Wild Salmon & Steelhead News is published monthly by the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition. Read on to learn about the Columbia-Snake River Basin’s endangered wild salmon and steelhead, the many benefits they deliver to people and ecosystems, and the extinction crisis they face today - unless we act! Find out how SOS is helping lead efforts to restore health, connectivity, and resilience to the rivers and streams these fish depend upon in the Columbia-Snake Basin and how you can get involved to help restore healthy, abundant, and harvestable populations and sustain more just and prosperous communities. To learn more and/or get involved, contact Martha Campos.
1. Envisioning a free-flowing lower Snake River
2. Progress to prevent Snake River dams from driving salmon and steelhead to extinction
3. "Envisioning a restored river is an exercise in joy." An interview with Mark Titus, NWAAE Artist
4. Take Action: Protect endangered salmon, orcas, rivers, and the ecosystem we depend on
5. Celebrate salmon, orcas, and rivers in upcoming spring events!
6. Salmon & River media roundup and resources
1. Envisioning a free-flowing lower Snake River
The pristine, clear, cold waters of the Columbia-Snake River Basin were home to millions of adult salmon and steelhead. For millennia, wild Snake and Columbia River salmon and steelhead have delivered vast cultural, economic, nutritional, and ecological benefits to the people, fish, and wildlife of the Northwest.
Salmon and steelhead returning from the Pacific Ocean, swim against the current in search of their natal spawning gravels. When the Columbia and Snake Rivers flowed freely, juvenile salmon and steelhead took as few as five days to complete their migration to the ocean—due to the swiftly moving current of the Columbia and Snake Rivers. As a keystone species, healthy salmon and steelhead populations are a critical nutrient link between healthy oceans, rivers, streams, forests, and wildlife. Over 130 species, including critically endangered Southern Resident orcas, benefit from and utilize the ocean-origin nutrients that salmon and steelhead deliver.
The state of salmon populations and rivers reflects the overall health of the ecosystem and shapes our future. However, the lower Snake River dams are damaging the Northwest’s way of life. The future of the Columbia and Snake Rivers, salmon, and communities, must include access to clean water and an ecosystem with a balanced web of life, healthy rivers, oceans, and lands.
With your strong support and advocacy, we’ve made truly historic progress to advance salmon and steelhead recovery, lower Snake River restoration, and dam service replacement planning. On this month’s Wild Salmon and Steelhead News, we are inspired to dive into our collective vision of a restored Columbia and Snake Rivers!
Read on to learn more about the urgency to restore river conditions, updates on lower Snake River dam replacement planning, an exciting opportunity to share your vision on what a restored lower Snake River would mean to you, and ways to take action to defend our progress to recover salmon and a healthy ecosystem!
2. Progress to prevent Snake River dams from driving salmon and steelhead to extinction
A Litany of Salmon, © Eileen Klatt
Habitat destruction from the construction and operation of the four lower Snake River dams is the single greatest cause of mortality for the basin’s native fish today. The dams transformed a healthy and free-flowing river into a series of large, warm, stagnant reservoirs, creating conditions that harm and kill both juvenile and adult fish, restrict access to clean water, and disrupt Tribal sacred sites and homes:
Hot Water Temperatures: The dams elevate river water temperatures to exceed 68° F, causing salmon to suffer harmful effects, including migration disruption, increased susceptibility to disease, suffocation, and, in the worst case, death.
Toxic Algal Blooms: The dams are creating warm and stagnant water conditions allowing for toxic algal blooms to grow and make the river sick, unsafe, and dangerous for people, pets, communities, the environment, and salmon. These toxic algal blooms are also straining the limited recreational and fishing opportunities on the lower Snake River.
Inundated Tribes’ Sacred and Cultural Sites: In the "Historic and Ongoing Impacts of Federal Dams on the Columbia River Basin Tribes" analysis, the Department of the Interior reports how the dams and reservoirs have flooded hundreds of "historical Tribal housing, fishing, cultural, and burial sites." Tribal treaty rights require the federal government to restore salmon populations and access to historic fishing grounds.
