For 90 days, an oil leak went undetected by the Army Corps of Engineers at Little Goose Dam in southeastern Washington. CREDIT: Northwest Power and Conservation Council, Flickr Creative Commons… Continue Reading Hundreds of gallons Read More
Breaching the Snake River dams is one major way to protect salmon, according to a final federal report announced Friday on salmon and steelhead recovery in the Columbia River Basin. Continue Reading Federal report recommends Read More
If two British Columbia tailings dams fail, it could spell disaster, according to two reports that analyzed the chances of the dams failing. Continue Reading B.C. Tailings Dam Failure Could Spell Disaster For Canada, Washington, Read More
A much-awaited report said removing the four Lower Snake River dams shouldn't happen right now, but dam removal is the best way to protect Snake River salmon. Continue Reading Breaching The Four Lower Snake River Dams Not An Read More
Two Pacific lamprey have made history. The eel-like fish have made it past the Soda Springs Dam on Oregon’s North Umpqua River. Continue Reading Lamprey Swim Past Oregon’s Soda Springs Dam, After 10 Years Of WaitingRead More
Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are tagging and releasing lamprey to learn more about their journey to sea from inland rivers. Continue Reading Scientists Use Tiny Tags To Learn How Young Lamprey Travel Through Read More
Eric Engle was involved with the installation of the new red, white, and blue lights on Dworshak Dam. His family said he was a proud veteran. (Photo by Leevon Pinson… Continue Reading Employee death at Dworshak Dam Spurs Multiple Read More
Four members of the U.S. Congress recently got a close look at Washington’s Snake River dams. Continue Reading Members Of The Congressional Western Caucus Get A Close Look At Snake River DamsRead More
Researchers at PNNL tag young chinook salmon with tags slightly larger than a grain of rice Listen: Northwest News Network’s Courtney Flatt reports on data released that tracks fish and… Continue Reading Newly Released Data Could Read More
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is continuing its investigation into the deaths of around 30 steelhead trout near Idaho’s Dworshak Dam on the North Fork of the Clearwater River. Continue Reading Army Corps Continues To Investigate Read More
Washington Sen. Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee said they'll listen to diverse viewpoints with open minds to recover salmon and potentially breach the four Lower Snake River dams. Continue Reading Murray, Inslee Detail Read More
A longstanding court battle over the federal government’s plan to manage dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers could be on hold until next summer. Continue Reading 20-Year Legal Battle Over Salmon To Be Paused Until Next SummerRead More
Tribes across the Northwest called for immediate action to remove the four Lower Snake River dams during a two-day Salmon and Orca summit in western Washington. The group called on President Biden and congressional members to “take bold action, now.” Read More
A wide-ranging proposal to save wild salmon by removing the four Lower Snake River dams may be dead in the water. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray say any proposal for the controversial dams needs a “science-based,” “community-driven” approach. Read More
The Upper Columbia United Tribes are working together to prove salmon can be reintroduced – and can survive – in the waters above Grand Coulee. Continue Reading Tribes Team With Northwest Researchers To Show Read More
This month, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho issued a bold plan that called for removing those same dams to save the salmon. In between those two acts were decades of litigation that show no sign of ending and $17 billion worth of improvements to the dams that did little to help fish. Read More
A $33.5 billion stimulus package would breach the four dams by 2031. Much of the funding would go toward solutions for what would be lost, including hydropower, less access to irrigation, grain transportation and economic development for Lewiston and the Tri-Cities. Read More
Fans of rapper Eminem, whose movie "8 Mile" featured his hit song “Lose Yourself” might note, as the song’s lyrics do, “You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime.” Now, the public has an opportunity to comment on the environmental review of the aging Eightmile Dam in central Washington's Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Read More
The campaigning is done. Now what's left is the counting. Here is how candidates in Washington’s 4th and 5th Congressional districts have talked about key environmental and natural resource issues during the campaign. Continue Read More
After four years of study, the Record of Decision makes the federal agencies’ preferred option official. Managers and dam supporters say it will benefit salmon, reliable hydropower and the economy. Wild salmon advocates, tribal representatives and renewable energy advocates say this decision will hurt salmon and the orcas that depend on them for food. Read More
Debates have dragged on for decades about whether to remove or alter the four dams. The Army Corps, Bureau of Reclamation and Bonneville Power Administration received almost 59,000 comments on the draft EIS this spring. The agencies are expected to finalize this plan by Sept. 30. Read More
A dam removal that has been 20 years in the making reached an important milestone this week. Explosives ripped through the concrete on the Middle Fork Nooksack, east of Bellingham. Continue Reading In Northwestern Read More
Water temperatures are expected to increase as the climate warms. Rivers saw a glimpse of what the future could hold five summers ago, when low water flows and hot temperatures killed thousands of salmon. Continue Reading Read More
