CBB - Columbia Basin Bulletin

About CBB

This author has not written his bio yet.
But we are proud to say that CBB contributed 12123 entries already.

Entries by CBB

Plaintiffs In Columbia Basin Salmon BiOp Case Counter Federal Defendants Motion To Dismiss, Argue Northwest Power Act Does Not Apply

January 23, 2026/in

In a strongly-worded rebuttal to a December motion to dismiss by federal defendants in U.S. District Court, plaintiffs challenging the operation and maintenance of the Columbia/Snake river hydroelectric system of dams questioned why, after 24 years and eight complaints since 2001, that the federal government is now moving to dismiss the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

Washington Ecology Department Announces $40 Million Available In Grants For Streamflow Restoration

January 23, 2026/in

Washington Ecology Department Announces $40 Million Available In Grants For Streamflow Restoration

High Seas Treaty Goes Into Effect After Being Ratified By 60 Nations, U.S. Signed In 2023 But Has Not Ratified

January 23, 2026/in

Oregon State University research into marine protected areas plays a crucial role in the historic “High Seas Treaty” that went into effect Jan. 17.

NOAA Denies ESA-Listing For Declining Olympic Peninsula Wild Steelhead, Says Will Continue Monitoring With States, Tribesa

January 23, 2026/in

NOAA Fisheries concluded this month that Olympic Peninsula wild steelhead is not in danger of extinction, nor will the distinct population segment of the steelhead likely become so in the foreseeable future.

Corps Opens Environmental Review Of Proposed Transmission Line In Columbia River Bed From The Dalles To Portland

January 23, 2026/in 04. POWER

An environmental review of a nearly 80-mile high voltage transmission line that would be buried in the bed of the Columbia River from The Dalles to Portland was set in motion earlier this month with a public comment period that ends Feb. 4.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

Corps Awards Contract To Cleanup Former Pistol Range, Contaminated Soil At Bonneville Dam’s Bradford Island, A Superfund Site

January 23, 2026/in

The Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking action to clean up contaminated areas at Bradford Island, part of Bonneville Dam, including a former pistol range and landfill.

Recent Rains Boost 2026 Water Supply Forecast (April-Sept) For Columbia Basin But Overall Snowpack Far Below Normal

January 9, 2026/in 01. RIVER, 03. HABITAT

Warmer than normal temperatures since the beginning of the water year has left snowpack far below normal.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

2025 Ocean Data Shows Mixed Bag Of Conditions For West Coast Juvenile Salmon, Suggesting Moderate Adult Survival In Coming Years

January 9, 2026/in 03. HABITAT

Juvenile salmon encountered a mixed bag of ocean conditions off the West Coast in 2025, based on an annual analysis by NOAA Fisheries and Oregon State University researchers.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

Over 130 Northwest Utilities Sign Long-Term Wholesale Power Contracts With Bonneville Power Administration

January 9, 2026/in 04. POWER

The Bonneville Power Administration has executed new long-term wholesale electric power contracts with more than 130 Northwest public utility customers this fall.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

Study Shows After 2020 Megafires In Oregon Cascades, Fish, Amphibians Doing Well

January 9, 2026/in 03. HABITAT

In the aftermath of historically severe wildfires in 2020, a study of Cascade Range watersheds found that stream vertebrates are doing surprising well, highlighted by flourishing fish populations.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

Marine Conditions Not Working For ESA-Listed Columbia River Smelt, Yet Another Year Of Low Return

January 9, 2026/in 02. WILDLIFE, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

The decline, the report says, is due to marine conditions that have been mixed and trending downwards since 2023, including adverse upwelling patterns and copepod community structure.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

Judge Sets Oral Arguments Over Preliminary Injunction Request That Would Alter Columbia/Snake Dam Operations For Salmon, Steelhead

January 9, 2026/in 04. POWER

U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon on Dec. 19, 2025, released his order that sets the date for oral arguments in the case for the afternoon of Feb. 6 in Portland.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

Annual Survival Study For Columbia Basin Salmon/Steelhead Notes Struggle To Reach Regional Smolt-To-Adult Return Goals

January 9, 2026/in 02. WILDLIFE

An annual report by fisheries managers confirmed for the sixth year running that under climate change and poor river flows, smolt-to-adult return rates of Columbia River basin salmon and steelhead will not meet regional goals.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

Work Begins To Improve Passage Conditions For Migrating Salmon, Steelhead In Yakima River Delta

