Currently browsing: Habitat

The U.S. Forest Service is proposing an amendment to the land management plans guiding parts or all of 17 national forests within the Northwest Forest Plan areas of Oregon, Washington and Northern California.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District has released the results of its Yakima Delta ecological restoration feasibility report, recommending the removal of a causeway to improve conditions for salmon in the Yakima River Delta.

The Payette National Forest released a Final Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Record of Decision for a controversial gold mine located in the headwaters of Idaho’s Salmon River. The draft documents will undergo a 45-day public review for what the U.S. Forest Service is calling a “pre-decisional objection period.”

The Department of Commerce and NOAA have announced more than $105 million in recommended funding for 14 new and continuing salmon recovery projects and programs.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is seeking public input on a potential project that would place nearly 33,000 acres of private timberland in northwest Montana under a conservation easement and protect working lands, public recreation access, and wildlife habitat.

The U.S. Department of Energy, Washington State Department of Ecology, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week announced a landmark agreement that the agencies say proposes “a realistic and achievable course” for cleaning up millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste from large, underground tanks at the Hanford Site near the Columbia River.

Well-placed woody debris in streams results in a two- to three-fold increase of juvenile salmon, according to a recently completed review.

Water supply forecasts at major dams in the Columbia River basin dropped again during March, with the forecast at The Dalles Dam dropping from 83 percent of normal in February to 80 percent of normal in March, according to the April 3 water supply forecast by NOAA’s Northwest River Forecast Center.

A new report released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reveals wetlands – 95 percent of which are freshwater — covered less than 6 percent of the lower 48 states as of 2019 – which is half the area they covered since the 1780s. The report also identifies that loss rates have increased by 50 percent since 2009 and that without additional conservation actions taken to protect these ecosystems, wetland loss will likely continue, reducing ecosystem benefits for people and habitat for fish, wildlife and plants.

With lower-than-normal temperatures and near normal precipitation in February across the Columbia River basin, the March water supply forecast is showing some improvement over the last two months.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced this week it is proposing to add the Upper Columbia River Site in northeast Washington to the National Priorities List, the list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for cleanup financed under the federal Superfund Program.

A final environmental impact statement by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff for the Goldendale Energy Storage Project near the Columbia River’s John Day Dam recommends issuing a license that includes conditions required by the Clean Water Act, and staff-recommended modifications and additional measures submitted by state and federal agencies, Tribes, and non-governmental organizations.

Consistent with direction from President Biden in an executive order to conserve and restore old and mature forests, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a proposal to amend all 128 forest land management plans to conserve and steward old-growth forest conditions on national forests and grasslands nationwide.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is investing $31,768,530 million in projects and programs to reduce toxics in fish and water in the Columbia River Basin.

Oregon U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced this week a total of $4.1 million in federal investments from the Infrastructure Law are heading to the Crooked River Watershed Council and the Deschutes Land Trust. The funds are intended to boost collaborative projects focusing on water conservation, management, and restoration efforts. In addition, the Oregon Water Resources Department announced grants for four significant water conservation projects in Central Oregon.

The Environmental Protection Agency has granted a petition submitted by the Yurok, Port Gamble S’Klallam, and Puyallup Tribes, which asked EPA to develop regulations that prohibit the use of the chemical 6PPD in tires due to the lethal effects on salmon, steelhead trout, and other wildlife.

The Department of the Interior this week announced $51 million provided by the two-year-old Infrastructure Law for 30 new Environmental Water Resource Projects in 11 states through the Bureau of Reclamation, including multi-million dollar projects in Oregon, Idaho and Washington that will aid fish protection and restoration.

Deschutes River basin water rights were over-appropriated more than 100 years ago and today some 86 percent of the river’s total water is used for irrigation while only 12 percent of the water is appropriated for instream flows and just 2 percent for municipal water, according to Kate Fitzpatrick, executive director of the Deschutes River Conservancy.

To aid flagging West Coast salmon and steelhead populations, NOAA Fisheries is recommending $106.1 million in funding for 16 new and continuing programs and projects through its Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund grant program.

In a draft environmental impact statement, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff has recommended issuing a license for the proposed closed-loop pumped storage project near the Columbia River’s John Day Dam. The staff alternative does note the project would damage Tribal cultural resources.

The Environmental Protection Agency this week issued a Final Determination under the Clean Water Act to help protect Southeast Alaska’s Bristol Bay, the most productive wild salmon ecosystem in the world, from disposal of dredged or fill materials associated with developing the Pebble Mine.

NOAA Fisheries determined this week that the Oregon Coast and southern Oregon/Northern California Coast Chinook salmon may warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Ecosystem decline in Washington state is a sign that the state’s “no net loss” policy governing environmental safeguards is not working, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. WDFW is recommending to the Washington legislature a step up in protections to a “net ecological gain” standard.

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources has ended the remaining two finfish net pen aquaculture leases on Washington’s state-owned aquatic lands.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg last week as he announced the availability of $1 billion for Tribal, state, and local governments over five years from the new National Culvert Removal, Replacement and Restoration-Culvert Aquatic Organism Passage Program established by the infrastructure bill.

The Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board this week announced the award of nearly $76 million in grants across the state to help ensure the survival of salmon in Washington.

