BPA MAKES $1 BILLION TREASURY PAYMENT IN FULL AND ON TIME Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007 (PST)

The Bonneville Power Administration has paid the U.S. Treasury $1.045 billion for fiscal year 2007, which ended September 30. This is the full, scheduled annual payment, with interest, plus a prepayment on the U.S. taxpayer investment in the Federal Columbia River Power System (FCRPS), which includes the federal hydropower dams and transmission system. Read More...

PANEL STUDIES OPTIONS FOR LETHAL TAKE OF CALIFORNIA SEAL LIONS Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007 (PST)

A panel of experts this week pondered which California sea lions might be made to pay the ultimate price for plundering spring chinook salmon returning to the Columbia River. Read More...

PROPOSED PINNIPED SONAR BARRIER RAISES TECHNICAL CONCERNS Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007 (PST)

Technical concerns voiced by resource managers and regulatory agencies may not derail an "innovative" sea lion deterrence experiment, but the project is definitely off the fast track until the issues can be addressed. Read More...

PROJECT AIMED AT DISPERSING TERNS FROM COLUMBIA RIVER ESTUARY Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007 (PST)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hopes to take the first step in its Caspian tern relocation plan next year in time to lure some of the birds to western Oregon's Fern Ridge Lake, and away from their favored nesting site in the Columbia River estuary. Read More...

NOAA FISHERIES ADOPTS FIRST COLUMBIA BASIN FISH RECOVERY PLAN Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007 (PST)

NOAA Fisheries Service on Monday announced the adoption of an Endangered Species Act recovery plan for upper Columbia spring-run chinook salmon and upper Columbia River steelhead. Read More...

RESEARCH: HATCHERY FISH SHOW ‘STUNNING' LOSS OF REPRODUCTIVE ABILITY Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007 (PST)

The rearing of steelhead trout in hatcheries causes a dramatic and unexpectedly fast drop in their ability to reproduce in the wild, a new Oregon State University study shows, and raises serious questions about the wisdom of historic hatchery practices. Read More...

FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS REASSESSMENT OF COASTAL COHO ESA STATUS Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007 (PST)

A federal court judge on Friday (Oct. 5) ordered that the status of the Oregon coast coho salmon, which has bounced on and off the Endangered Species Act list, be assessed once again. Read More...

IDAHO NPCC MEMBER KEMPTON APPOINTED TO UTILITIES COMMISSION Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007 (PST)

Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter this week announced the appointment of Jim Kempton, an Idaho member of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, to fill a vacancy on the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. Read More...

BPA APPOINTS DECKER AS NEW CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007 (PST)

Anita J. Decker has joined the Bonneville Power Administration as the agency's new chief operating officer. Decker has 27 years of experience working on Northwest electric power operations and issues, most recently at PacifiCorp where she served as a vice president for the company. Read More...

NOAA GRANTS TWO GROUPS $600,000 FOR FISH HABITAT PROJECTS Posted on Friday, October 12, 2007 (PST)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has awarded grants totaling $600,000 to two Portland-based partnerships to restore or improve important fish habitat in Washington and Oregon. Read More...