Klamath River Reach Prepped For Post-Dam Removal Flows As Copco No. 2 Dam Being Removed; 3 More Klamath Dams Removed Next Year
September 28th, 2023
The Yurok Tribe and the Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC), in collaboration with the Shasta Indian Nation, started preparing a stretch of the Klamath River to flow freely for the first time in a century.
Biden Administration Says BPA To Provide $200 Million Over 20 Years To Advance Salmon Reintroduction In Upper Columbia River Blocked Areas
September 22nd, 2023
The Biden administration this week announced that the Bonneville Power Administration will provide three Upper Columbia River Tribes $200 million over 20 years for ongoing efforts to reintroduce salmon above Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams, which have blocked fish migration since 1942. The Tribes have agreed to a twenty-year pause to existing litigation while these actions are pursued.
Tribes/Conservation Groups Challenge New Oregon Fish Passage Rules Allowing Trap And Haul
September 7th, 2023
Tribes and fish advocacy groups say an end of year decision on fish passage rules by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission weakens salmon, steelhead and lamprey protections in the state.
Coho Salmon Disappearing From Urban Streams; Study Shows Biofiltering Stormwater Runoff Boosts Survival
September 7th, 2023
A relatively simple, inexpensive method of filtering urban stormwater runoff dramatically boosted survival of newly hatched coho salmon in an experimental study. That’s the good news for the threatened species from the Washington State University-led research. The bad news: unfiltered stormwater killed almost all of them.
NOAA Recommending $106 Million For Pacific Salmon Recovery Projects, Money For Salmon Reintroduction Projects Above Grand Coulee
August 23rd, 2023
To aid flagging West Coast salmon and steelhead populations, NOAA Fisheries is recommending $106.1 million in funding for 16 new and continuing programs and projects through its Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund grant program.
Conservation Groups Petition EPA To Update Toxic Pollutants List; Tribes Seek Ban On Tire Chemical Killing Salmon
August 10th, 2023
Two conservation groups submitted a formal legal petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urging the federal agency to update its toxic pollutant list, something it hasn’t done for 47 years, the groups say. And three Northwest tribes have petitioned EPA to ban a chemical used in tires that is deadly to coho salmon.
Citing Sockeye-Killing Warm Water, Groups To File Lawsuit Pushing For Breaching Of Lower Snake Dams
July 27th, 2023
Four conservation groups notified the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that they intend to sue the agency over the heat pollution created by the four lower Snake River dams. The groups allege the dams overheat the river’s water and those conditions are killing or injuring Snake River sockeye salmon listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Scientists Develop Tool To Predict Dam Removal Costs; Up To 32,000 U.S. Dams May Be Removed By 2050
July 27th, 2023
Scientists analyzed more than 650 dam removal projects over 55 years in the United States totaling $1.52 billion inflation-adjusted dollars to develop a tool to better estimate the cost of future dam removals.
Canadian Researchers Say Urban Rain Gardens Could Reduce Toxic Chemical From Tires Killing Salmon
June 29th, 2023
Specially designed gardens could reduce the amount of a salmon-killing toxic chemical associated with tires entering our waterways by more than 90 per cent, new research shows.