NOAA Fisheries Finds ESA Listing Of Gulf Of Alaska Chinook May Be Warranted

Above: Gulf of Alaska river systems where Chinook salmon have been documented are shown in blue. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

In response to a petition to list Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, NOAA Fisheries has found that listing may be warranted. The agency filed a positive 90-day finding in the Federal Register, which is a threshold determination based mainly on the contents of the petition itself. It triggers a more in-depth review to determine whether listing is warranted.

See the Federal Register notice “Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; 90-Day Finding on a Petition To List Gulf of Alaska Chinook Salmon as Threatened or Endangered Under the Endangered Species Act,” here. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/05/24/2024-11381/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-90-day-finding-on-a-petition-to-list-gulf-of-alaska-chinook

On January 11, NOAA Fisheries received a petition from the Wild Fish Conservancy to delineate and list one or more evolutionarily significant units of Chinook salmon in southern Alaska as threatened or endangered. It also requested a critical habitat designation concurrently with the listing.

–CBB, Jan. 18, 2024, GROUP PETITIONS NOAA FISHERIES TO LIST ALASKA CHINOOK SALMON UNDER ESA; STATE SAYS ‘TARGETED ATTACK’ ON ALASKA https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/group-petitions-noaa-fisheries-to-list-alaska-chinook-salmon-under-esa-state-says-targeted-attack-on-alaska/

According to the Conservancy, the petition “encompasses all Chinook populations that enter the marine environment of the Gulf of Alaska.” It “includes all populations on the southern side of the Aleutian Peninsula, Cook Inlet, and the coast of Alaska south of Cook Inlet to the southern end of the Alaska/British Columbia border.”

NOAA Fisheries says it interprets the request as asking to consider populations of Chinook salmon on:

–Southern side of the Alaska Peninsula, including Kodiak Island, Cook Inlet, Prince William Sound

–Gulf of Alaska coastline

–Inside waters of Southeast Alaska to the United States/Canada border

The ESA requires the Secretary of Commerce make a finding within 90 days on whether a petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating the petitioned action may be warranted.

To make a 90-day finding on a petition to list a species, NOAA evaluates whether it presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating the species may be either threatened or endangered. At this stage, the agency does not conduct additional research, or solicit information from outside parties to help evaluate the petition.

“We have reviewed the petition, the literature cited in the petition, and other literature and information available in our files prior to receipt of the petition. We found that the information present in the petition contained numerous factual errors, omissions, incomplete references, and unsupported assertions and conclusions,” said NOAA Fisheries. “Still, we considered missed escapement goals in recent years for many stocks in the petitioned area, and evidence of decreasing size and age at maturity. We concluded that the petition contained enough information for a reasonable person to conclude that the petitioned action may be warranted.”

“With the positive 90-day finding, we are commencing a review of the status of Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon to determine whether listing is warranted. We will convene a status review team of federal scientists to begin an in-depth review of the species’ current status and extinction risk. We will include input from non-federal experts by inviting them to participate as guest consultants to the team as part of a broad-based gathering of information,” said the agency.

“The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has tremendous expertise in salmon biology and management in Alaska,” said NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Administrator Jon Kurland. “In particular, we will seek technical assistance from our state partners on Chinook biology, genetics, and relevant risk factors.”

The status review team will “collect and analyze the best available scientific and commercial information on the species to evaluate its current status and extinction risk,” including:

–Biology

–Ecology

–Abundance and population trends

–Traditional Knowledge

–Threats to the species

The team will develop a status review report that will undergo peer review, and peer reviewer comments will be made publicly available.

Once the status review is complete, NOAA Fisheries must publish a finding as to whether the petitioned action is warranted within 12 months of receipt of the petition. The finding at the 12-month stage is based on a more thorough review of the available information; a positive 90-day finding does not prejudge the outcome of the status review.

“We are dedicating personnel and resources towards a timely completion,” said the agency. “We expect significant challenges given the vast geographical extent of the petitioned area. There is also potential for numerous distinct populations within that area that will each require a separate analysis of its status and trends.

“After completing the status review and considering ongoing conservation efforts, we will determine whether a listing is warranted and publish the finding in the Federal Register.

“If we determine that a listing of one or more evolutionarily significant units is warranted, we will seek public comments on the proposed listing. We will host public hearings and engage with Tribes to provide multiple opportunities for public engagement and input to inform our final listing decision.”

Alaska Department of Fish And Game called the decision “mind boggling.”

“I am deeply disappointed in the decision by NMFS to issue a positive 90-day finding,” said ADFG Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang. “The petition was clearly drafted by people with little knowledge of Alaska and Alaska salmon stocks. It was rife with significant factual errors, omits important data that are widely available, and does not accurately describe the status of Chinook salmon in Alaska. It is mind boggling that NMFS could make a positive finding based on cherry-picked data to support a pre-determined viewpoint. I am concerned that this decision will encourage more frivolous petitions in the future.”

The state said it is concerned that “NMFS appears to be changing their standards based on a petitioner’s ideology. NMFS bent over backwards to issue a positive 90-day finding on this flawed petition while conversely bending over backwards to issue a negative 90-day finding on a recent ringed seal petition from the State of Alaska and others that was well-prepared.”

Vincent-Lang said NOAA Fisheries “needs to treat all petitions equitably in terms of the bar it uses to justify its decisions. Failure to treat petitions equitably raises questions of whether the decisions are arbitrary and capricious.”

Populations of Chinook salmon across their range have been returning in lower numbers in recent years, which in Alaska has been largely attributed to changes in the marine environment. The State of Alaska noted that it “has invested substantially in marine salmon research to better understand the causes of these declines and identify potential solutions.”

“The ESA is the wrong tool to address a downturn in Chinook productivity, and this group is using it as a weapon to further their own interests” said Vincent-Lang. “Simply failing to meet an escapement goal that is calculated to meet maximum sustained yield does not mean a stock is at risk of extinction. As the resource manager, ADFG is both constitutionally obligated and committed to sustainable fisheries management. The State has taken aggressive management measures to conserve these stocks which have been proving successful.”

U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-AK, said, “While I understand that NOAA has to follow its process, I sincerely hope the regulators and scientists will remember that rural Alaskan communities have relied on and lived alongside these salmon for millennia.

“Our communities are built around fish – listing Gulf of Alaska King Salmon as threatened or endangered risks that long-standing relationship. We can’t ignore the freefall our fishing families are experiencing because of declining salmon runs, but we must manage salmon to have high escapement, and traditional knowledge needs to be incorporated with western science.

“Subsistence fishermen who rely on these salmon to feed their families and communities throughout the winter shouldn’t be left in the cold while this administration and Lower 48 environmentalists take another resource away from Alaskans. The far-reaching, negative impacts of this potential listing underlines how urgently we need to act to protect our fish in more concrete ways, like restricting bottom trawling and reducing bycatch.”

Peltola has introduced the bipartisan Bycatch Reduction and Mitigation Act and the Bottom Trawl Clarity Act. Read more here. https://peltola.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=236

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Group Petitions NOAA Fisheries To List Alaska Chinook Salmon Under ESA; State Says ‘Targeted Attack’ On Alaska

The Wild Fish Conservancy has petitioned NOAA Fisheries to list Alaska king salmon (Chinook) under the Endangered Species Act, saying the fish are in “severe decline and poor condition.”

“For decades, scientists have been sounding the alarm that Alaska’s Chinook are in dire trouble,” Wild Fish Conservancy Executive Director Emma Helverson said. “Despite existing management plans and years of efforts by the state of Alaska, Chinook salmon continue to decline in abundance, size, diversity, and spatial structure throughout the state. Through this action, we are asking the federal government to undertake a formal status review and implement protections warranted under the Endangered Species Act, including designating critical habitat protections, to ensure the survival of these iconic fish.”

Wild Fish Conservancy argued in its petition that Chinook salmon populations in Alaska have dropped significantly in recent years due to mixed-stock commercial and sport fishing, bycatch from industrial trawlers, climate change, logging and mining operations, and competition from hatchery-raised fish.

“Most people are unaware that there are Chinook populations in Alaska in far worse condition than [those] in other parts of the Pacific Northwest that already receive protection under the Endangered Species Act due to their severe condition,” Wild Fish Conservancy Biologist Conrad Gowell said. “Ironically, certifiers and the seafood industry are leading concerned consumers to believe Chinook from Alaska are sustainable, when in fact they are disappearing before our very eyes. No one wants to be eating the last wild Chinook from any river.”

The group is seeking federal protections for the salmon species from the Canadian border north to the Aleutian Islands. Wild Fish Conservancy first announced its intent to seek ESA protections for salmon habitat in May 2023.

SalmonState – an organization that advocates for salmon fishing in Alaska – blasted the petition in a statement.

“With this petition, the Wild Fish Conservancy is doubling down on its attempts to shut down fishing in Alaska without consulting with or speaking to the people they’re sledgehammering,” the organization said. “This petition is an extreme attempt to reallocate wild salmon that, once again, fails to consider or address the actual threats to Chinook. Alaskans and others concerned about wild salmon need to be working together to address threats from habitat degradation, to climate change, to hundreds of thousands of Bering Sea salmon bycaught and killed in Seattle-based trawl nets. Instead, the Wild Fish Conservancy is continuing to attack some of the people who care about wild salmon the most – salmon fishermen – and putting all of Alaska in a defensive position that will ultimately make problems worse instead of better.”

The move to seek ESA protection follows the Wild Fish Conservancy’s legal battle with NOAA Fisheries and the Alaskan state government over the state’s Chinook salmon trolling fishery. The group claims that the commercial harvest is starving killer whales by depleting their prey and has asked courts to shut it down. Only the intervention of a federal appeals court allowed the 2023 summer season to take place.

–CBB, June 29, 2023, NINTH CIRCUIT RULES FOR NOAA, SOUTHEAST ALASKA TROLLERS OVER INCIDENTAL TAKE; FISHING FOR CHINOOK SALMON CAN BEGIN JULY 1

The petition identifies Chinook populations that use the Gulf of Alaska which includes fish that spawn in the rivers of Southeast Alaska, Cook Inlet, Kodiak, and the Alaska Peninsula.

