Corps Final EIS For Willamette Valley’s 13 Dams Selects Alternative Best For ESA-Listed Fish, Next Comes Supplemental EIS
April 21st, 2025
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released the first environmental impact statement since 1980 for its Willamette Valley system of 13 dams. The final EIS analyzes several alternatives and selects the preferred alternative the Corps says will be best for spring Chinook and winter steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act. The Corps expects to release its Record of Decision in May.
Spring Spill To Aid Salmon, Steelhead Passage Now Going Full Blast At Eight Columbia/Snake River Dams
April 21st, 2025
Spring spill at Columbia/Snake River dams to aid juvenile salmon and steelhead in their migration through the hydro projects and out to the ocean is in full motion with all of the lower eight dams on the two rivers initiating full spill by April 10.
Report Documents 2024 Sea Lion Predation At Bonneville Dam, With Removal Program Fewer Animals Showing Up
April 12th, 2025
Predacious sea lions in Bonneville Dam’s tailwaters took a bite out of the spring Chinook salmon and steelhead runs during the spring of 2024. Some 2.8 percent of the number of salmon counted at the dam last spring and 3.8 percent of the number of steelhead counted were snagged and eaten by Steller and California sea lions, according to a recently-released annual report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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Corps/BOR Scoping Meetings On Changes To Columbia River Salmon/Steelhead EIS To Be Rescheduled
April 12th, 2025
Scoping meetings to explore possible changes to the 2020 Columbia River salmon/steelhead environmental impact statement have been delayed again.
Upland Operable Unit Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis Report Public Comment Period
March 20th, 2025
Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) invites the public to comment on the Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) Report for the Upland Operable Unit (OU) of Bradford Island in Cascade Locks, Oregon.
Work Continues To Improve Lamprey Passage At Columbia/Snake Dams, Corp Completing Changes To Bonneville Dam Fish Ladder
March 15th, 2025
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the process of revamping the dam’s northern-most fish ladder near the Washington shore at a cost of some $8 million. According to the Corps, the project is changing out a portion of the fish ladder, which spans 800 feet from top to bottom, that was originally a serpentine passage of concrete walls, called baffles, with a newer baffle design more friendly to lamprey.
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Columbia-Snake River Navigation System Closed For Two Weeks For Annual Lock Maintenance
March 15th, 2025
The Columbia-Snake River System, a critical trade corridor supporting $24 billion in commerce annually, will pause operations for two weeks beginning March 9, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, conducts its annual navigation lock maintenance.
Corps Still Determining How To Implement Changes At Willamette Valley Dams With Funding Still Uncertain
February 25th, 2025
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is still determining “how to proceed” in implementing actions directed by the 2024 Water Resources Development Act and a new jeopardy biological opinion for its 13 Willamette River projects completed by NOAA Fisheries Dec. 26. The Corps says that it still needs funds from Congress that it could get through the annual federal budget that is working its way through the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, but that the efforts are also complicated by the change in administration at the federal government. “We are working with our headquarters (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers … Continue reading
Agencies Extend Public Scoping Period As Part Of Effort To Supplement 2020 Columbia River System Operations (Salmon, Steelhead) EIS
February 7th, 2025
Two federal agencies are extending the public scoping period for the Columbia River System Operations Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS.)
Wild Vs. Hatchery: Court Rules Willamette Hatchery Summer Steelhead Harm Wild Winter Steelhead, Seeks Remedies
February 7th, 2025
A federal judge in Oregon has ruled that releasing hatchery-raised, non-native summer steelhead into the North and South Santiam rivers in the Willamette River system harms the river’s wild winter steelhead and violates the federal Endangered Species Act.
Agencies Taking Another Look At 2020 EIS Detailing Impacts Of Columbia/Snake River Federal Hydrosystem On Imperiled Salmonids
December 22nd, 2024
Citing new information and changed circumstances, two federal agencies are reopening this week their 2020 final environmental impact study for operations at 14 Columbia/Snake river federal hydroelectric dams and are now seeking public input. The final EIS guides the dams’ impacts on salmon and steelhead listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Court-Ordered Drawdown In Willamette Valley To Aid Salmon Halted Early Due To Downstream Water Quality Issues
December 9th, 2024
In just its second year of court-ordered drawdowns at two Willamette River dams to aid passage of threatened spring Chinook salmon and winter steelhead, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced just prior to Thanksgiving that it halted the drawdown at one of the dams due to water quality issues at three municipalities downstream.
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Corps/Washington State Sign Agreement To Study Impacts Of Snake River Dam Breaching To Transportation, Recreation
November 18th, 2024
An agreement to study transportation and recreational services that would need mitigation if the four lower Snake River dams were breached to recover the river’s threatened salmon and steelhead was signed early last week by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Washington’s Department of Transportation.