January 9, 2026/in 01. RIVER, 02. WILDLIFE, 05. LAW, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Many years ago, people built a dead end where two rivers met — and blocked an ancient pathway for migrating salmon and steelhead.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

Klamath Indigenous Land Trust Purchases 10,000 Acres Along Klamath River For Ecological Restoration Post Dam Removal

January 9, 2026/in 05. LAW

As salmon return to the headwaters of the Klamath River for the first time in over a century, the newly formed Klamath Indigenous Land Trust (KILT) and PacifiCorp announced the landmark purchase of 10,000 acres in and around the former reservoir reach of the river.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

Naturally Reproduced Juvenile Coho Found In California’s Russian River Upper Basin First Time In 34 Years, Taken To Captive Breeding Program

January 9, 2026/in 02. WILDLIFE

This summer, several juvenile coho salmon were spotted in the Russian River’s upper basin — a first in more than 30 years.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

Lawsuit Filed To Stop BPA From Joining Southeast Power Market, Says Violates NW Power Act, Salmon Recovery

July 18, 2025/in 04. POWER, 05. LAW

Northwest nonprofits have challenged in federal court the Bonneville Power Administration’s decision to join a Southeast power market and sell Northwest hydropower to customers as far away as Louisiana, saying the change would result in higher energy bills, higher transmission costs, reduced access to renewable energy and threaten the agency’s commitment to salmon and steelhead recovery.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

BPA Seeks Major Changes To Council Fish/Wildlife Program, Wants Goals ‘Narrowly Tailored’ To Hydro Influence

July 18, 2025/in 04. POWER

In its recommendations for change to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s 2014/2020 Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, the Bonneville Power Administration says the Program’s estimates and goals are beyond the power marketing agency’s statutory responsibility.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

Army Corps, Bureau Of Reclamation Withdraw Efforts To Complete Supplemental EIS On Hydro Impacts To Salmon, Steelhead

July 18, 2025/in 01. RIVER, 02. WILDLIFE, 04. POWER, 05. LAW

Federal agencies this week backed away from their efforts to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement for Columbia River basin dam operations and their impact on salmon and steelhead, citing a June 12 Presidential Memorandum as their justification.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

NOAA In Court Agreement To Determine ESA-Listing Of Coastal Spring Chinook Salmon By Late 2025, Early 2026

July 18, 2025/in 03. HABITAT

NOAA Fisheries agreed in Oregon District Court to complete its long-awaited decisions to list coastal spring Chinook salmon in Washington, Oregon and Northern California under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

River Managers Adopt Operations Aimed At Cooling Lower Snake River Water During Return Of Endangered Adult Sockeye

July 18, 2025/in 03. HABITAT

As happens every summer, cold water from Dworshak Dam on the North Fork Clearwater River in Idaho began being released in late June to help keep the tailwater cooler for migrating salmon and steelhead at Lower Granite Dam downstream on the lower Snake River.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

Anchovy Boom In Ocean Leading To Thiamine Deficiencies In Pacific Salmon, Fish Swimming Upside Down

July 18, 2025/in 02. WILDLIFE, 03. HABITAT

A vitamin deficiency likely killed as many as half of newly hatched fry of endangered winter-run Chinook salmon in the Sacramento River in 2020 and 2021. These new findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

Improved Return Forecast Allows A Few Days Of Summer Chinook Fishing, Oregon Adopts Regs To Protect Steelhead

July 18, 2025/in 02. WILDLIFE

More summer Chinook salmon will enter the Columbia River than was previously forecasted, allowing Oregon and Washington to open the river to recreational angling from its mouth to the two-state border near Pasco, WA for eight days.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

Montana Releases 2024 Wolf Report Showing Slight Decline In Numbers, 297 Harvested

July 18, 2025/in 02. WILDLIFE

Montana’s wolf population has remained relatively stable in the past few years with only slight declines in the statewide population estimates, according to the 2024 Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks annual wolf report.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

California Report Documents 10 Years of Wolf Recovery, 7 Packs, 50-70 Wolves

July 18, 2025/in 02. WILDLIFE

A century after wolves were wiped out in California, the animals have mounted a promising comeback in the state, with a small population that has grown to at least 50 wolves.

Read the full article…

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Already a member? Log in here

About CBB

Entries by CBB

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Read the full article…

Sign up for the Columbia Basin Bulletin newsletter