“This petition is a targeted attack on Alaska by the same organization that sued to shut down the Southeast Alaska troll fishery,” said Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang. “As the resource manager, ADFG is both constitutionally obligated and committed to sustainable fisheries management. The State has taken aggressive management measures to conserve these stocks which have been proving successful. The ESA is the wrong tool to address a downturn in Chinook productivity, and this group is using it as a weapon to further their own interests.”

“Populations of Chinook salmon across their range have been returning in lower numbers in recent years, which in Alaska has been largely attributed to changes in the marine environment. The State of Alaska has invested substantially in marine salmon research to better understand the causes of these declines and identify potential solutions, while continuing to limit fishery impacts on these stocks,” said an ADFG statement.

“The State of Alaska is currently reviewing the petition and will work with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to the extent allowable to ensure they have the best available information to inform their decision.”

NMFS has up to 90 days to either accept or reject the petition. If its accepted, within a year, the agency will begin a review of Alaska’s king salmon using available scientific and commercial data and decide if that information supports listing the salmon as threatened or endangered and if so, publish a proposed rule to put out for public comment before making a final decision.

For background, see:

— CBB, May 5, 2023, FEDERAL JUDGE’S REJECTION OF NOAA BIOP MAY SHUT DOWN SE ALASKA COMMERCIAL TROLL FISHERY FOR CHINOOK SALMON; ALASKA SEEKS STAY, APPEAL, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/FEDERAL-JUDGE-REJECTION-OF-NOAA-BIOP-MAY-SHUT-DOWN-SE-ALASKA-COMMERCIAL-TROLL-FISHERY-FOR-CHINOOK-SALMON-ALASKA-SEEKS-STAY-APPEAL/

— CBB, January 27, 2023, PENDING COURT DECISION COULD DECIDE FATE OF SE ALASKA CHINOOK TROLLING SEASONS, INCREASED SALMON FOR ENDANGERED KILLER WHALES, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/PENDING-COURT-DECISION-COULD-DECIDE-FATE-OF-SE-ALASKA-CHINOOK-TROLLING-SEASONS-INCREASED-SALMON-FOR-ENDANGERED-KILLER-WHALES/

— CBB, August 11, 2022, FEDERAL JUDGE SAYS NOAA’S APPROVAL OF SOUTHEAST ALASKA TROLL SALMON FISHERY FAILS TO PROTECT ESA-LISTED SALMON, WHALES, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/FEDERAL-JUDGE-SAYS-NOAAS-APPROVAL-OF-SOUTHEAST-ALASKA-TROLL-SALMON-FISHERY-FAILS-TO-PROTECT-ESA-LISTED-SALMON-WHALES/

–CBB, Oct. 21, 2021, FEDERAL JUDGE SAYS NOAA VIOLATED ESA WHEN APPROVING ALASKA SALMON FISHERY; NO CERTAINTY NEW HATCHERIES WILL MITIGATE HARVEST https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/federal-judge-says-noaa-violated-esa-when-approving-alaska-salmon-fishery-no-certainty-new-hatcheries-will-mitigate-harvest/

— CBB, October 14, 2021, WILD FISH ADVOCATES FILE LAWSUIT CHALLENGING WASHINGTON HATCHERY REFORM POLICY CHANGES, INCREASED HATCHERY SALMON FOR ORCAS, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/WILD-FISH-ADVOCATES-FILE-LAWSUIT-CHALLENGING-WASHINGTON-HATCHERY-REFORM-POLICY-CHANGES-INCREASED-HATCHERY-SALMON-FOR-ORCAS/

–See CBB, April 29, 2021, “NOAA Fisheries Conducting Status Review Of Endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/noaa-fisheries-conducting-status-review-of-endangered-southern-resident-killer-whales/

— CBB, March 5, 2021, ESA-LISTED PUGET SOUND KILLER WHALES ONCE RELIED ON NOW ENDANGERED SALMON FOR PREY; PRODUCE MORE HATCHERY FISH TO HELP 75 REMAINING SOUTHERN RESIDENTS? https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/esa-listed-puget-sound-killer-whales-once-relied-on-now-endangered-salmon-for-prey-produce-more-hatchery-fish-to-help-75-remaining-southern-residents/

— CBB, Dec. 17, 2020, CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY ISSUES INTENT TO SUE OVER LACK OF FINAL RULE FOR EXPANDED CRITICAL HABITAT FOR KILLER WHALES https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/center-for-biological-diversity-issues-intent-to-sue-over-lack-of-final-rule-for-expanded-critical-habitat-for-killer-whales/

— CBB, Dec. 11, 2020, GUEST COLUMN: PACIFIC KILLER WHALES ARE DYING — NEW RESEARCH SHOWS WHY https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/guest-column-pacific-killer-whales-are-dying-new-research-shows-why/

— CBB, Jan. 15, 2016, “Study: Chinook Salmon Make Up 80 Percent Of Diet For ESA-Listed Killer Whales In Pacific Northwest” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/435857.aspx

— CBB, June 27, 2014, NOAA REPORT DETAILS THREATS TO SOUTHERN RESIDENT KILLER WHALES; MAJORITY OF DIET COMES FROM CHINOOK https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/noaa-report-details-threats-to-southern-resident-killer-whales-majority-of-diet-comes-from-chinook/

— CBB, Nov. 21, 2018, “ORCA RECOVERY TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE CONSIDERING REMOVAL OF LOWER SNAKE DAMS” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/orca-recovery-task-force-recommendations-include-considering-removal-of-lower-snake-dams/

— CBB, September 28, 2018, “Orca Task Force Recommendations Include Focus On Salmon Runs; Non-Native Game Fish To ‘Predatory,’” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/441561.aspx

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NOAA Grants $27 Million For Projects To Help Restore Willamette Valley Imperiled Salmon, Steelhead

NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation is using $27 million under the Infrastructure Law to support four major projects aiming at boosting threatened salmon and steelhead in Oregon’s Willamette River watershed.

The funding is aimed at reinvigorating efforts to restore salmon and steelhead in the Willamette watershed listed under the Endangered Species Act.

“This funding is a true lifeline to restoration practitioners who have been working to recover Endangered Species Act-listed Upper Willamette River Chinook and steelhead,” says NOAA Fisheries Biologist Anne Mullan. “These species are on the downward trajectory, but this funding gives us hope.”

Multiple major dams on the Willamette River tributaries stand between salmon and steelhead and their historic spawning grounds in the upper watershed. The Office of Habitat Conservation’s Restoration Center and its partners are restoring degraded habitat in the lower watershed. NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region works with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and others to provide passage for Chinook salmon and steelhead between the lower river and their upstream spawning habitat.

Four awards to the McKenzie Watershed Alliance, American Rivers, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and the Clackamas Partnership will:

–Restore floodplain and side channel habitat to provide spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead

–Remove multiple barriers to fish passage including a dam on a Willamette River tributary

–Reduce the risks of flooding, forest fires, and drinking water contamination

–Provide jobs, educational and workforce development opportunities, new accessible greenspace, and recreational activities to local community members

In addition to helping Upper Willamette River Chinook and steelhead, the work will benefit other listed salmon and trout species as well as Pacific lamprey, which are important to Native American tribes.

“What’s exciting about this large influx of funding is that our partners are able to implement multiple large- and small-scale projects all at one time,” says Lauren Senkyr, Marine Habitat Resource Specialist for NOAA. “In the past it might have taken 5 to 10 years to get all of this work done. We’re pushing the fast-forward button on restoration and recovery.”

NOAA staff also help partners review project designs and monitoring plans and speed up permitting and regulatory compliance processes so they can start construction sooner.

Historically, hundreds of thousands of Chinook salmon and steelhead returned to the Willamette River Basin in Oregon to spawn. Fish counts at the Willamette Falls fish ladders show those numbers have plummeted. The current 5-year average annual return is about 30,000 Chinook and 3,000 steelhead. Aside from the major dams, pollution, climate change, and habitat degradation caused by development are threatening the survival of migratory fish.

“Salmon and steelhead move between streams, rivers, estuaries, and the ocean, depending on their life stage,” says NOAA Marine Habitat Resource Specialist Larissa Lee. “In each habitat they need places to hide and forage and certain temperature or chemical cues to tell them to move on to the next stage. It’s difficult to control the ocean, but we can improve conditions on land by giving them access to high-quality habitat for spawning adults and rearing juveniles.”

Willamette salmon and trout stocks once supported robust fisheries that benefited commercial fishers, the tourism industry, and local communities. Salmon and trout also hold cultural significance with local tribes.

“These species have been important to the culture and diet of the people of the Pacific Northwest for thousands of years,” says Megan Hilgart, Marine Habitat Resource Specialist for NOAA. “There’s a really strong commitment to try to get back the subsistence-level fisheries for the tribes.”

In addition, salmon bring nutrients from the ocean deep inland, supporting entire forest ecosystems. Pacific salmon species die after spawning. Their bodies provide food for species ranging from black bears to Douglas fir, which absorb nutrients from decaying fish through their roots.

The restoration work itself provides jobs and educational opportunities, helps mitigate flood and forest fire risks, and will invite the community back to rivers and waterfront parks.

Over the coming months the agency will be posting a series of stories about each project.

On Sept. 1, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon issued an interim injunction that requires the Corps to undertake specified actions to improve fish passage and water quality at several Willamette Valley Project dams for the benefit of the listed salmon and steelhead.

Judge Marco Hernandez, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court of Oregon, ruled the Corps was not moving fast enough to ensure survival and recovery of the wild spring chinook and wild winter steelhead.

“Far short of moving towards recovery, the Corps is pushing the UWR Chinook and steelhead even closer to the brink of extinction. The record demonstrates that the listed salmonids are in a more precarious condition today than they were at the time NMFS issued the 2008 BiOp,” Hernandez wrote.

