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In an open letter to the governors of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, published this week, a group of scientists well known by those active in Northwest fisheries conservation contend that research overwhelmingly shows that Snake River wild salmon and steelhead populations cannot be recovered without the removal of four dams on the lower river.

Boat traffic within 400 yards of endangered Southern Resident killer whales interrupts their foraging, often leading female whales to cease feeding altogether. That is a key finding from a new analysis of data from suction-cup tags that track the whales’ movement underwater.

Anglers are having some success catching kokanee in Detroit Reservoir lately, thanks in part to the new bonus bag limit of 5 kokanee. But Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is also hearing from anglers that targeting kokanee is resulting in quite a few inadvertently hooked juvenile chinook salmon too.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced this week it has selected John Hairston as administrator and CEO of the Bonneville Power Administration. The appointment was effective Jan. 7.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week formally removed most gray wolves in the lower 48 from the Endangered Species List, which turns management over to state fish and wildlife agencies, including Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The Washington Department of Ecology has revised four water quality permits to allow sterile, all-female steelhead to be raised in marine net pens, instead of Atlantic salmon.

The Washington Department of Ecology will be holding an informational meeting on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Total Maximum Daily Load for Temperature in the Columbia and Lower Snake Rivers on January 28.

Though the coronavirus pandemic threw our lives off kilter for much of 2020, it didn’t freeze movement of major developments in Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead recovery and other important fish and wildlife issues.

Idaho Fish and Game and University of Idaho researchers began a multi-year moose research project in early 2020. Adult survival so far has been better than expected, but populations are still declining in the long term. They hope more research will provide clues on how to help Idaho’s largest big game animal rebound, or at least, discover what’s causing their decline in Idaho and beyond.