River Managers Bump Up Lower Granite Tailwater Temps A Bit To Save Cooler Dworshak Water For Coming Chinook, Steelhead
July 22nd, 2021
After proposing numerous measures aimed at cooling Lower Granite Dam tailwater temperature to aid salmon and steelhead passage, hydro and fisheries managers agreed this week to a measure that would actually heat the tailwater by as much as 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit for the next few weeks.
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Oregon, Groups Seek Injunction To Increase Spill For Salmon, Steelhead; Drop Dam Pools To Speed Fish Through ‘Too Hot Reservoirs’
July 19th, 2021
The state of Oregon, as well as nearly a dozen conservation and fishing groups, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Portland a request for a preliminary injunction that, if granted, would significantly increase spill next year at lower Columbia and Snake river dams and lower the operating pools behind the dams. The measures are intended to aid juvenile and adult salmon and steelhead migrating in the river.
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Federal Judge Orders Corps To Take Immediate Action To Protect ESA-Listed Willamette Valley Wild Spring Chinook, Steelhead; ‘No Patience For Further Delay’
July 15th, 2021
U.S. District Court Judge Marco Hernandez Wednesday outlined in a draft order Wednesday actions that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must take to protect threatened wild spring chinook and winter steelhead at its Willamette Valley dams. The case has been in the courts for three years.
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Corps’ Rejection Of Lowering Pool Level At Lower Granite Elevated To Higher-Ups; Fisheries Managers Say Will Help Fish, Corps Says Too Dangerous For Barges
July 15th, 2021
While agreeing to at least investigate most of a suite of water saving and temperature improvement modifications at lower Snake River dams proposed by Oregon last week, at this week’s meeting of the interagency Technical Management Team the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said one thing it can’t do because of safety concerns is to lower the pool level at Lower Granite Dam.
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With Hot, Dry Weather Since March, Columbia Basin Facing Reduced Water Supply, Low Flows; Washington Declares Statewide Drought Emergency
July 15th, 2021
At the end of February, much of the Columbia River basin showed near to above normal water supply forecasts. But with dry weather taking hold in March, and staying there, the picture now is quite dire, with some areas facing the driest April-September water volume on record.
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Columbia Basin Collaborative Issues More Details On Membership, Framework; NW RiverPartners Wants ‘Reset’
July 15th, 2021
The Columbia Basin Collaborative this week more clearly defined who in the region is invited to participate in a process aimed at improving salmon and steelhead recovery in the Columbia River basin.
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Friday (July 9) Update: Oregon Proposes Six Changes Aiming At Cooling Lower Snake For Salmon; One Approved, More Discussion On Others
July 9th, 2021
Oregon today proposed a suite of six modifications aimed at keeping lower Snake River water at Lower Granite dam cool for sockeye salmon, while also extending the availability of cold flow augmentation water from Idaho’s Dworshak Dam out through the end of August.
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Endangered Sockeye Moving Past Lower Granite Dam This Week As Operations Mitigating For Heat Continue
July 8th, 2021
Over 450 endangered sockeye salmon have entered the Snake River at Ice Harbor Dam and will either swim upstream past Lower Granite Dam and eventually find the Sawtooth Basin where they will spawn naturally, be trapped by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game at Lower Granite and hauled to the Eagle Hatchery, home to Idaho’s captive rearing program, or they could perish in the warming waters of the lower Snake River.
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Cantwell, Murkowski Introduce Bill Establishing Tax Incentives To Upgrade Hydro, Remove Obsolete River Obstructions
July 8th, 2021
Last week, U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced Senate Bill 2306, the Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectric and River Restoration Act of 2021, that would create new federal tax incentives to encourage safety, environmental, and grid resiliency upgrades for hydropower dams.