The Washington State Department of Ecology and the U.S. Department of Energy have agreed on a plan for how to respond to two underground tanks that are leaking radioactive waste into groundwater near the Columbia River, as well as any future tank leaks at the Hanford Site.

The Portland City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to approve an ordinance prohibiting new or expanded fossil fuel terminals in Portland, Oregon. The move comes after a report earlier this year from Multnomah County and the City of Portland documented risks posed by existing fossil fuel terminals and found that the expected Cascadia Earthquake could cause 397 storage tanks to spill oil and other petroleum chemicals.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan Wednesday announced a $79 million investment from the infrastructure bill aimed at reducing toxic contaminants in the Columbia River Basin.

In the outer reaches of the Columbia River Basin, in central Idaho, a proposed open pit gold mining project has received its first significant permit from the state. And it is being challenged by the Nez Perce Tribe and others.

The Owyhee River, a Columbia River basin tributary with headwaters in Nevada, where until 1928 salmon returned, is about to get attention from the Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District. The Corps, along with the Shoshone-Paiute Tribe, is developing a plan to restore aquatic and riparian habitats on a section of the remote desert river.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this week announced a strategy for how the Biden Administration will address a reforestation backlog of four million acres on national forests and plant more than one billion trees over the next decade.

The Biden administration today repealed a second Trump-era regulation that weakened habitat protections for threatened and endangered species.

The first-ever Monarch Butterfly Summit was held in Washington, DC, on June 22-23, a two-day gathering to share the latest science and conservation actions being taken to address the long-term population decline of the western monarch butterfly.

The Biden administration has finalized a rule rescinding a Trump-era regulation that limited the government’s ability to protect habitat that imperiled animals need to survive and recover.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that it will pursue using its Clean Water Act authority to permanently block the Pebble Mine as proposed at Bristol Bay, Alaska. The Bristol Bay watershed supports the largest sockeye salmon run in the world.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week released its first-ever comprehensive workplan to address the decades-old challenge of protecting endangered species from pesticides. The plan establishes four overall strategies and dozens of actions to adopt those protections while providing farmers, public health authorities, and others with access to pesticides.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week announced a proposed rule to restore protective federal water quality standards for the state of Washington. The agency says when finalized, the action will help protect the health of those who eat locally caught fish.

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 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that Bradford Island and surrounding waters of the Columbia River are officially added to the nation’s Superfund List. Bradford Island is part of the Bonneville Dam complex operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife this week announced that the Department of Water Resources will receive $1.5 million in funding for the Juvenile Salmonid Collection System Pilot Project in the McCloud Arm of Shasta reservoir. This project is the first test of a collection system that would be an integral part of reintroducing endangered winter-run Chinook salmon and other runs of salmon to their historical habitat.

In the event of a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, the most vulnerable 220 acres in Portland, and potentially in the Northwest, is located in the Willamette River’s Portland Harbor where over 90 percent of Oregon’s liquid fossil fuel supply is stored, according to a recent report by EcoNorthwest. The resulting fuel spill would send millions of gallons of oil and gas into the river, adversely impacting salmon and steelhead in the Willamette and Columbia rivers, many of which are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Draft permits that govern oil and grease discharges, pH, and cooling water discharges from Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams on the upper Columbia River are out for public comment by both the Washington Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Above average rain and snow across the Columbia River basin in December and a forecast for colder than normal temperatures and higher than normal precipitation over the next few months is offering some hope of blunting the long-standing drought in the Northwest.

The title of the CBB December 21, 2021 feedback, ‘A FUTURE WITHOUT WILD SALMON IS A FUTURE WITHOUT SALMON’ is very accurate.

Newer technology is allowing biologists to more quickly, more accurately and with less effort map areas where improvements are needed to restore habitat for Columbia River basin salmon and steelhead.

Deschutes River Conservancy, in partnership with Central Oregon Irrigation District and North Unit Irrigation District, is launching the 2022 Deschutes Water Bank Pilot Program. The program is a local, flexible, and voluntary water management tool, which allows for the easier movement of water to meet farmer and river needs in times of scarcity. 

Our rivers are a powerhouse for every living thing. But for how long? With high demand for water and most of Oregon experiencing drought amid a warming climate, the future of our rivers is threatened. This year, the Deschutes River experienced the lowest period of natural flow since irrigation districts began using Wickiup Reservoir to store water in 1949.

After nearly ten months of negotiations, a last minute agreement last weekend between conservationists and owners of private forest will significantly change Oregon’s 1971 Forest Practices Act and add new protections for sensitive fish and wildlife species on over 10 million acres of private forest land in the state.

The Washington Department of Ecology is considering revisions to state water quality standards to ensure salmonid nests have enough oxygen to support incubating eggs and newly hatched young, including adding a dissolved oxygen requirement in gravel beds of rivers and streams.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has started a process to revise state hydraulic rules related to construction projects in state waters, with the goal of streamlining the environmental permitting process for salmon recovery projects and other fish habitat restoration.

Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland has signed the Confederated Salish and Kootenai-Montana Compact, formally executing the Montana Water Rights Protection Act enacted by Congress late last year.

Beavers are often translocated to restore populations in areas, reduce their conflicts with humans and to take advantage of their ability to improve ecosystems.