If you want to attend public hearings on the federal government’s plan to manage the Columbia and Snake River dams, you’ll have to do it by phone. The previously scheduled in-person meetings are now teleconferences. Continue Read More
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and Bonneville Power Administration laid out a range of six alternatives in a draft environmental impact statement. The most controversial measure would have been to remove or alter the four Lower Snake River dams. Read More
For years, engineers with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have worked to design a hydroelectric turbine that’s safer for fish. They’ve recently installed a new design that’s improving energy efficiency and improving fish survival along the Snake River, with plans to upgrade more turbines over the next several years. Read More
The environmental group Columbia Riverkeeper has sued dam operators along the Columbia and Snake rivers. They hope to reduce oil spills, require operators to monitor how much oil is leaking into the water and ask dam managers to look into using eco-friendly oil. Read More
If you live at the foot of a dam – or downriver – you may wonder what could happen if an earthquake rumbled nearby. Dam managers say it’s something they’re constantly watching, but major shaking east of the Cascades shouldn’t cause too much damage. Read More
Washington's Snake River dams are important to wheat farmers.The state's wheat crop brings $700 million into the state's economy, more than any crop except apples. The vast majority of that wheat gets exported, most of it to Asia. Read More
Tucked into Washington’s $52.4 billion operating budget passed Sunday night by the Legislature is controversial funding for a “stakeholder group” tasked with looking into what would happen should the four Lower Snake River dams be removed or altered. Read More
A new agreement aims to help more young salmon make their way past dams along the Columbia and Snake rivers. The agreement, reached this week, spells out new strategies for spilling more water over the dams — and sending less water through power-generating turbines — each spring. Read More
For the last 40 years, something has been missing from Oregon’s Lostine River: coho salmon. Now, 42 coho have made it to the waters in the last two weeks. Continue Reading Lost No More: Coho Salmon Return To Oregon’s Lostine River Read More
A federal court ruled Wednesday that the Environmental Protection Agency must come up with a plan to protect salmon from warm water temperatures. Continue Reading EPA Must Protect Northwest Salmon From Warming Waters, Judge RulesRead More
As the Northwest’s killer whales have gained worldwide attention, more calls are being made to bolster the population of salmon they eat. One big way to do that, supporters say, is by removing Lower Snake River dams. But the federal government isn’t so sure that’s the answer. Read More
In the past few days, dam advocates and people who want more wild salmon in the Columbia and Snake rivers have been putting on their best shows. At the U.S. House committee hearing on Monday, dam advocates gave the bulk of the testimony. Read More
Crews have finished drilling around 230 core samples in Priest Rapids Dam on the Columbia River in central Washington state. Continue Reading Investigation Into Leaky Spillway At Priest Rapids Dam Nearly FinishedRead More
Outside of Leavenworth, Washington, crews have been working on a dam in trouble. Now, the irrigation district that owns the dam has installed a new 55-foot spillway of large rocks to reinforce the structure. Continue Reading Eightmile Read More
The U.S. House passed has approved a bill that would circumvent a federal judge’s order for dams on the lower Snake River to spill more water and protect current dam operations through the next four years. It was sponsored and pushed by two Washington state Republicans. Read More
Some Eastern Washington lawmakers want the Snake River Dams to stay in place. They’ve crafted a bill to leave the dams as they are — in response to a federal judge’s order to consider removing the dams to protect salmon. Continue Reading Vote Expected Read More
Lower Snake River dams could be replaced by a variety of renewable energy resources, according to a new study by the NW Energy Coalition. The advocacy group says this means dam removal doesn’t have to be a choice between salmon and renewable energy. Read More
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is gearing up for its biggest-ever planned spill of water over dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. It’s a move ordered by a federal court to help endangered fish. To make sure it’s done right, dam managers tested options first using miniature models of Northwest dams way down in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Read More
The federal government will have to spill more water over Columbia and Snake river dams starting Tuesday in an effort to help young salmon migrating to the ocean. This will make up the biggest planned water spill over dams for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Read More
In Central Washington, Grant Public Utility District officials have declared what they’re calling a “non-failure emergency” at the 1950’s-era Priest Rapids Dam northwest of Richland on the Columbia River. Continue Reading Read More
A federal judge has approved a plan to spill more water through dams in the Columbia River Basin this spring. Continue Reading Salmon Plan Approved Allowing More Water Over Columbia River DamsRead More
A Chinook salmon. Listen One of Idaho’s struggling salmon species could eventually become self-sustaining in the wild under the federal government’s new recovery strategies. The two new recovery plans are… Continue Reading ‘A Read More
