Conservation groups have sued the Trump administration over what they say is a decision to strip endangered species of protections for the places where they live, “a decision that contradicts all scientific and legal understanding of the importance of habitat to America’s most vulnerable plants and animals.” The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National...

Travis Kavulla has been sworn in as the new administrator and CEO of the Bonneville Power Administration by U.S. Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit, becoming the 17th administrator in BPA's 89-year history.

After a year and a half of deliberations and extensive public input, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council approved this week its 2026 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. The Program will inform hydroelectric operations and be included in the Council’s 2026 Power Plan. A Power Plan draft will be completed for public review...

At its May meeting this week the Northwest Power and Conservation Council hashed out the few remaining issues in its draft Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. However, the Council members continue to be divided over whether the Program should include August spill for salmon, an issue that one member worried could “unravel” the...

The Center for Biological Diversity has notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service it intends to sue the agency for failing to make a timely decision on whether the western ridged mussel should be protected under the Endangered Species Act. The imperiled mussels are disappearing from streams and rivers across the three West Coast states and Idaho and Nevada.

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.

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.

A proposed preliminary injunction calling for changes to Snake and Columbia river federal dam operations aimed at protecting endangered salmon and steelhead would lower the amount of electricity that could be generated by the dams, costing the region more for electricity, while also resulting in higher releases of carbon dioxide when making up for those losses, according to briefs submitted this week in U.S. District Court.