Oil Spills: The lower Snake River dams have a history of spilling oil and lubricants (oils that cause cancer and have adverse health effects on the human body) into the river. In 2022, a turbine system at the Little Goose Dam spilled hundreds of gallons of oil into the Snake River for over 90 days.
Dams Wasting Water: The lower Snake River dams waste roughly 30,400 acre feet of water every year due to evaporation from the reservoirs. The Stockholm Environment Institute’s study showed the water lost to evaporation each year could meet the residential needs of over 240,000 Washingtonians or grow over 8,000 acres of Washington apples.
"Inaction will result in the catastrophic loss of the majority of Columbia River basin salmon and steelhead stocks," states NOAA in their "Rebuilding Interior Columbia Basin Salmon and Steelhead" report. The dams have negatively impacted the river and caused a steep decline in wild salmon and steelhead runs, with 37% of Snake River Spring/Summer Chinook populations and 19% of Snake River steelhead populations below critical quasi-extinction thresholds, according to a Nez Perce fisheries study updated in 2024. As NOAA writes, restoring Snake River salmon and steelhead to healthy and abundant levels would require restoration of the lower Snake River and its migration corridor by breaching the four lower Snake River dams as part of a comprehensive suite of actions.
Restoring a healthy and resilient Columbia and Snake Rivers
SOS is working closely with our coalition member organizations to support, defend, and help advance key elements of the historic Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA) announced by the Biden Administration and the 'Six Sovereigns': a powerful new regional alliance with four Tribes: the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Yakama Nations and two states: Oregon and Washington. The RCBA is the first significant step forward to realize the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI)—the visionary, comprehensive, regionally supported roadmap to rebuild imperiled native fish populations, honor Tribal treaty rights, meet regional energy and decarbonization goals, and restore healthy ecosystems while supporting a robust Pacific Northwest economy. The CBRI includes many important pieces, including a path to lower Snake River dam removal, starting with dam service replacement planning that is now underway.
A few key takeaways from the lower Snake River dam replacement planning:
Water Supply Study: The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) and Washington Department of Ecology released a draft Lower Snake River Water Supply Replacement Study, providing clear evidence that there would be plenty of water in a free-flowing lower Snake River to support farmers, cities, and industries—even in low-water years. The report identifies practical solutions for replacing irrigation infrastructure and ensuring uninterrupted water access. Each solution considered had to be technically feasible, able to be constructed and operational before dam breaching, to avoid environmental, cultural, social, and water availability fatal flaws, and to make economic sense. With smart investments, we can continue to use water from the Snake River while restoring salmon and steelhead populations, honoring treaty obligations, and healing our ecosystems. Learn more about the study.
Transportation Study: The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) released a Phase 1 status report on transportation in the lower Snake River region. The study confirmed barge traffic on the four lower Snake River dams has declined over the years, and rail lines through the Columbia Gorge would likely have capacity to handle additional freight. In future phases, WSDOT will develop a detailed transportation model to analyze how freight may move using railroads, highways, and rivers when the lower Snake River is restored. By investing in rail infrastructure, upgrading roads, and leveraging multimodal transportation options, we can ensure a thriving agricultural industry and a restored river for future generations. Learn more about the study.
Recreation Study: Earlier this year, the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) sought public input on a survey intended to capture insights on current and potential future recreation activities, preferences, accessibility needs, and historic and cultural preservation and protection along a free-flowing Snake River. All input received will be summarized in a final report assessing future recreation demand and will be shared with state, federal, and Tribal partners. Thank you to all who submitted a survey response on expanding and diversifying recreation opportunities for current and future generations!
Recovering abundant salmon populations by restoring the lower Snake River through dam removal is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Northwest and nation. Replacement planning process and collaborative implementation of the CBRI puts us one step closer to solutions for a healthier Columbia-Snake River Basin, upholding our nation's promises to Tribes, and reconnecting this endangered fish to 5,500 miles of pristine, protected rivers and streams in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
3. "Envisioning a restored river is an exercise in joy." An interview with Mark Titus, NWAAE Artist
Britt Freda, creative director of Northwest Artists Against Extinction (NWAAE, a project of SOS), recently caught up with Mark Titus, filmmaker and founder of August Island Pictures and Eva’s Wild, and a new NWAAE partner artist!