Plaintiffs Northwest Environmental Defense Center, WildEarth Guardians and Native Fish Society, represented by attorneys at Advocates for the West, asked the court to force the two federal agencies – the Corps and NOAA Fisheries – to reevaluate the impacts of the Corps’ Willamette Valley dams on the threatened fish, to reinitiate consultation and to make immediate operational adjustments to dams on four tributaries of the Willamette River (North Santiam, South Santiam, McKenzie and Middle Fork Willamette) that the groups say block between 40 and 90 percent of spawning habitat.

The last biological opinion by NOAA Fisheries of the Willamette River dams’ operations was in 2008. However, when the lawsuit was filed 10 years after the BiOp had been released, many of the actions required by the BiOp’s reasonable and prudent alternative had not been implemented by the Corps.

Among Hernandez’ orders are:

• Deep reservoir drawdowns at Cougar Dam on the South Fork of the McKenzie River and at Fall Creek Dam on the Middle Fork Willamette to aid downstream migration of juvenile salmon and steelhead;

• Spring spill at Foster Dam on the South Santiam River to aid juvenile downstream migration;

• Adult outplanting, spring spill and juvenile passage at Green Peter Dam on the Middle Fork Santiam River;

• Spring spill and the use of regulating outlets at Lookout Point Dam on the Middle Fork Willamette River;

• Use of temperature control outlets at Detroit and Big Cliff dams on the North Fork Santiam River.

In its draft EIS, the Corps says that the ESA-focused objectives for its alternatives are:

1. Allow greater flexibility in water management (related to refill, drawdown timing, and other water management measures).

2. Increase opportunities for the creation of nature-based structures during maintenance of USACE-owned revetments (structures that help prevent bank erosion).

3. Allow greater flexibility in hydropower production.

4. Increase ESA-listed fish passage survival at WVS dams.

5. Improve water management during the conservation season to benefit anadromous ESA-listed fish and other authorized project purposes.

6. Reduce pollutant levels to restore impaired water quality associated with the WVS dams to benefit anadromous ESA-listed species.

7. Reduce spawning and rearing habitat competition caused by hatchery fish.

The Corps is working in coordination with the National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bonneville Power Administration, and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to implement the injunction measures, some of which began in fall 2021.

Also see:

–CBB, Sept. 15, 2023, AS MEASURES IMPLEMENTED TO AID ESA SALMONIDS AT WILLAMETTE VALLEY DAMS, CORPS STUDYING WHETHER TO END HYDRO PRODUCTION https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/as-measures-implemented-to-aid-esa-salmonids-at-willamette-valley-dams-corps-studying-whether-to-end-hydro-production/

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Idaho, Montana, Utilities, Ports File Opposition To Proposed Salmon Recovery MOU, Stay Mediated By Biden Administration

Idaho and Montana – along with the region’s public power utilities and inland ports in Idaho, among others, are opposed to the Biden Administration’s Memorandum of Understanding on Columbia Basin salmon recovery and have filed their displeasure in federal court, saying they were entirely left out of making the deal.

In mid-December, the Biden Administration, Columbia River treaty tribes and the states of Oregon and Washington agreed in an MOU to work to restore wild salmon populations in the Columbia and Snake river basins and to stay (delay) ongoing litigation for five years, with an option for the stay to extend out as long as 10 years.

The MOU and the stay request was filed in the U.S. District Court of Oregon Dec. 14. Signatories to the MOU and stay are the federal government and what the government calls the six sovereigns. They are Oregon and Washington, along with Columbia River tribes – Nez Perce Tribe, Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation.

In its opposition to the motion for a stay, the Public Power Council pointed out that there are actually 14 sovereigns in the Columbia River basin, including other tribes and the states of Montana and Idaho. So more than half the region’s sovereigns were left out of negotiations that would have a huge impact on dams, river transportation, agriculture and local economies, said PPC.

In a Dec. 15, 2023 press release, Idaho Gov. Brad Little and the state’s Lieutenant Gov. Scott Bedke called the agreement “on dam breaching” a “missed opportunity.”

“Instead of working together to find common ground, the signatories to the agreement pandered to their political supporters and paid no attention to the REAL impacts dam removal would have on Idahoans,” the Governor and Lt. Governor wrote.

“As Idaho state leaders, we are united in our strong opposition to removing the dams because it would eliminate a clean source of energy (hydropower) that powers the entire region, harm agriculture, and fundamentally change our economy for the worse.

“Sustaining healthy salmon and steelhead populations is important. But make no mistake, that is not what this deal does.

“The deal that was released to the parties with only weeks to examine is an aspirational document that spends Pacific Northwest ratepayer money with little to no accountability for outcomes in fish populations or energy production,” they wrote. “Perhaps what’s worse, the deal contemplates eliminating thousands of megawatts of clean energy while the region is facing an 8,000-megawatt energy deficit in the next decade.”

Although the agreement doesn’t directly propose breaching the four lower Snake River dams, it does lay out a plan to prepare the region through investments in habitat for salmon and steelhead, for reintroduction of the fish in areas blocked by dams and in infrastructure to get ready for a changed river and economies in eastern Washington and Idaho in the event the dams are removed (Congress would need to approve their removal).

While not fully endorsing removing the dams, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) in a statement in mid-December supporting the MOU and its release to the public, said that “I will not let extinction happen on my watch and am determined to take major and comprehensive action to save our salmon.”

Thirteen species of Columbia/Snake river salmon and steelhead have been listed under the Endangered Species Act since the 1990s.

“The agreement announced today builds off the conclusions we reached in the Murray-Inslee process, outlining what will make real headway to save our salmon—while acknowledging the reality that breaching the Lower Snake River Dams is not realistic until we can fully replace the benefits they currently provide,” she said, acknowledging that the four dams may need to be breached. “Getting to this point will require doing much more to speed the transition to clean and renewable energy and making large-scale investments in our regional infrastructure, including our water infrastructure, to support agricultural producers.”

Murray’s full Dec. 18 statement is here.

In August 2022, Sen. Murray and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee released joint findings and recommendations at the conclusion of an extensive, months-long joint federal-state process that evaluated the feasibility of breaching the Lower Snake River Dams as a way of protecting endangered salmon and steelhead species. Murray and Inslee concluded that breach is not feasible at this time as more needs to be done to replace the benefits of the dams–particularly investments in clean energy—but that it is imperative to prioritize major salmon recovery projects that can be undertaken in the near term while other benefits of the dams are matched by medium and long-term regional investments.

Many of the issues are the outcome of lawsuits that have plagued operations at Columbia and Snake river dams. The National Wildlife Federation has challenged the federal Columbia River power system salmon and steelhead Biological Opinions eight times since 2001. The latest court challenge in 2020 was joined by the state of Oregon and others. That lawsuit has been on pause for over two years while parties sought a settlement. On Nov. 1, 2023, the parties, plaintiffs and defendants again asked the federal court to pause the lawsuit until Dec. 15.

Judge Michael H. Simon of the U.S. District Court in Oregon first stayed the litigation in 2021 for one year and then extended the stay another year to allow White House-mediated discussions on potential solutions. In early September 2023, Simon extended the stay for 60 more days to Oct. 31 to allow the litigants –fisheries advocates, states, tribes and federal agencies – to continue to hammer out a lasting agreement on how to operate a hydro system while recovering threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead.

Simon described next steps in his court when he issued a scheduling order Dec. 13, saying:

SCHEDULING ORDER – On October 31, 2023, Plaintiffs, Intervenor-Plaintiff State of Oregon, the Federal Defendants, and Amicus Nez Perce Tribe filed a “Notice Re Stay Expiration and Further Proceedings.” In that Notice, these parties stated that “by December 15, 2023, they intend to either present a joint motion to the Court (if the package of actions and commitments is approved) or a joint schedule for further proceedings.” The Court intends promptly to review whatever is filed by December 15, 2023, and will then allow any other party to be heard not later than December 29, 2023. If any opposition is filed by December 29, 2023, the moving parties may reply by January 12, 2024. The Court suspends all other deadlines.

The settlement document and a motion to delay proceedings for five years was filed by the moving parties (plaintiffs and defendants) by Dec. 15.

See the settlement documents here.

By Simon’s Dec. 29 deadline for other parties to file in opposition, the states of Idaho and Montana, the Public Power Council, Northwest RiverPartners and the Inland Ports and Navigation Group had filed, all opposing the stay.

In general, the parties oppose breaching the dams and losing the carbon-free energy they produce, as well as the barge transportation (mostly for grains) the dams enable. Utilities oppose paying the price through Bonneville Power Administration rates for expanded fish and wildlife projects, along with the cost of preparing local economies for dam breaching. All oppose the stay because it will allow the agreeing parties to begin the work laid out in the MOU without further input from parties not signatories to the MOU.

The Public Power Council, an organization of Northwest public utilities and BPA customers, even suggested that since the National Wildlife Federation has agreed to the MOU that it is taking another path other than litigation and that its lawsuit should be dismissed, not stayed.

“It seems clear that Plaintiffs no longer wish to challenge the September 2020 decisions pending before the Court, and Federal Defendants have effectively adopted new decisions supplanting them in any event,” the PPC wrote. “As a result, the claims challenging those decisions that are now more than three years old are effectively moot and should be dismissed.”

Commitments by the Biden Administration in the MOU include:

1- $300 million investment over ten years by BPA to restore native fish and their habitats throughout the Columbia River basin.

2- Support for one to three gigawatts of Tribally-sponsored clean energy projects to build energy infrastructure.

3- Increased Flexibility: The Administration is committing to adjustments to the operations of the Federal hydro-electric system of dams to deliver a net-benefit for salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River basin, while maintaining grid reliability and upholding health and safety requirements.

4- The Administration will undertake or help fund studies of how the transportation, irrigation, and recreation services provided by the four Lower Snake River dams could be replaced, to help inform Congress should it consider authorizing dam breach in the future.

Here is what others are saying in their opposition:

Public Power Council

BPA’s existing Fish and Wildlife Program already fulfills its duties under the Northwest Power Act to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife affected by development and operation of the Columbia River system of dams, the PPC said in its court filing.

Importantly, it said, the NWPA provides that the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, a body established under that statute composed of two members from each of all four states affected by CRS operations, develops this program to guide Bonneville’s implementation of fish and wildlife mitigation projects,” the PPC wrote.

