In an effort to recover salmon and steelhead runs in the Columbia River basin, Washington Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee announced today a joint state and federal effort to determine the impacts and benefits of breaching the four lower Snake River dams.
Plaintiffs in the challenge to the Columbia/Snake River biological opinion for salmon and steelhead filed this week an unopposed stay in federal court that effectively puts the litigation on hold while all the parties search for comprehensive salmon recovery solutions.
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.
A lawsuit filed last year that challenged NOAA’s Fisheries’ authorization of the Southeast Alaska commercial troll fishery was partly resolved earlier this month in a Seattle federal court when the judge found the federal agency in violation of the Endangered Species Act. A final judgement could be ready later this month.
In-season management of Columbia River fisheries came to an end this week as Oregon and Washington held this year’s final two-state Columbia River Compact hearing after a spring, summer and fall of mixed salmon and steelhead returns.
A plan released in January for Columbia River cold water refuges that are intended to provide relief for migrating salmon and steelhead during warm periods in the Columbia River offers more than just a list of potential refuges from the river’s mouth to McNary Dam.
Early fall wildfires in the western states and the smoke they generate pose a risk to birds migrating in the Pacific Flyway, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey. GPS data from the 2020 wildfire season indicate that at least some migratory birds may take longer and use more energy to avoid wildfire smoke.
