on the proposal from Congressman Simpson that benefits each stakeholder group. A path forward that benefits every Idahoan has been offered, and it is our hope that we can move forward within this framework to achieve long-term salmon recovery and regional prosperity.

Congressman Simpson has proposed the Columbia Basin Fund, a comprehensive infrastructure package to restore wild salmon and steelhead and breach the Lower Snake River dams. The package incorporates measures to protect stakeholders, bolster agricultural communities, ensure energy stability, and revitalize Northwest communities. IRU applauds Congressman Simpson’s proposal and plan.

Portland, OR – Today, Earthjustice on behalf of a coalition of fishing and conservation groups returned to court to challenge the latest federal plan for hydropower operations on the Snake and Columbia Rivers…This is the eighth incarnation of this long legal fight to restore endangered salmon and steelhead.