“The NWPPC is not a party to or even referenced in either the MOU or U.S. Government Commitments Document, however, and thus, these documents can only be seen as an attempted end run around NWPA’s carefully prescribed procedures requiring a robust fish and wildlife program balanced against the other vital purposes of the CRS in the development of which all affected states can fully participate.”

PPC’s remarks went on to say that BPA has an obligation to set the lowest possible electricity rates. “There is no indication whatsoever in the funding commitments Bonneville has undertaken in the Motion’s supporting documents that it gave any consideration whatsoever to its duty in this respect,” the PPC wrote. “To the contrary, given the profligate amounts of new funding to which BPA has committed itself in the USG Commitments …, it appears as if low rates may have been the farthest thing from its mind.”

“Finally, and in some ways most troubling because it affects the entirety of BPA’s undertakings in adopting the actions and commitments in the MOU and its supporting documents is that it did so all under the auspices of confidential mediation discussions, often with only selected participants, meaning that there was no meaningful due process or opportunity for customer participation, and with no agency rationale ever offered, rendering BPA’s decision to adopt the actions and commitments virtually arbitrary and capricious on their face under the Administrative Procedure Act.”

Idaho

Idaho opposes the motion to stay because doing so “would effectively lock Idaho out of court.” Staying the litigation, it continued, would prejudice Idaho’s interest in having its claims heard.

Further, it wrote in its opposition to the stay, “the proposed settlement will undoubtedly impact Idaho’s sovereign interests and conflict with State law and contractual rights and obligations.

The Little and Bedke press release said that the inland ports, agriculture commodity groups and local communities that are impacted by the deal are all opposed to the settlement agreement, “and for good reason. Not only were they not included in the process, but they were flatly ignored when they tried to give input.”

“We believe the authors of this deal are genuine in their desire to do what they believe is right for the constituents. Unfortunately, it appears they only listened to a select few constituents in the region while disregarding many.

“A truly inclusive process would have acknowledged that we can provide structural repairs and improvements that benefit fish while simultaneously preserving the region’s critical access to clean hydropower the dams provide.

“A better process would have uncovered river operations that would improve fish passage.

“A better process would have revealed that the region needs MORE energy production on top of our current baseload.

“In fact, a better process still may have even included many of the fish restoration projects contained within the current settlement document.

“But as long as the proponents of the agreement include language that suggests we breach clean hydropower, Idaho has no choice but to stand in opposition. We simply can’t afford to let Idaho communities, farmers, and ratepayers suffer.”

For the Little and Bedke press release, go here.

Inland Ports and Navigation Group

IPNG opposes the stay because it would put in place a ten-year plan (assumes a ten-year stay) of operations starting in spring 2024 without “consulting navigation or taking into account proper safety precautions.”

It “undermines over 40 years of collaboration between navigation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and departs from the spill operations modeling that this Court ordered in 2017.” Not modeling new spill operations would cause safety concerns for users of the river, IPNG added.

“If any modeling has been done, the mariners who are on the Columbia and Snake Rivers every day have not been asked for their expertise on the effects of these spills on navigation safety and fish health,” IPNG said in its filing with the court.

“Side agreements such as this MOU and the USG Commitments removes certain parties from dispute resolution all together,” the group says. “IPNG has been a party to this litigation for over 20 years and holds real interests at stake. The MOU sidesteps those interests and raises the very same concerns that prompted the Court to deny NWF and the State of Oregon’s motion for injunctive relief in 2017. Resolution of this dispute with continued collaboration of all parties—including IPNG—is the most efficient way to find the best methods for spill that is safe for navigation and beneficial for the fish.”

IPNG is made up of public ports in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon, farmers, and members of the towboat, cruise ship, grain, and forest products industries, representing the interests of navigation and commerce on the Columbia Snake River.

Montana

“Like the State of Idaho, the State of Montana was excluded from the confidential settlement negotiations that led to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) underpinning the Joint Stay Motion and believes that the MOU and the “United States Government Commitments” document referenced therein leave unanswered important questions about the full ramifications of the agreement negotiated among the MOU parties to the exclusion of other parties to this case, including the sovereign states of Montana and Idaho,” the State of Montana said in its filing with the court. “This is particularly so related to the impacts implementation of the commitments made by the United States may have on Montana’s electric cooperatives and their customers who rely on the Bonneville Power Administration for reliable and affordable electricity, concerns Montana might have been able to address had the United States conducted a meaningfully transparent and inclusive settlement process.

“The State of Montana believes the State of Idaho should have its day in court before any multi-year stay of this litigation is ordered.”

Northwest RiverPartners

NW Riverpartners simply said that “For the reasons expressed in the Public Power Council’s (“PPC”’s) Response to the Joint Motion to Stay Litigation Through 2028, Northwest River Partners hereby opposes the Joint Motion. In addition, as explained in PPC’s opposition, River Partners expressly reserves its rights to bring future challenges to agency actions embedded within the “U.S. Government Commitments” that form the basis for the underlying stay motion.”

For background, see:

— CBB, December 15, 2023, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, TWO STATES, TREATY TRIBES REACH MOU ON COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON RECOVERY, LITIGATION PAUSED FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/biden-administration-two-states-treaty-tribes-reach-mou-on-columbia-river-basin-salmon-recovery-litigation-paused-for-at-least-five-years/

— CBB, Dec. 13, 2023, D.C. SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING: NW GOP LAWMAKERS COMPLAIN ABOUT CONFIDENTIAL (LEAKED) DRAFT SALMON SETTLEMENT TALKS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/d-c-subcommittee-hearing-nw-gop-lawmakers-complain-about-confidential-leaked-draft-salmon-settlement-talks/

— CBB, November 30, 2023, Leaked Court Mediation Document Listing Actions and Commitment for basin Salmon recovery draws objections, questions, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/leaked-court-mediation-document-listing-actions-and-commitments-for-basin-salmon-recovery-draws-objections-questions/

— CBB, November 16, 2023, REPUBLICAN U.S. HOUSE MEMBERS REQUEST ALL CEQ DOCUMENTS RELATED TO MEDIATION, SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS ON LOWER SNAKE DAMS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/republican-u-s-house-members-request-all-ceq-documents-related-to-mediation-settlement-discussions-on-lower-snake-dams/

— CBB, November 3, 2023, COLUMBIA/SNAKE SALMON RECOVERY LAWSUIT ON HOLD AGAIN AS PARTIES SEEK BUY-IN ON ‘ACTIONS AND COMMITMENTS’ NOT YET MADE PUBLIC, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/columbia-snake-salmon-recovery-lawsuit-on-hold-again-as-parties-seek-buy-in-on-actions-and-commitments-not-yet-made-public/

— CBB, September 28, 2023, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION MEMO ORDERS FEDERAL AGENCIES TO REVIEW ALL COLUMBIA BASIN SALMON RECOVERY PROGRAMS, IDENTIFY NEEDS, PRIORITIZE ACTIONS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/biden-administration-memo-orders-federal-agencies-to-review-all-columbia-basin-salmon-recovery-programs-identify-needs-prioritize-actions/

— CBB, September 23, 2023, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SAYS BPA TO PROVIDE $200 MILLION OVER 20 YEARS TO ADVANCE SALMON REINTRODUCTION IN UPPER COLUMBIA RIVER BLOCKED AREAS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/biden-administration-says-bpa-to-provide-200-million-over-20-years-to-advance-salmon-reintroduction-in-upper-columbia-river-blocked-areas/

— CBB, September 7, 2023, JUDGE APPROVES THIRD EXTENSION ALLOWING PARTIES IN LAWSUIT OVER COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON RECOVERY TO KEEP TALKING, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/judge-approves-third-extension-allowing-parties-in-lawsuit-over-columbia-river-basin-salmon-recovery-to-keep-talking/

— CBB, August 31, 2022, INSLEE-MURRAY LOWER SNAKE DAM REPORT: REACTION RANGES FROM ‘PRESUMPTIVE PATH TO BREACHING’ TO DAM REMOVAL NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/inslee-murray-lower-snake-dam-report-reaction-ranges-from-presumptive-path-to-breaching-to-dam-removal-not-going-to-happen/

— CBB, October 6, 2022, NOAA FISHERIES FINALIZES ‘REBUILDING’ REPORT TO INFORM DIALOGUE ON COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON RESTORATION, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/noaa-fisheries-finalizes-rebuilding-report-to-inform-dialogue-on-columbia-river-basin-salmon-restoration/

— CBB, Nov. 18, 2021, PHASE 2 REINTRODUCTION OF ANADROMOUS FISH ABOVE GRAND COULEE DAM: TRIBES SEEK SUPPORT FOR FUNDING ($176 MILLION OVER 21 YEARS), IMPLEMENTATION, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/phase-2-reintroduction-of-anadromous-fish-above-grand-coulee-dam-tribes-seek-support-for-funding-176-million-over-21-years-implementation/

–CBB, August 11, 2022, NOAA TAKING COMMENTS FROM FISHERIES MANAGERS ON SALMON REBUILDING REPORT KEY TO ADMINISTRATION’S COLLABORATIVE RECOVERY EFFORTS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/noaa-taking-comments-from-fisheries-managers-on-salmon-rebuilding-report-key-to-administrations-collaborative-recovery-efforts/

–CBB, August 4, 2022, JUDGE AGREES TO EXTEND STAY ON COLUMBIA/SNAKE SALMON RECOVERY CASE FOR ANOTHER YEAR AS PARTIES SEEK ‘COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTIONS’ https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/judge-agrees-to-extend-stay-on-columbia-snake-salmon-recovery-case-for-another-year-as-parties-seek-comprehensive-solutions/

–CBB, July 15, 2022, WHITE HOUSE ISSUES REPORTS ON BASIN SALMON RECOVERY, COSTS; ‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’ NOT RESTORING ESA-LISTED SALMON, STEELHEAD, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/white-house-issues-reports-on-basin-salmon-recovery-costs-business-as-usual-not-restoring-esa-listed-salmon-steelhead/

— CBB, June 30, 2022, FEDERAL MEDIATORS FOR COLUMBIA BASIN SALMON RECOVERY HOPE FOR EXTENSION OF LITIGATION PAUSE; WOULD GIVE MORE TIME FOR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/federal-mediators-for-columbia-basin-salmon-recovery-hope-for-extension-of-litigation-pause-would-give-more-time-for-comprehensive-plan/

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Biden Administration, Two States, Treaty Tribes Reach MOU On Columbia River Basin Salmon Recovery, Litigation Paused For At Least Five Years

The Biden Administration, Columbia River treaty tribes and the states of Oregon and Washington agreed Thursday to work to restore wild salmon populations in the Columbia and Snake river basins and to delay ongoing litigation for five years, with an option for the delay to go as long as 10 years.

