NORTHWEST DELEGATION MEMBERS EXPLAIN AND REACT TO HEALTHY FORESTS RESTORATION ACT

/in , ,

Last week the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed the conference report to H.R. 1904, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act.

The House voted 286-140; the Senate approved the measure by voice vote. The legislation, intended to improve the health of the nation’s forests, will now be sent to the President for his signature.

The Northwest congressional delegation issued statements, reactions and analyses of the impact of the legislation upon the region and Columbia Basin:

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

TRIBES, OREGON, OTHERS COMMENT ON BIOP 2003 CHECK-IN REPORT

/in , , ,

Tribes, Oregon and conservation groups gave the Columbia River action agencies a much lower score for their efforts to meet NOAA Fisheries' 2000 biological opinion for the Federal Columbia River Power System than the agencies claimed for themselves.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

CLEARWATER FIRST SUBBASIN PLAN SUBMITTED AS AMENDMENT TO REGIONAL FISH AND WILDLIFE PROGRAM

/in ,

The clock has begun ticking on Northwest Power and Conservation Council consideration of the first of an expected 58 subbasin plan submittals -- for Idaho's Clearwater River -- as an amendment to its Columbia River basin fish and wildlife plan.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

ENERGY BILL INCLUDES MODIFIED HYDROELECTRIC DAM LICENSING REFORMS

/in , ,

Final congressional passage of a comprehensive energy bill, including
modified hydroelectric dam relicensing reforms,was blocked on Friday in the Senate.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

COUNCIL HEARS PRESENTATION ON RECENT TRENDS IN FISH RETURNS

/in , ,

During this week’s Council meeting at the Coeur d’Alene Resort, special projects manager Bruce Suzumoto presented a perspective on "Recent Trends in Adult Returns to the Columbia Basin" from the view of fish counters at Bonneville, McNary, and Lower Granite dams.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

AGENCIES RELEASE BIOP 2004-2008 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR COLUMBIA RIVER POWER SYSTEM

/in , , ,

Federal action agencies released a plan this week that outlines how the agencies will implement conservation measures in the NOAA Fisheries and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biological opinions for the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS).

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

U.S. ATTORNEYS CHALLENGE EFFORT TO EXPAND BIOP REWRITE TO UPPER SNAKE RIVER BASIN WATER PROJECTS

/in , ,

U.S. Justice Department attorneys say, in a Nov. 14 brief, that expanding the scope of the court-ordered Federal Columbia River Power System biological opinion remand to include the upper Snake would be illegal.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

SALMON CROSSROADS: SHOULD POLICYMAKERS MANAGE RECOVERY BASED ON THE TROUGHS?

/in , , ,

Scientists and policymakers converged at the conference Friday (Nov. 14), titled "Salmon Crossroads: Record Runs and New Directions," where before an audience made up largely of utility representatives, they debated how to interpret the recent favorable salmon return news and what to do next.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

CONFERENCE DISCUSSES COST EFFECTIVE SALMON RECOVERY

/in , ,

The public won't support salmon recovery programs if they perceive those programs are poorly managed and too expensive, Bonneville Power Administration Administrator Steve Wright told participants at a conference in Portland today.
......
more conference stories here this weekend...

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

WASHINGTON’S COLUMBIA RIVER INITIATIVE STUDIES WATER WITHDRAWAL VALUES

/in

The goal of the initiative is to create an integrated program for deciding
how new water withdrawals may be permitted while also providing support
for salmon recovery. The plan would guide the state on how up to 1 million
acre-feet might be allocated for municipal and irrigation use over a
20-year period. A new rule is scheduled to get under way next spring and be adopted about a year from now.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

USFWS REGIONAL DIRECTOR RECEIVES TOP AWARD FOR SERVICE

/in ,

David B. Allen, regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Region, has received a Meritorious Service Award for outstanding contributions and leadership. It is the Department of the Interior’s second highest award.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

2003 TERN REPORT: WORLD’S LARGEST COLONY EATING LESS COLUMBIA RIVER SALMONIDS

/in ,

The colony, which now nests five miles from the river mouth on East Sand Island from April to midsummer, gobbled up an estimated 4.2 million juvenile salmonids this year as the fish forged toward the Pacific Ocean, according to a draft 2003 summary report on the summer field season.

That compares to a peak of an estimated 12.4 million consumed by the terns in 1998, the second year of the study that has been financed by the Bonneville Power Administration.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

IDAHO SEN. CRAPO REACTS TO CONSERVATION GROUPS’ STATEMENT ON UPPER SNAKE WATER LITIGATION

/in , ,

“I'm disappointed that the plaintiffs are discussing the Upper Snake in Judge James Redden’s court,” Crapo said. “We take this threat to Idaho water and state water sovereignty very seriously. As long as the plaintiffs pursue a litigation strategy, we will be forced to aggressively defend Idaho's water and we will do just that.”

