In the future, cameras could spot blackbirds feeding on grapes in a vineyard and launch drones to drive off the avian irritants, then return to watch for the next invading flock. All without a human nearby.
Two recreational boaters illegally approached endangered Southern Resident killer whales in rented boats last fall. They have agreed to pay fines for violating regulations that protect the whales from vessel traffic and noise.
Historically about one million coho salmon returned annually to the Columbia River and were abundant throughout the upper Columbia River and Snake River watersheds. By the 1980s, the fish were gone from the basin interior – extirpated. But today, in several rivers above Bonneville Dam, the coho are back.
Condit Dam was removed from the White Salmon River in 2011, opening up 33 miles of new habitat for salmon and steelhead. A 2021 salmon spawning survey is offering a snapshot of recolonization post-dam removal for Chinook salmon.
The spring Chinook return to the Columbia River basin is heating up as fisheries and hydro managers monitor juvenile and adult salmon passage carefully at Lower Monumental Dam while spillbay repair work continues. And good angling has led to the recreational fishery closing a day early, though fish passage counts at Bonneville Dam are currently above average.
Staggering declines in bird populations are taking place around the world. Loss and degradation of natural habitats and direct overexploitation of many species are cited as the key threats to avian biodiversity. Climate change is identified as an emerging driver of bird population declines.
A new study provides the first direct evidence that translocations of Pacific Lamprey from lower Columbia River dams to the Snake River basin boosted larval abundance, increased juvenile production in the interior Columbia River and demonstrated successful migration to the Pacific Ocean.
In a split 4-3 vote at its meeting in Astoria Friday, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission decided to not release hatchery summer steelhead smolts into the North Umpqua River this year and eliminate the Rock Creek summer steelhead hatchery program.
The Department of the Interior said this week it is seeking information on the potential of offshore wind energy farms off the coast of Oregon.
This note responds to John McKern’s letter printed in the latest CBB.
Army planners and Columbia River sponsor ports are hosting five virtual information sessions April 26-28 to update the public on their 20-year plan for managing dredged material from the Lower Columbia River. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ policy requires all federally maintained navigation projects demonstrate there is sufficient dredged material placement capacity for a minimum of 20 years.
A new study shows over 1,300 gigawatts of solar, storage, and wind in interconnection queues – an indicator of a major energy transition underway, even if most proposed projects will not be built.
The national economy is reenergizing, quite literally. In 2021, Americans used 5% more energy than in 2020, according to the most recent energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The Upper Columbia United Tribes secured over $3 million in funding in the Washington State supplemental budget for salmon reintroduction in the upper Columbia.
Whales are threatened by a variety of human activities off the West Coast of the United States, including fishing, ship traffic, and pollution. Overlap between these stressors can compound effects on whale populations, but are rarely addressed by current whale-protection policies in California, according to a study from the University of California, Davis.
Even the High North can’t escape the global threat of plastic pollution.
The White House this week made clear it plans to be involved in Columbia River salmon recovery, saying it has engaged mediators to facilitate “public policy dialogue” with governments and stakeholders.
PacifiCorp and the Cowlitz County Public Utility District has committed to completing fish passage facilities at its dams on Washington’s North Fork Lewis River by 2028, a move that PacifiCorp says will support the recovery of coho and chinook salmon, steelhead and bull trout in the river, all listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Total Bonneville Power Administration fish and wildlife costs last year (fiscal year 2021) rose 18 percent over FY2020 from $611.5 million to $744.5 million, making up about 25 percent of the power marketing agency’s wholesale power rate, according to a report to Northwest governors released for public comment by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.
After two years of closure to complete the largest habitat restoration project in the history of the lower Columbia River, Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge reopens to the public on May 1. Construction on the Steigerwald Reconnection Project began in 2019 to reduce flood risk, reconnect 965 acres of Columbia River floodplain, and increase recreation opportunities at the refuge.
The Oregon Legislature has passed the Private Forest Accord, which is aimed at bringing durable protections for salmon and cold, clean water across 10 million acres of private Oregon forestland. The legislature also established the Elliott State Research Forest, intended to transform this coastal rainforest into a sanctuary for science. And the legislature allocated a first-ever river resilience funding package to protect streamflows in the face of drought.
Barry Thom leads the West Coast Region of NOAA Fisheries and is responsible for implementing NOAA Fisheries mandates under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Endangered Species Act, and Marine Mammal Protection Act along the U.S. West Coast from Washington to California.
The number of hares in a forest is a good indicator of how healthy that ecosystem is — and now there’s a better way to find out.
Mountain regions have a large potential for hydropower that cannot be harnessed effectively by conventional technologies, says the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. IIASA researcher Julian Hunt and an international team of researchers developed an innovative hydropower technology based on electric trucks that could provide a flexible and clean solution for electricity generation in mountainous regions.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a draft environmental impact statement that says removing four Klamath River dams would provide significant benefits for spring and summer chinook salmon, coho salmon and suckers by freeing up 255 miles of river habitat upstream of the dams. Coho salmon are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.
An Earthwise Knowledge Initiative Publication