A Memorandum of Understanding and the stay (delay) request filed in the U.S. District Court of Oregon Dec. 14 promises $300 million to be paid by the Bonneville Power Administration for tribal habitat projects and for hatchery upgrades in the basin over 10 years.

In addition, it funds one- to three-gigawatts of tribal-sponsored clean energy projects that, if lower Snake River dam breaching does occur, would replace the dams’ power output. However, the MOU does not specifically endorse breaching the four lower Snake River dams. That, the Administration said in a press release, would require Congressional approval and action.

Total funding could bring more than $1 billion to the region to fund salmon and steelhead restoration, power replacement projects and preparation for farms and communities to a lower Snake River without the dams.

“Today’s historic agreement marks a new direction for the Pacific Northwest. Today, the Biden-Harris Administration and state and Tribal governments are agreeing to work together to protect salmon and other native fish, honor our obligations to Tribal nations, and recognize the important services the Columbia River System provides to the economy of the Pacific Northwest,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation, in a White House press release.

See the settlement documents here.  

The MOA includes the federal government and what it calls the six sovereigns. They are Oregon and Washington, along with Columbia River tribes – Nez Perce, Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation.

Thirteen species of Columbia/Snake river salmon and steelhead have been listed under the Endangered Species Act since the 1990s.

“The Pacific Northwest’s iconic salmon and steelhead are essential to our ecological and economic wealth, and a sacred part of Tribal ceremonial, spiritual, and subsistence practices since time immemorial. The Columbia River treaty reserved tribes exemplify steadfast leadership in salmon restoration and stewardship, forging a strong partnership with our states in a shared commitment to comanaging this precious natural resource for generations to come. This successful and unprecedented partnership between the six sovereigns and the United States government has established a shared vision and pathway forward for restoration in both the lower and upper Columbia River Basin. Oregon looks forward to continued collaboration on a successful restoration,” said Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek.

“Leaders across the region have long recognized that inaction on the Columbia-Snake River would doom our iconic species, do irreversible harm to Tribal communities, and diminish our region’s economic future. This agreement between the U.S. government and the Six Sovereigns and NGO plaintiffs is that path forward. It is a durable, comprehensive product of determined leadership by all parties to help secure the long term economic, energy, and salmon recovery needs of our region,” said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

The White House says “implementation of the agreement will diversify and develop affordable, clean, and reliable energy options for the region, ensuring energy reliability and affordability, transportation, recreation, irrigation, and other key in the event that Congress decides to authorize breaching of the four Lower Snake River dams.”

In addition, this week’s agreement enables an unprecedented 5-year break from decades-long litigation against the Federal government’s operation of dams in the Pacific Northwest.

“Thanks to the leadership of Northwest Tribes, we have specific agreed upon actions that move the Northwest region one step closer to saving Columbia River salmon and steelhead runs,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “The National Wildlife Federation is grateful that the Biden Administration has declared that salmon recovery is a government-wide priority and is willing to seize the solutions within our grasp to move us toward a future where abundant salmon populations and wildlife-responsible clean energy can coexist.”

The list of actions, commitments and funding has also put a temporary end to lawsuits that have challenged the federal Columbia River power system salmon and steelhead Biological Opinions since 2001, and is intended to put the region on a path toward recovery of the fish in the Columbia and Snake rivers.

The latest lawsuit by the National Wildlife Federation and others challenged the federal government’s 2020 environmental impact statement and salmon and steelhead BiOp. On Nov. 1, the parties, plaintiffs and defendants asked the federal court to pause the lawsuit until Dec. 15. At the end of this latest pause – the lawsuit had been on hold for over two years with a series of stays.

Judge Michael H. Simon of the U.S. District Court in Oregon first stayed the litigation in 2021 for one year and then extended the stay another year to allow White House-mediated discussions on potential solutions. In early September, Simon extended the stay for 60 more days to Oct. 31 to allow the litigants –fisheries advocates, states, tribes and federal agencies – to continue to hammer out a lasting agreement on how to operate a hydro system while recovering threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead.

Included in the MOA are Administration commitments for:

1- BPA will invest $300 million over 10 years to restore native fish and their habitats throughout the Columbia River Basin, with added measures to increase the autonomy of States and Tribes to use these funds. Of this $300 million, $100 million would be provided to the Treaty Tribes, Washington, and Oregon to use for fish restoration projects, and $200 million would be provided for hatchery modernization, upgrades, and maintenance. The funding is supplemented by additional investments from the Department of the Interior, the Department of Transportation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency, according to a White House Fact Sheet.

2- The U.S. Department of Energy will support the development of at least one to three gigawatts of Tribally-sponsored clean energy projects to build energy infrastructure. The fact sheet said these renewable energy resources would provide the region options should Congress choose to consider lower Snake River dam breaching while still meeting clean energy, energy reliability, and other resilience imperatives. “The Administration, however, is not making a judgment on whether to breach the dams, nor does it have the authority to do so; that authority resides with Congress.”

3- Increased Flexibility: The Administration is committing to adjustments to the operations of the Federal hydro-electric system of dams to deliver a net-benefit for salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River basin, while maintaining grid reliability and upholding health and safety requirements. “These adjustments will also increase flexibility to deliver power during the summer when it is most needed,” the Fact Sheet said. “Importantly, the agreement provides 10 years of predictable operations for the region.”

4- The Administration will undertake or help fund studies of how the transportation, irrigation, and recreation services provided by the four Lower Snake River dams could be replaced, to help inform Congress should it consider authorizing dam breach in the future.

The announcement adds to a previous agreement this year to support tribal efforts to reintroduce salmon into the upper reaches of the Columbia River upstream of the Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee blocked to salmon since construction of the dams. This agreement between the U.S., the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and the Spokane Tribe of Indians includes $200 million over 20 years from BPA.

See CBB, September 22, 2023, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SAYS BPA TO PROVIDE $200 MILLION OVER 20 YEARS TO ADVANCE SALMON REINTRODUCTION IN UPPER COLUMBIA RIVER BLOCKED AREAS,

In addition, in late September, a Biden Administration memorandum emphasized salmon and steelhead restoration in the Columbia and Snake river basins and called for an all-hands-on-deck approach to recovery of the fish. The memorandum calls on Columbia River basin federal agencies involved with salmon recovery to review their programs affecting salmon and steelhead within 120 days, assess the resources their programs need and prioritize activities within 220 days, and within 120 days the Director of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall establish an intergovernmental partnership and report to the President.

Noting that the federal government must honor treaties with Columbia River basin tribes, as well as to carry out the requirements of the 1981 Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act to “adequately protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife impacted by the federal dams,” the memorandum says that it is “time for a sustained national effort to restore healthy and abundant native fish populations in the Basin.”

The memorandum directed federal agencies to utilize their authorities and available resources to advance the policy established in the memorandum. Among those agencies are the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Bonneville Power Administration, the federal agencies that operate 14 federal Columbia and Snake river dams.

The MOA released Dec. 14 was filed on the same day in federal District Court Thursday. However, a draft of the MOA was leaked by Oregon and Washington members of Congress two weeks ago.

–See CBB, November 30, 2023, Leaked Court Mediation Document Listing Actions and Commitment for basin Salmon recovery draws objections, questions,

And, this week a hearing before the Republican-controlled House Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries featured testimony with the leaders of public power and agriculture interests who offered their opinions of what they called a “secret” agreement.

See CBB, Dec. 13, 2023, D.C. SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING: NW GOP LAWMAKERS COMPLAIN ABOUT CONFIDENTIAL (LEAKED) DRAFT SALMON SETTLEMENT TALKS,

Reaction to the MOA has been mixed. Oregon and Washington governors, federal dam operators, as well as environmental and fishing organizations support the commitments of the MOA, while agriculture, power and river transportation groups oppose it.

Federal agencies operating the dams said about the MOA:

“In the agreement signed today, BPA sought to provide our ratepayers operational certainty and reliability while avoiding costly, unpredictable litigation in support of our mission to provide a reliable, affordable power supply to the Pacific Northwest,” said John Hairston, Administrator and CEO of the Bonneville Power Administration.

“The Army Corps is proud to implement actions that will help restore habitat and fish populations in the Columbia River Basin while continuing our support for the regional economy. It is incredibly important that we do this work collaboratively with Tribal Nations to produce results that honor their treaty rights and our trust obligations, producing durable solutions that withstand the impacts of climate change,” said Michael Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.

“The Columbia River provides vital economic and environmental benefits to Tribal Nations, communities and businesses of the Pacific Northwest,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, PhD. “This path forward focuses on the restoration of healthy and abundant salmon, steelhead, and other native fish to meet the needs of the Columbia River Basin while helping ensure the United States upholds its treaty and trust responsibilities to the Tribes.”

“Many of these new U.S. government commitments overlap or intersect with the Council’s responsibilities under the Power Act, assuming they will be implemented as described,” wrote Jeff Allen, Idaho, chair of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council in a letter to Brenda Mallory, Chair of the Council On Environmental Quality at the White House. “There are ways to implement these commitments that are also consistent with the Council’s responsibilities. But, doing so requires thoughtful engagement and coordination with the Council. We are ready and willing to work together on these matters, and we request that the federal agencies commit to doing so, too.”

Shannon Wheeler, chair of the Nez Perce Tribe, said the tribe has long sought breaching of the four dams to boost salmon runs that have dwindled to as few as 50 adult fish coming home to some tributaries in their territory, as reported in a Dec. 14 Seattle Times article by Linda Mapes.

