Fish & Wildlife
Coalition comments on BPA's Capital Investment Review process
The NW Energy Coalition writes to submit our comments on BPA’s draft asset strategies and potential investments in Federal Columbia River power and transmission assets. We first offer some general comments and then specifically focus attention on the investment levels outlined in the Asset Management Strategy for Energy Efficiency.
Read MoreJudge Redden Endorses Lower Snake Dam Removal
Today Earthfix news released video footage of Judge James Redden endorsing increased spill for salmon as well as lower Snake River Dam removal to save wild salmon. The Judge, who resigned from the long running salmon case last November after a decade, presided over the case longer than any other federal judge and is intricately familiar with both the law and the science around Snake River salmon restoration. His remarks today are his strongest statement on NW salmon policy to date.
Read MoreIdaho Statesman: Fisheries scientists redefine the salmon debate by trumpeting more ‘spill’
Increasing the amount of water spilled over eight Snake and Columbia river dams to keep juvenile fish away from hydroelectric turbines might be enough to recover most of Idaho’s endangered salmon populations without breaching dams, new studies suggest.
A state, tribal and federal science team that has been working since 1996 is urging federal fish and wildlife officials and dam managers to change their management to test the theory, which is based on a dramatic increase in data collected over the past decade.
Read MoreSave Our Wild Salmon celebrates biggest achievement so far
This week, for the seventh straight year, comprehensive spring and summer spill begins on the Snake and Columbia Rivers. Since it began in 2006 due to a court injunction, spill has produced tens of thousands more salmon and steelhead. Measured in fish, it is member organization Save Our Wild Salmon’s biggest achievement in 20 years.
Read the full article on their webpage at Wildsalmon.org
Read MoreFrom the Sacramento Bee: State has stake in Columbia salmon solution
The story of Pacific salmon has not recently been a happy one. Population declines in the West Coast’s big three rivers – the Sacramento-San Joaquin, Klamath and Columbia-Snake – have meant less fishing, lost jobs, scarce fish and higher prices for consumers. Without major changes to how we manage these waterways, the beating heart of our region’s salmon economy may cease.
Fortunately, there are some bright spots on the horizon. On a growing number of rivers, adversaries are opting to collaborate rather than litigate. People are starting to work together to restore rivers, recover salmon and rebuild jobs.
Read more here: www.sacbee.com
Read MoreCongress Calls on Obama to Convene Salmon Solutions Table
In a letter sent last week, 52 Members of Congress called on President Obama to convene a “solutions table” to help protect and restore endangered wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake River basins of the Pacific Northwest.
With bipartisan support from lawmakers representing 23 states and territories, Congressmen Jim McDermott (D-WA), Tom Petri (R-WI), and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) spearheaded the letter to bring together all parties with a stake in salmon restoration to create a broad-based, collaborative process that explores and identifies real salmon recovery solutions…
Read MoreNW Energy Coalition and Save Our Wild Salmon Comments on the Draft Climate Change Summary Report
The NW Energy Coalition (“Coalition”) and the Save Our Wild Salmon coalition (“SOS”) appreciate the opportunity to comment on the Draft Climate Change Summary Report released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Bonneville Power Administration.
Read MoreColumbia River salmon plans: The judge is not amused
The Seattle Times Editorial page weighs in on Judge Redden’s ruling. U.S. District Court Judge James Redden issued a 24-page ruling Tuesday that slapped down another federal plan for operating the economic interests of the Columbia and Snake rivers, while working to save endangered fish.
Read MoreFederal Judge Rules for Columbia and Snake River Salmon
U.S. District Court Judge James Redden ruled today that the NOAA Fisheries Service again failed to produce a legal and scientific plan to protect imperiled Columbia-Snake River salmon from harm caused by the operation of federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. Today’s court action – which has been ongoing for almost a decade – is a landmark decision for fishing and conservation groups, the state of Oregon and the Nez Perce and Spokane tribes, all of which have opposed the federal biological opinion, or BiOp, in court.
Read MoreSalmon Group Wades Into Pacific Northwest Curtailment Battle
A group of salmon advocates is siding with wind developers in their battle against system operator Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).
High seasonal river flows resulting from runoff from large snowpacks caused an overabundance of hydropower and left no room on the grid to accommodate wind power. This led the BPA to curtail wind production this spring, which angered wind developers and prompted them to file a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in June.
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