Britt: "Mark, you’ve spent decades creating intimate and inspiring documentary films focused on salmon and some of the greatest threats to the species. In your films—The Wild, The Breach, and the third of the trilogy, the soon-to-be-released, The Turn—you ask your viewers the question, 'How do you save what you love?' This month’s WSSN is focused on Envisioning a Restored River. What does that mean to you? What do you envision when you imagine ‘saving what you love?'"
Mark: "Envisioning a restored river is an exercise in joy. Rivers are like gravity; mountains; trees and salmon. They do what is in their nature. For rivers, that is, feel the pull of gravity and find the path home to the ocean. This, of course, only happens when they are free to flow.
Like an artery might be blocked in the heart of a person, the 140 mile stretch of the Snake River is currently blocked by four salmon-killing dams. And like a person gets with a blockage to their heart, this blockage on the Snake has made the river sick. Consequently, this has threatened the very existence of salmon for future generations.
When I close my eyes and see a Snake River flowing unhindered, I see healthy baby salmon flowing down-river to begin their great life in the sea in a matter of days, not weeks. I see healthy riverside communities on-level with a dynamic, free-flowing clean river—with healthy economies benefitting from visitor dollars in-flowing from people wanting to fish, raft, hike, hunt, and play in and next to a healthy river. And I see the very symbol of life-renewal itself, wild salmon, returning to their thriving, healthy, cold, wilderness birth-houses to lay down their lives for more than 130 different creatures—and create new life with their ultimate sacrifice.
This is joy. This is necessary. This is possible. We can do this."
What would a restored lower Snake River mean to you?
We are deeply inspired by discussions across the region to shape a vision and identify opportunities and priorities for accessing and experiencing a healthy restored river—and what it means to you, your family, your community, and/or your business. Share your vision by submitting your comments below, as well as any photos or videos of you recreating on or near a river. Thank you for sharing your vision with us!
4. Take Action: Protect endangered salmon, orcas, rivers, and the ecosystem we depend on
We are in a moment right now of urgency to protect salmon recovery efforts in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Take Action: we need your help to continue our region’s work to recover salmon, restore healthy rivers in the Columbia-Snake Basin, and honor treaty rights and federal commitments made to Tribes.
Action 1. Stop the "Salmon Extinction" legislation by Sen. Risch and Rep. Newhouse!
Lower Monumental, © Rachel TeannalachIn late January, Sen. Jim Risch (ID) and Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-4) introduced harmful legislation in Congress, which exaggerates the importance of the four lower Snake River dams' energy production and ignores the salmon extinction crisis facing the Pacific Northwest today.
If the bill becomes law, it will permanently require federal agencies to follow an illegal and outdated 2020 dam operations plan that would harm all salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia-Snake River Basin that migrate above Bonneville Dam, impede opportunities to develop a cleaner, more reliable energy system, and violate the U.S. government’s obligations to Tribal Nations whose treaty rights have been undermined by the dams.
Washington, Idaho, and Oregon Residents: Please urge your members of Congress to reject this damaging legislation and work together on effective and affordable solutions outlined in the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI) that recover salmon and invest in our communities—moving everyone forward together!
Headwaters, © Rachel TeannalachThe same illegal and outdated 2020 dam operations plan that Sen. Risch and Rep. Newhouse are trying to keep, is up for review! We have the opportunity to tell the federal government and members of Congress about all the harm the lower Snake River dams and their reservoirs have caused to endangered salmon and steelhead and the Columbia-Snake Basin.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation have initiated a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) to revise the 2020 Columbia River System Operations Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), as agreed to in the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA), signed in December 2023 by federal agencies, the states of Oregon and Washington, four lower Columbia River Tribes, Bonneville Power Administration, and plaintiffs.
The SEIS comment period seeks to gather new information and circumstances since the previous Columbia River System Operations EIS completed in 2020. Litigation by salmon advocates challenging the woefully inadequate and certainly illegal 2020 plan was paused as part of the RCBA when it was announced in late 2023. Under the federal agencies’ own analysis, the 2020 operations, in combination with the foreseeable effects of climate change, will lead to the extinction of many salmon populations in the coming years.
