2021 Salmon Run Recap: Warm Water Spelled Trouble for Migrating Fish
In 2021, Idaho’s salmon and steelhead returns continued to follow the declining population trends of the last few years, resulting in another year of very low abundance.
What happens to fish populations when dams are removed?
Science has consistently demonstrated for three decades that removal of the Lower Snake River Dams is imperative to save Idaho’s wild salmon populations. But what actually happens to fish populations when dams are removed? What do dam removal projects on other rivers show us about how anadromous fish populations respond to this event?
Army Corps Required to Limit Hot Water Pollution from Lower Snake Dams
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.
New Momentum Builds for Idaho Salmon Recovery
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.”
Press Release: Snake River: Conservation & Fishing Groups Agree to Pause Litigation, Discuss Long-Term, Comprehensive Solution to Aid Struggling Salmon
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.
Idaho's 2021 salmon and steelhead returns are abysmal. What is happening?
Columbia Basin steelhead returns are the lowest ever recorded since salmon run counts began at Bonneville Dam in 1945. A desperate attempt was made to capture a few sockeye and bring them to Idaho fish hatcheries because returns were so low. What is happening?
Simpson's Columbia Basin Initiative contains central tenets of Democratic Party, yet Democratic leadership remains silent
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.
IRU, Partners, File Injunction to Increase Spill and Lower Reservoir Levels to Aid Endangered Snake River Salmon
Earthjustice, representing Idaho Rivers United and several of our partner conservation organizations, filed an injunction today to increase spill over dams in the Lower Snake River and Columbia River, and to lower reservoir levels to aid juvenile migrating salmon.