On Monday, August 26th, Idaho Rivers United and many of our partners in conservation are fighting for our salmon and steelhead before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals during oral arguments in Seattle.  We are fighting for the cool, clean water that these imperiled fish require. 

Governor Little’s  Salmon Work Group reconvened in Salmon on July 30th and 31st for its second round of discussion and meetings.

IRU and Pacific Rivers have filed a petition to challenge the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Clean Water Act certification of the Hells Canyon Complex of dams on the Snake River.

Idaho Rivers United has been dedicated to our Guide Education program for over 15 years; this tradition allows us to build stronger relationships with river lovers from all over the United States.  As the Outreach and Education Coordinator for Idaho Rivers United I was given the opportunity to travel along Idaho’s rivers educating guides for the last two months.

For The River’s,

Danielle Warnke

Governor Brad Little convened his Salmon Work Group for their first meeting Friday, June 28, in Boise. His opening remarks rang hollow as he stated, “I remain unconvinced at this time that breaching the dams will recover salmon in Idaho. In order to keep this diverse group of stakeholders (together), we will put polarizing issues aside and focus on pragmatic, achievable solutions." IRU, and other conservation partners remain steadfast, however, that the work group must address dam breaching as a viable option in their deliberations. To not do so would be to ignore sound science on salmon hydrosystem mortality and invite the recycling of decades of failed recovery plans. 

We are pleased with the recent announcement concerning the first meeting of the Governor’s Salmon Workgroup in Boise. Governor Little has assumed a position of leadership on the recovery of our native salmon and steelhead, an issue IRU has been passionately involved in for the last two and a half decades.

The public comment period for the Black Rock Land Exchange draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) has opened and will last until the 5th of July. A full EIS is due to be completed in order to study the impacts of the land exchange proposed by the J.R. Simplot Company with federally owned lands managed by the BLM.

Our work is inspired daily by the love and passion our members have for Idaho and her rivers. Our friend Earl Dodds, has written a wonderful article, published by The Star-News, which so eloquently expresses the power of an individual, especially those who fight to protect what they love. Earl served as the Big Creek District Ranger on the Payette National Forest for more than 25 years.

IRU is pleased to welcome Nic Nelson as our incoming Executive Director. Nic, a Wyoming native and a graduate of the University of Idaho, has been a professional in the fields of conservation, development and nonprofit administration for over 12 years. Most recently Nic has been with the Peregrine Fund as the Director of Partnerships.

Last week a packed Boise State Andrus Center room listened in rapt attention as both Congressman Mike Simpson and Governor Brad Little spoke at a conference on energy, salmon, agriculture, and community. Restoring Snake River salmon and steelhead runs that are dangerously close to blinking out was the conference’s major theme. Meeting energy needs and maintaining agricultural ways of life were important caveats to the discussion.

IRU, along with a group of partners, recently filed an Amicus Brief following a bad decision out of the D.C. Appellate Court regarding Clean Water Act certification of federally licensed hydropower projects.

The South Fork of the Salmon, a whitewater river with important spawning habitat for migrating fish, has again been named a Most Endangered River on American River’s annual list. The reason and threat are still the same: Midas Gold’s Stibnite Project, a proposed gold mine at the headwaters of the river, that threatens downstream tribal nations, communities, and species that rely on a healthy South Fork.