Your comments will shape the federal government’s decision to develop a new federal plan that aligns with the CBRI to recover healthy and abundant salmon across the Columbia Basin, uphold U.S. Government commitments to Tribes, and invest in a future where salmon and communities thrive together.
Action 3: Urge BPA to join an energy market that fosters a reliable and resilient energy future!
Columbia Map, © Claire WaichlerThe Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which sells power from federal dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers, has been evaluating two very different energy markets to join: Extended Day Ahead Market (EDAM) or Markets+.
Salmon, orca, and fishing advocates strongly support BPA joining EDAM because it would allow BPA to generate less power from the federal hydrosystem limiting the harm to endangered migrating salmon and steelhead, and encourages the development of new carbon-free resources and transmission. Unfortunately, BPA has published a draft decision to join Markets+, which will create significant problems for regional electric prices, decarbonization, and salmon recovery.
Please send a message to BPA and Northwest elected officials to unify the west and choose an energy market that fosters reliability and affordability for customers while also protecting our environment—including the salmon that define our Northwest way of life.
Thank you for taking action on behalf of salmon, rivers, and future generations!
5. Celebrate salmon, orcas, and rivers in upcoming spring events!
SOS and our coalition partners and allies are organizing events and activities across the region. Join us to speak up for the Columbia-Snake River Basin, its salmon and steelhead, and the Southern Resident orcas who depend on them! Check out upcoming events on SOS' Events page!
Spring & Fall 2025: RECIPROCITY Webinar Series
This year, SOS is hosting a new webinar series: RECIPROCITY! Throughout the series, we will spend time with experts and storytellers who share their experiences, collaborative work, and stories of reciprocity to help recover healthy and abundant salmon populations in the Columbia and Snake Rivers and the benefits they bring to the Northwest and the nation. Thank you to Natural Encounters Conservation Fund for their generous support in sponsoring RECIPROCITY and Annie Brulé for sharing her artwork as part of the webinar series!
Watch the first installment of RECIPROCITY: Advancing Sustainable and Just Energy AND Healthy, Abundant Salmon here. Our special gratitude goes to NW Energy Coalition, Nancy Hirsh, Executive Director and Ben Otto, Consultant, for their captivating conversation about the Northwest energy landscape and the opportunities to address the historical harm to Tribes, salmon, and our ecosystem while advancing clean renewable energy. Thank you to Jess Ludwig, NextGen Salmon Collective leader, an inspiring call to action to hold Bonneville Power Administration accountable to secure a resilient energy future, and to Britt Freda, Northwest Artists Against Extinction, who read poetry from I Sing the Salmon Home: Poems from Washington State, edited by Rena Priest & published by Empty Bowl Press.
April 13, 2025: Watch All Our Relations: Tribute to the Orca at the Social Justice Film Festival
We are excited to announce the All Our Relations: Tribute to the Orca film will screen at the Social Justice Film Festival! The film highlights Indigenous communities' ancient kinship with orcas and salmon, and the importance of reciprocity in our relationship with our caretaker: Mother Nature. A special focus is on the Southern Resident orcas whose survival, like the survival of Indigenous lifeways here in the Pacific Northwest, depends on scha’enexw (the Salmon People).
The film is a project of Se'Si'Le, an Indigenous-led nonprofit organization, in collaboration with Salish Sea and Northern Straits Native Nations, Save Our wild Salmon, Washington Conservation Action, and Eva's Wild.
Buy your ticket to watch the film at the Social Justice Film Festival in Seattle, WA, or watch the film online today!
6. Salmon & River media roundup and resources
As we end our March Wild Salmon & Steelhead News focused on envisioning a restored lower Snake River, we leave you with a recent story about the urgency today for salmon recovery and river restoration and two visual maps of the lower Snake River that outlines the future opportunities of a free-flowing river and the benefits a healthy river will bring:
- ICT News: New studies may lead to removal of Snake River dams
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Imagining a New Future for Lower Snake River, created by Save Our wild Salmon and Defenders of Wildlife, exploring the opportunities of a restored Snake River corridor.
- Beneath the Lower Snake River, created by National Parks Conservation Association, is a visual map of lower Snake River's past landscapes to re-imagine the resources that could once again become part of its future in a free-flowing river.