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

WASH. LANDOWNERS ABLE TO APPLY FOR $1.56 MILLION IN ‘SPECIES’ GRANTS

/in

For major projects, qualifying property owners can typically receive up to $50,000 in “Landowner Incentive Program” funds through an application process being administered by WDFW. All grants require landowners to make a 25 percent non-federal contribution, which could include cash or in-kind work.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

IDAHO FISH AND GAME ACCEPTS PRIME WILDLIFE HABITAT LAND DONATION

/in

The property is particularly attractive to wildlife. Numerous waterfowl are produced there and waterfowl stage in the wetlands complex during their annual migration. Moose are often seen wading in the wetlands feeding on succulent aquatic plants. Deer, elk, black bears, wild turkeys, muskrats, beavers, birds of prey, songbirds and shorebirds have been observed using the island and surrounding wetlands.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

REP. WALDEN ANNOUNCES FUNDING FOR DESCHUTES RESOURCES CONSERVANCY; CANAL PIPING

/in

Rep. Greg Walden, R-OR, today announced that funding for the Deschutes Basin Resources Conservancy (DRC) and the Bend Feed Canal Pipeline Project will be included in the annual Energy and Water Appropriations bill (HR 2754).

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

CONGRESS CUTS BUSH’S BASIN SALMON BUDGET; BOOSTS CHANNEL DEEPENING FUNDS

/in , ,

The Army Corps of Engineers received $85 million in construction
funds for salmon mitigation projects at the eight federal dams on the
Columbia and Snake rivers, the largest Northwest recovery program.
That is the same as this year's amount but $10 million less than Bush
sought in his FY2004 budget. The program pays for fish screens,
collectors, ladders and passage improvements, including the
downstream migrant juvenile fish bypass at Bonneville Dam.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

STATE, FED OFFICIALS DISCUSS BIOP REWRITE/SUBBASIN PLANNING INTEGRATION

/in , , ,

Subbasin planning participants responded coolly this week to the prospect that they will be asked to redirect some portion of their energies to help NOAA Fisheries shape a new biological opinion regarding operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

NRC REPORT CALLS FOR MAJOR OCEAN EXPLORATION PROGRAM

/in ,

A new large-scale, multidisciplinary ocean exploration program would increase the pace of discovery of new species, ecosystems, energy sources, seafloor features, pharmaceutical products, and artifacts, as well as improve understanding of the role oceans play in climate change, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies' National Research Council.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

FOREST SERVICE, BLM RELEASE NW FOREST PLAN AQUATIC STRATEGY

/in , ,

The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management today announced the release of a "Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement" that proposes wording changes in the Aquatic Conservation Strategy of the Northwest Forest Plan.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

COLUMBIA ESTUARY AND PLUME PLAN UNDER PEER REVIEW

/in , , ,

A draft plan that sets out an approach on how research in the lower Columbia River estuary and its plume should proceed is in the peer review process and is nearing its implementation date in February 2004.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

BONNEVILLE DAM CHUM OPERATIONS TO BEGIN NEXT WEEK

/in , ,

An operation at Bonneville Dam designed to provide spawning habitat for lower Columbia River chum salmon, a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act, will begin Monday, Nov. 3, but at a lower level than requested by fisheries managers at this week's Technical Management Team meeting.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

BONNEVILLE ENVIRONMENTAL FOUNDATION FUNDS LONG-TERM WATERSHED PROJECTS

/in

Under its Model Watershed Program, the Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) this week will give at least $500,000 to two Northwest watershed restoration projects, saying that it expects the intensive effort to be more effective than short-term piecemeal efforts now ongoing in the region.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

ONLY TWO OR THREE SOCKEYE RETURN TO STANLEY BASIN THIS YEAR

/in , ,

The adult return of endangered Snake River sockeye salmon to Idaho remains a trickle, defying the upward trend witnessed for most other Columbia River Basin salmon and steelhead stock in recent years.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

RECLAMATION BUREAU URGES PASSAGE OF FISH SCREEN LEGISLATION

/in , ,

The head of the has urged senators to pass legislation allowing Bureau of Reclamation the agency to fund and construct fish screens and passage improvements at non-federal irrigation facilities in Oregon and Washington state to aid salmon recovery.

Read the full article...

Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.

Register

Already a member? Log in here
Read more

An Earthwise Knowledge Initiative Publication

logo - Earthwise Knowledge Initiative

about

membership

contact

privacy policy

terms and conditions

Sign up for the Columbia Basin Bulletin newsletter

Complete coverage of the Columbia River Basin delivered to your inbox twice a month.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

© Copyright 1997- 2026 Columbia Basin Bulletin. All rights reserved.