“I don’t like this agreement,” Wheeler said. “Because we are placed last again, the fish are last, everybody else is made whole before we even get to take a step. Irrigators are ahead of us, transportation is ahead of us, even tourism is ahead of us.”

Ultimately the agreement is a compromise the tribe could accept — and had to, Wheeler added, given the lack of unified political support in Congress at this time for dam removal. The improvement in spill for spring Chinook — the most prized fish by tribal members — and opportunity for tribally led green energy development made the agreement viable, he said.

Darryll Olsen, Executive Director of the Columbia Snake River Irrigators Association, as reported by Eric Barker for the Lewiston Tribune, said, “In our view it just takes dam breaching off the table for at least five to 10 years, if not more. It’s just off the table, so why wouldn’t we support it? It is very direct.”

Wheeler and the other tribal leaders who signed the MOU gave their full approval to the plan, which they say honors tribal treaty rights and that could prevent extinction of Snake River salmon and steelhead.

“As Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) we are bound to the salmon and the rivers – these are our life sources. We will not allow extinction to be an option for the salmon, nor for us. The United States is bound to salmon and to us by Treaty where we reserved all our fisheries – our Treaty is the supreme law of the land under the United States Constitution,” Wheeler said. “The federal dams on the lower Snake and mainstem Columbia rivers have had – and continue to have – devastating impacts on the salmon and our people, burdening our Treaty partnership. So today, as Six Sovereigns joining together with the United States to advance salmon restoration throughout the Basin – including preparation for breach of the four lower Snake River dams – we are also witnessing the restoration of Tribal Treaties to their rightful place under the rule of law. We appreciate President Biden’s commitment to honor Tribal Treaties, and to work in partnership to restore healthy, abundant salmon throughout the Columbia Basin.”

“The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative and the U.S. government’s commitments list represent many, many hours of collaboration. They not only address goals for healthy, abundant populations of fish to support Tribal treaty and non-tribal harvest, they also respect the future needs of the Columbia Basin in terms of preparing for climate variability, providing clean, reliable energy, transportation, and recreation. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is very appreciative of the collaboration with the Six Sovereigns and our Federal partners, and looks forward to working together to advance the goals of healthy and abundant salmon for the benefit of current and future generations,” said Corinne Sams, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation Board of Trustees Member, Fish & Wildlife Commission Chair and Chair of the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission.

“For too long we have seen the federal government try to do the minimum amount necessary to pass legal muster under the Endangered Species Act,” said Jonathan W. Smith, Sr., Warm Springs Tribal Council Chairman. “This minimum effort approach has resulted in our fish populations limping along at depressed levels, oftentimes near-extinction and leaving us without enough salmon for our ceremonies, culture, and subsistence. We are optimistic that this first of its kind Presidential Memorandum on the Columbia Basin will chart a new course for the federal government that will lead to true restoration of our fisheries. There is no time to waste, and the Warm Springs Tribe is committed to working with the federal agencies, our fisheries co-managers and Columbia Basin stakeholders through this agreement to make sustainable healthy and abundant fish returns a reality.”

“Since time immemorial, the strength of the Yakama Nation and its people have come from Nch’í Wána – the Columbia River – and from the fish, game, roots and berries it nourishes. We have fought to protect and restore salmon because salmon are not just a natural resource, they are a cultural resource,” said Gerald Lewis, Yakama Nation Tribal Council Chairman. “Today the Biden Administration has announced its commitment to partner with us, our sister tribes, and our neighbors in the work that we have been doing, and will continue to do, to restore healthy and abundant salmon runs to the Columbia River. We can, and must, restore our salmon; and working together we can, and will, do so in a way that ensures our communities will have the energy and other resources they need for generations to come.”

“The Columbia River System is an invaluable natural resource that is critical to many stakeholders in the Basin, including the Tribes who have relied on Pacific salmon, steelhead, and other native fish species for sustenance and their cultural and spiritual ways of life since time immemorial,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “As we commemorate today’s historic milestone, the Biden-Harris Administration remains committed to comprehensive and collaborative Basin-wide solutions to restoring salmon and other native fish populations. At every step of the way, Tribes will continue to have a seat at the table and be integral in our efforts to restore and protect these precious ecosystems.”

The National Wildlife Federation called the Columbia River Restoration Initiative – which is outlined in the MOA –a “bold new blueprint with considerable federal funding and a Memorandum of Understanding to continue working together on next steps.”

The Biden administration commitments lay the foundation for dam breaching, and salmon and steelhead recovery, Earthjustice wrote on its website. “The commitments respond to the vision spelled out in a roadmap document called the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI), which was also released on Dec. 14. The CBRI was developed by four Native Tribes that hold treaty rights to healthy, harvestable salmon runs and ecosystems, plus the states of Washington and Oregon. It explicitly calls for breaching the Snake River dams within two fish generations.”

“We have spent nearly $26 billion attempting to recover Idaho’s salmon and steelhead — the most expensive species-recovery effort in history — to no avail. Simply put, no recovery efforts have or will prevail while the lower Snake River dams continue to be the largest contributor of human-caused fish mortality,” said Brian Brooks, executive director of the Idaho Wildlife Federation. “That is why it is imperative to begin replacing the remaining services the lower Snake River dams provide so we may have a future with fish. Idahoans are deeply grateful to the Biden Administration for their work with Tribes and partners to put the Northwest on the right path.”

“This salmon recovery blueprint developed by Tribes and the states of Oregon and Washington is what we must follow to prevent further extinctions and if we want our fishing industry to continue,” said Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association Executive Director Liz Hamilton. “The status of the fish now, and the reduced dam spill for fall Chinook, will demand decisive and bold action to prevent further declines. We intend to hold the Biden Administration to these commitments and will continue to fight to ensure this initiative is implemented.”

“Many billions of dollars and decades have been wasted by past federal administrations trying to undo the near-extinction disaster the four lower Snake River dams have inflicted on this once world-famous fishery,” commented Glen Spain, Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, a major fishing industry trade association representing commercial salmon fishing families coastwide. “Ignoring the needs of the salmon has destroyed more than 25,000 fishing jobs supporting families in coastal communities from California to Alaska, with economic losses totaling nearly a billion dollars annually. This plan finally pulls us out of gridlock by focusing on true salmon restoration rather than continuing a blind march toward salmon extinctions.” 

On the other hand, U.S. Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) doubled down in his opposition to dam breaching and reiterated that it is solely Congress that could remove the federal dams in the Columbia-Snake River System.

“Congress—and Congress alone—can authorize removal of the dams on the lower Snake River. Bureaucrats, activist litigation, nor this administration’s radical agenda will determine the fate of any of the Northwest’s federal dams,” said Risch.“This litigation effort was useless: It occurred behind closed doors, between two parties who wanted the same end result—to tear out our dams, and it completely excluded Idahoans who rely on the River System for its energy, transportation, agriculture, and recreation benefits. I will continue to fight any breaching efforts, and, at every turn, I will reject the Biden administration’s efforts to usurp Congressional authority.”

Risch said the four lower Snake River dams provide multiple benefits to his state of Idaho as well as to the entire region, including:

— Transportation of more than 15 million metric tons of wheat in 2020;

— $686 million in jobs and businesses associated with the Port of Lewiston;

— An energy portfolio that is 95 percent emission-free;

— Irrigation

Northwest River Partners, among its other criticisms of the agreement, wrote in a press release that it was developed through secret negotiations and lacked transparency and fairness. If that’s not “egregious enough, the settlement takes a challenging situation and makes it worse,” RiverPartners wrote in a news release. “Utilities are already struggling to ensure grid reliability and affordability, while meeting the region’s climate objectives. The increased uncertainty introduced by this agreement leads to even greater risk for regional electricity rates, operational changes which could limit clean energy production, and the potential for further litigation.”

“The agreement announced by the Biden Administration commits the U.S. Government to spending hundreds of millions of dollars that will ultimately end up being paid by electricity consumers in communities throughout the West. The outcome of the mediation devalues and degrades our region’s hydroelectric system by introducing more risks to costs, operations, litigation, and the ability to meet our region’s climate objectives. The Administration had a chance to bring people together on this contentious topic, but instead chose to exclude the concerns and issues raised by ratepayers and their representatives in this process. The lack of transparency and fairness shows in what can only be described as a serious threat to our region’s economy and clean energy future,” said Heather Stebbings, interim executive director of Northwest RiverPartners.

RiverPartners, a nonprofit representing public power utilities and river operators, wrote that the settlement process was supposed to be collaborative seeking “a durable long-term strategy to restore salmon and other native fish populations to healthy and abundant levels, honoring Federal commitments to Tribal Nations, delivering affordable and reliable clean power, and meeting the many resilience needs of stakeholders across the region.” Instead, it “undermines the future of achieving clean energy goals and will raise the rates of electricity customers across the region while exacerbating the greatest threat to salmon that NOAA scientists have identified – the warming, acidifying ocean.”

The organization instead suggested the region continue to improve habitat, fight climate change and utilize technology to improve salmon runs.

Reintroduction of salmon in the Upper Columbia River, predator management, and eliminating Washington state’s nearly $8 billion backlog of blocked fish passage are where the region and the nation should be focusing their energy to truly make a difference for fish while retaining our ability provide clean and affordable power to communities in the Northwest.

“Almost two years of a closed-door process that began with a pro-dam breach agenda from the US Government ended today with, not surprisingly, a blueprint for how to devalue, deplete and ultimately demolish our region’s clean, renewable federal hydro power projects,” said Scott Simms, CEO & Executive Director of the Public Power Council (PPC). “The US Government started this process with a gathering of certain interests that predominantly supported a dam breaching agenda and has now fully shown its cards – turning its back on the citizens, communities and the economy of the Northwest through this so-called agreement with six parties, but no one else.”

Judge Simon in a Dec. 13 scheduling order said he would review whatever is filed by Dec. 15 and allow comment by parties, to be heard no later than Dec. 29. If any opposition is filed by December 29, 2023, the moving parties may reply by January 12, 2024.

