A massive marine heatwave warmed the eastern Pacific Ocean through much of 2025, but the wind-driven upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water that drives the rich marine productivity of the West Coast kept the ecosystem healthy.
California’s Wildlife Conservation Board approved $59,642,096 in grants for 27 projects across 18 counties to protect biodiversity, restore important wildlife habitats and improve public access to nature.
Mainstem Columbia River basin water supply forecasts remained mostly steady or rose just slightly over the last month, with the March forecast at The Dalles Dam at 95 percent of the 30-year average, up 2 percentage points from February.
The Bureau of Reclamation has launched a new three-phase prize challenge to identify innovative solutions that prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species through watercraft ballast compartments.
A massive marine heatwave has dominated waters off the West Coast since last summer. This marks only the third time on record that such a large section of the coastal ocean has remained so warm for so long—particularly into winter months—without it being an El Niño, NOAA scientists report.
Researchers spent five years developing an AI-based model to protect freshwater fish worldwide from extinction, with a particular focus on identifying threats to fish before they become endangered.
A $1 million federal investment will jump-start critical engineering and design work on fish passage and alternative solutions at Oregon’s McKay Creek Reservoir Dam, laying the technical groundwork to eventually reconnect more than 100 miles of historic salmon and steelhead habitat.
As climate change nudges weather in the eastern Cascades in extreme and volatile directions, forest managers in the region have a lot to juggle.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council has adopted three options for 2026 ocean salmon fisheries off Washington, Oregon, and California, which are available for public review.
Beginning this spring, more water will be spilled at eight federal dams on the two rivers during spring, summer and fall/winter to aid the safe passage of juvenile salmon and steelhead, sending more of the fish over the dam rather than through turbines.
A petition to list Washington coast Chinook salmon under the federal Endangered Species Act has been denied by NOAA Fisheries.
Fish-eating killer whales in southern Alaska have a diverse, seasonally changing diet featuring salmon and groundfish, according to a recently published study in the journal Ecosphere.
State fisheries managers have set the initial opening for recreational spring Chinook salmon angling on the mainstem Columbia River from Buoy 10 near Astoria, OR to the Oregon and Washington state line near Pasco, WA.
A federal project that will expand and improve navigation in areas of the Columbia River near Longview and Kalama took a step toward completion when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers concluded in its environmental review of the project that it would cause no significant impacts to fish and wildlife.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, is vowing to become more efficient when approving and building infrastructure projects.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 6-1 to deny a petition that requested crab fishery rules be modified to further reduce the risk of whale entanglement.
In August 2025, two biologists from NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Region Protected Resources Division traveled to St. George Island to conduct routine maintenance on NOAA facilities. Upon their arrival, they began receiving reports from residents about a high number of northern fur seals found dead in unexpected locations on the island.
The Bonneville Power Administration’s first quarter financial forecast shows mixed results for the agency’s expected end-of-year performance.
The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s refusal to develop a national gray wolf recovery plan under the Endangered Species Act.
A debilitating hoof disease affecting elk herds across the Pacific Northwest appears to be driven not by a single pathogen but by multiple bacterial species working together, according to a study led by researchers in Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
A federal judge signaled that he could accept at least some operational changes at lower Columbia and Snake river dams proposed by the state of Oregon and conservation groups in October.
Columbia River salmon recovery programs fared better in the 2026 federal budget than tribes, advocates, bureaucrats and biologists feared.
Forecasts for the 2026 runs of spring and summer Chinook salmon and winter steelhead into the Columbia River are coming in lower than last year’s actual returns for each of the stocks, according to a joint state and tribe stock status report.
A new analysis shows that the Pacific Northwest’s mature and old-growth forests are most at risk of severe wildfire in areas that historically burned frequently at lower severity.
John Hairston, who has served as administrator and chief executive officer of the Bonneville Power Administration since January 2021, is announcing his retirement from federal service. He’s headed to the Eugene Electric and Water Board as its new general manager.
An Earthwise Knowledge Initiative Publication