The Lower Granite, Ice Harbor, Little Goose and Lower Monumental dams were built in the mid-1900s. On average, the four dams produce about 1,000 MW of power throughout the year, though they can produce as much as 2,200 MW during peak energy demand, according to the non-profit NW Energy Coalition. Roughly $17 billion in infrastructure improvements, some of it forced by litigation, has done little to restore the fish to historical levels.

For background, see:

— CBB, November 16, 2023, REPUBLICAN U.S. HOUSE MEMBERS REQUEST ALL CEQ DOCUMENTS RELATED TO MEDIATION, SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS ON LOWER SNAKE DAMS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/republican-u-s-house-members-request-all-ceq-documents-related-to-mediation-settlement-discussions-on-lower-snake-dams/

— CBB, November 3, 2023, COLUMBIA/SNAKE SALMON RECOVERY LAWSUIT ON HOLD AGAIN AS PARTIES SEEK BUY-IN ON ‘ACTIONS AND COMMITMENTS’ NOT YET MADE PUBLIC, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/columbia-snake-salmon-recovery-lawsuit-on-hold-again-as-parties-seek-buy-in-on-actions-and-commitments-not-yet-made-public/

— CBB, September 28, 2023, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION MEMO ORDERS FEDERAL AGENCIES TO REVIEW ALL COLUMBIA BASIN SALMON RECOVERY PROGRAMS, IDENTIFY NEEDS, PRIORITIZE ACTIONS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/biden-administration-memo-orders-federal-agencies-to-review-all-columbia-basin-salmon-recovery-programs-identify-needs-prioritize-actions/

— CBB, September 23, 2023, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SAYS BPA TO PROVIDE $200 MILLION OVER 20 YEARS TO ADVANCE SALMON REINTRODUCTION IN UPPER COLUMBIA RIVER BLOCKED AREAS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/biden-administration-says-bpa-to-provide-200-million-over-20-years-to-advance-salmon-reintroduction-in-upper-columbia-river-blocked-areas/

— CBB, September 7, 2023, JUDGE APPROVES THIRD EXTENSION ALLOWING PARTIES IN LAWSUIT OVER COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON RECOVERY TO KEEP TALKING, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/judge-approves-third-extension-allowing-parties-in-lawsuit-over-columbia-river-basin-salmon-recovery-to-keep-talking/

— CBB, August 31, 2022, INSLEE-MURRAY LOWER SNAKE DAM REPORT: REACTION RANGES FROM ‘PRESUMPTIVE PATH TO BREACHING’ TO DAM REMOVAL NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/inslee-murray-lower-snake-dam-report-reaction-ranges-from-presumptive-path-to-breaching-to-dam-removal-not-going-to-happen/

— CBB, October 6, 2022, NOAA FISHERIES FINALIZES ‘REBUILDING’ REPORT TO INFORM DIALOGUE ON COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON RESTORATION, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/noaa-fisheries-finalizes-rebuilding-report-to-inform-dialogue-on-columbia-river-basin-salmon-restoration/

— CBB, Nov. 18, 2021, PHASE 2 REINTRODUCTION OF ANADROMOUS FISH ABOVE GRAND COULEE DAM: TRIBES SEEK SUPPORT FOR FUNDING ($176 MILLION OVER 21 YEARS), IMPLEMENTATION, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/phase-2-reintroduction-of-anadromous-fish-above-grand-coulee-dam-tribes-seek-support-for-funding-176-million-over-21-years-implementation/

–CBB, August 11, 2022, NOAA TAKING COMMENTS FROM FISHERIES MANAGERS ON SALMON REBUILDING REPORT KEY TO ADMINISTRATION’S COLLABORATIVE RECOVERY EFFORTS, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/noaa-taking-comments-from-fisheries-managers-on-salmon-rebuilding-report-key-to-administrations-collaborative-recovery-efforts/

–CBB, August 4, 2022, JUDGE AGREES TO EXTEND STAY ON COLUMBIA/SNAKE SALMON RECOVERY CASE FOR ANOTHER YEAR AS PARTIES SEEK ‘COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTIONS’ https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/judge-agrees-to-extend-stay-on-columbia-snake-salmon-recovery-case-for-another-year-as-parties-seek-comprehensive-solutions/

–CBB, July 15, 2022, WHITE HOUSE ISSUES REPORTS ON BASIN SALMON RECOVERY, COSTS; ‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’ NOT RESTORING ESA-LISTED SALMON, STEELHEAD, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/white-house-issues-reports-on-basin-salmon-recovery-costs-business-as-usual-not-restoring-esa-listed-salmon-steelhead/

— CBB, June 30, 2022, FEDERAL MEDIATORS FOR COLUMBIA BASIN SALMON RECOVERY HOPE FOR EXTENSION OF LITIGATION PAUSE; WOULD GIVE MORE TIME FOR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/federal-mediators-for-columbia-basin-salmon-recovery-hope-for-extension-of-litigation-pause-would-give-more-time-for-comprehensive-plan/

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Comments On Corps’ Draft EIS for 13 Willamette Valley Dams Question Whether Plan Avoids Jeopardy For ESA-Listed Salmonids

A massive 2,000 page draft environmental impact statement on how Willamette River Valley dams impact threatened salmon, steelhead and bull trout is flawed and does not address one of its own primary goals, which is meeting obligations under the Endangered Species Act to avoid jeopardizing the existence of listed species, according to several groups and agencies that submitted comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in late February.

The Willamette River is 180 miles long and drains 11,487 square miles or nearly 12 percent of the state of Oregon. It meets the Columbia River at Portland. Today, over 70 percent of Oregonians live in the Willamette River basin.

Comments on the draft EIS ranged from a need for year-round deep drawdowns at some of the Corps’ 13 Willamette Project dams, to removal of two reregulating dams, to reconnecting downstream flood plains and side channels, to providing better up and downstream passage for bull trout and to de-authorizing hydropower.

The Public Power Council is concerned that among the Corps’ alternatives (there are eight) in its DEIS there is no “path for maintaining economic hydropower production in the Willamette Valley System.”

PPC said the Corps’ analysis shows “massive costs to regional ratepayers, but as described further in these comments, even these costs are likely to be drastically understated. This concern highlights the importance of the Corps’ fulfilling in a timely manner its Congressional mandate from the 2022 Washington Resources Development Act (WRDA) that directs the Corps to conduct disposition studies for power de-authorization of the Willamette Valley System.”

Both PPC and the Native Fish Society have since 2021 proposed federal legislation to study de-authorizing generation at the Corps’ Willamette dams. A joint OP-ED in the Eugene Register-Guard in June 2021, said that de-authorizing the dams’ requirement to produce power would help restore fisheries in the basin and it could reduce Bonneville Power Administration wholesale power rates.

In their recent comments, the groups, along with the state of Oregon, say the Corps should complete its studies for power de-authorization in time for it to be a part of the final EIS, which is due to be completed in 2024. The Corps has said it will complete the studies in 2026, two years after completing the EIS.

See CBB, June 17, 2021, GROUPS WANT EXPEDITED STUDY TO DEAUTHORIZE POWER PRODUCTION AT TWO CORPS’ WILLAMETTE DAMS TO REDUCE COSTS, AID ESA-LISTED SALMON, STEELHEAD,

The Native Fish Society, Wild Earth Guardians and the Northwest Environmental Defense Center consider a congressional de-authorization of hydropower generation at the dams as a way to free up water for wild upper Willamette River spring Chinook, wild winter steelhead and bull trout, all listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.

In joint comments, the three conservation groups called on the Corps to provide a broader range of measures, such as year-round deep drawdowns at the dams to aid juvenile salmon migrating downstream, improving fish passage survival at the dams, earlier spill at Detroit Dam on the South Santiam River, and removal of Big Cliff (South Santiam) and Dexter (Middle Fork Willamette) re-regulating dams. All would require more water and result in less or no generation at many of the dams, but the suggested actions would also mean the Corps would have to complete its generation studies in time to include the results in the final EIS.

The draft EIS does not avoid jeopardizing the continued existence of ESA-listed species,” the groups said in their comments.

“The Corps rejected any measure that would eliminate or abandon hydropower based on their interpretation that this secondary purpose of the WVP was inviolable; even if the primary purpose of flood control was not jeopardized. Therefore, options that might remove some hydropower capacity while still allowing flood control and providing a high likelihood of recovering populations were not considered, developed, or evaluated,” the groups said.

As an example, they said the Middle Fork Willamette has the greatest potential for salmon recovery (and bull trout) because it contains a large area of high quality habitat that currently lacks upstream and downstream access.

“Removal of Dexter Dam, modification of Lookout Point Dam to allow evacuation of the reservoir and passive passage of juvenile and adult fish, and modification of Hills Creek Dam to provide upstream and downstream passage would have a high likelihood of meeting fish conservation and recovery objectives.” they said.

The impetus behind the DEIS is a March 2018 lawsuit in federal district court in Eugene, OR, by conservation organizations. Plaintiffs Northwest Environmental Defense Center, Wild Earth Guardians and Native Fish Society, represented by attorneys at Advocates for the West, asked the court to force the two federal agencies – the Corps and NOAA Fisheries – to reevaluate the impacts of the Corps’ Willamette Valley dams on the threatened fish, to reinitiate consultation and to make immediate operational adjustments to dams on four tributaries of the Willamette River (North Santiam, South Santiam, McKenzie and Middle Fork Willamette) that the groups say block between 40 and 90 percent of spawning habitat.

The last biological opinion by NOAA Fisheries of the Willamette River dams’ operations was in 2008. However, when the lawsuit was filed 10 years after the BiOp had been released, many of the actions required by the BiOp’s reasonable and prudent alternative had not been implemented by the Corps. The RPA is composed of a suite of alternatives that, if implemented, would be expected to not jeopardize the continued existence of the threatened fish.

Four agencies in Oregon pointed out that the Corps largely failed to implement “the most significant actions (downstream passage) from the 2008 BiOp that are necessary to halt the decline of these populations (the three threatened populations of salmon, steelhead and bull trout). Continued inaction or delayed action is not acceptable.”

The four Oregon agencies are Fish and Wildlife, Environmental Quality, Agriculture and Water Resources.

Oregon said its agencies are “united in expressing concern for the fate of the listed salmon, steelhead, and bull trout in the Willamette Basin and the urgent need for the USACE to take actions to secure their future. The long-term persistence of these populations is vital to the social, cultural, and economic health of the State. That persistence continues to be threatened by the ongoing operation of the Willamette Valley System.”

NOAA Fisheries in its comments said that while the Corps “has provided targets (the quantitative metrics that define success) for many of the Preferred Alternative actions, the targets do not track or respond to effects on fish.”

For example, it said, changes in flows are evaluated by whether they are above or below the new target for minimum flows.

“Some effects on fish would be missed given warming trends in the Willamette, likely exacerbated by lower flows during spawner migration,” NOAA said in its comments to the Corps. “Other effects from shifting migration cues are also missed.”

In addition, changes in temperatures are measured by the percentage change in temperature, “which doesn’t capture the risk of temperatures over thresholds, leading to higher mortality.”

The Native Fish Society also asked for:

• Additional operations and project modifications to reduce Total Dissolved Gas;

• Additional measures that implement improvements to regulating outlets to improve their effectiveness as passage routes;

• Reassessment of downstream passage and water quality measures at Detroit Dam, Hills Creek Dam, and Lookout Point Dam in the context of removal, modification, and/or run-of-river operations at Big Cliff and Dexter dams.

• A commitment to continue funding and making the interim measures called out in the Injunctive Order in Northwest Environmental Defense Center, et al. v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, et al until there is a reasonable confidence that “their performance can be equaled or exceeded by new structural measures;

• Dam operations that will improve degraded habitat downstream of dams, including a program of revetment removal, relocation, and modification to increase floodplain connectivity and side-channel habitat in the tributaries and mainstem Willamette River.

Both Oregon and the Native Fish Society asked the Corps for:

• More robust Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation and adaptive management plans that include a broader range of evaluation and performance metrics to ensure that operation of the Willamette Valley dams does not continue to jeopardize listed species or adversely affect their critical habitats.

• More robust passage measures for Hills Creek dam, including measures that support movement of bull trout. The Corps’ plan, according to the two commenters, provide for downstream passage for adult bull trout, but no plan for their return upstream.

• Prioritization at all projects for volitional downstream passage.

The Willamette Valley System EIS website is here.

For fish, the alternative the Corps’ preferred alternative (not the chosen alternative yet; that comes with the final EIS in the spring of 2024) includes both structural and operational measures that, taken as a whole, prove to be best for the ESA-listed threatened wild upper Willamette River spring Chinook and winter steelhead, according to the draft EIS. The preferred alternative (alterative 5) rates high when compared with the other alternatives in terms of viable salmonid population (VSP) metrics, as well as performing well against other alternatives in passage efficiency for juveniles at the dams and their survival through the dams, the draft EIS says.

Alternative 5’s overall focus, according to the Corps’ Kathy Warner, Water Supply Specialist in the agency’s Reservoir Regulation and Water Quality Section and technical lead for the EIS, is:

• Improve fish passage with a combination of modified operations and structural improvements;

• Provide measures that balance water management flexibility while meeting ESA-listed fish obligations.

The preferred alternative includes:

• Floating Screen Structure and Temperature Control Tower at Detroit

• Adult fish facility at Green Peter Dam

• Spring and fall draw down to Diversion Tunnel at Cougar Dam

• Floating Surface Collector at Lookout Point

• Pacific lamprey passage and infrastructure

• Integrated Habitat and temperature flow regime

In more detail by river, alternative 5 measures include:

North Santiam (Detroit and Big Cliff dams)

•Detroit spring/summer spill for downstream fish passage and water temperature management

•Detroit fall lower regulating outlet (RO) for downstream water temperature management

•Detroit winter upper RO for downstream fish passage

•Big Cliff spread spill to reduce TDG

South Santiam River (Green Peter and Foster dams)

•Green Peter spring spill for downstream fish passage

•Green Peter fall deep drawdown for downstream fish passage through ROs

•Foster spring delayed refill and spill for downstream fish passage

•Foster fall spill for downstream fish passage

McKenzie River (Cougar Dam)

•Fall drawdown for downstream fish passage through ROs

•Spring delayed refill for downstream fish passage through ROs

Middle Fork Willamette River (Lookout Point, Dexter and Fall Creek dams)

•Hills Creek winter night-time RO prioritization for fish passage

•Lookout Point/Dexter spring/summer spill for downstream fish passage and water temperature management

•Lookout Point fall deep drawdown for downstream fish passage through ROs

•Fall Creek extended winter deep drawdown for downstream fish passage

•Fall Creek spring delayed refill for downstream fish

The Corps’ Willamette Valley System consists of 13 reservoirs, encompass 11 multiple purposes with 2 re-regulating dams and 8 hydropower dams. The dams were built between 1939 and 1969 and the last EIS was in 1980. Most of the dams are “high head” dams, over 250 feet tall and as a result, the Project blocks about 70 percent of Chinook and 33 percent of steelhead historic habitat in the upper Willamette basin while also modifying downstream habitat, the DEIS says.

The WVS also includes five fish hatcheries, a Willamette bank protection program and 100 miles of revetments (bank support and changes). The WVS provides approximately $1 billion in annual flood risk benefits, 26 million in hydropower revenue, and 5.4 million in recreation benefits, the EIS says.

For background, see:

— CBB, March 9, 2023, SCIENCE PANEL GIVES THUMBS-UP ON FISH RESPONSE MODELS CORPS USED TO DEVELOP DRAFT WILLAMETTE RIVER BASIN EIS, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/SCIENCE-PANEL-GIVES-THUMBS-UP-ON-FISH-RESPONSE-MODELS-CORPS-USED-TO-DEVELOP-DRAFT-WILLAMETTE-RIVER-BASIN-EIS/

— CBB, December 2, 2022, CORPS RELEASES DRAFT EIS FOR 13 WILLAMETTE BASIN DAMS INTENDED TO AID ESA-LISTED SALMON, STEELHEAD; DRAWDOWNS, STRUCTURAL CHANGES, LESS POWER, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/CORPS-RELEASES-DRAFT-EIS-FOR-13-WILLAMETTE-BASIN-DAMS-INTENDED-TO-AID-ESA-LISTED-SALMON-STEELHEAD-DRAWDOWNS-STRUCTURAL-CHANGES-LESS-POWER/

— CBB, February 24, 2022, CORPS DETAILS TO COUNCIL NUMEROUS MEASURES TAKEN AT WILLAMETTE PROJECTS TO AVOID JEOPARDIZING LISTED SALMON, STEELHEAD, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/CORPS-DETAILS-TO-COUNCIL-NUMEROUS-MEASURES-TAKEN-AT-WILLAMETTE-PROJECTS-TO-AVOID-JEOPARDIZING-LISTED-SALMON-STEELHEAD/

— CBB, September 2, 2021, JUDGE ISSUES FINAL ORDER FOR OPERATIONS AT CORPS’ WILLAMETTE VALLEY DAMS TO AID ESA SALMON, STEELHEAD; DEEP DRAWDOWNS, SPILL, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/JUDGE-ISSUE-FINAL-ORDER-FOR-OPERATIONS-AT-CORPS-WILLAMETTE-VALLEY-DAMS-TO-AID-ESA-SALMON-STEELHEAD-DEEP-DRAWDOWNS-SPILL/

— See CBB, July 15, 2021, “Federal Judge Orders Corps To Take Immediate Action To Protect ESA-Listed Willamette Valley Wild Spring Chinook, Steelhead; ‘No Patience For Further Delay,’” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/federal-judge-orders-corps-to-take-immediate-action-to-protect-esa-listed-willamette-valley-wild-spring-chinook-steelhead-no-patience-for-further-delay/

— CBB, August 26, 2021, “Willamette River Reservoirs Far Below Average As Parties Move Forward On Court-Ordered Interim Measures To Address Listed Steelhead, Chinook,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/willamette-river-reservoirs-far-below-average-as-parties-move-forward-on-court-ordered-interim-measures-to-address-listed-steelhead-chinook/

— CBB, November 12, 2020, “Corps Modifies Operations At Willamette Valley Dam To Improve Juvenile Salmon Passage As Court Case Continues On ‘Remedies’ For Wild Salmon/Steelhead,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/corps-modifies-operations-at-willamette-valley-dam-to-improve-juvenile-salmon-passage-as-court-case-continues-on-remedies-for-wild-salmon-steelhead/

— CBB, August 19, 2020, “Federal Judge Rules Corps Not Moving Fast Enough To Halt Continued Decline of ESA-Listed Upper Willamette River Wild Spring Chinook/Steelhead; ‘Significant Measures Never Carried Out,’” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/federal-judge-rules-corps-not-moving-fast-enough-to-halt-continued-decline-of-esa-listed-upper-willamette-river-wild-spring-chinook-steelhead-significant-measures-never-carried-out/

— CBB, November 21, 2019, “NOAA Says Corps’ Draft Proposal On Managing Willamette Dams/Reservoirs Likely To Jeopardize Salmon, Steelhead,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/noaa-says-corps-draft-proposal-on-managing-willamette-dams-reservoirs-likely-to-jeopardize-salmon-steelhead/

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Corps Releases Draft EIS For 13 Willamette Basin Dams Intended To Aid ESA-Listed Salmon, Steelhead; Drawdowns, Structural Changes, Less Power

Operations at thirteen federal dams in the Willamette River basin may soon be altered to aid threatened upper Willamette River spring Chinook, winter steelhead, and bull trout. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the dams, released a draft operations and maintenance programmatic environmental impact statement late last week for public review until January 19, 2023.

The draft’s preferred alternative – Alternative 5 – is the fourth costly of the alternatives. It uses improved fish passage through dams using a combination of modifying operations, such as deep drawdowns, and structural changes, along with other measures to balance water management flexibility and meet recovery obligations for fish listed under the Endangered Species Act, the Corps says in its DEIS.

“Native Fish Society and our conservation partners are excited to finally see what the Corps is proposing when it comes to operating the 13 dams on the Willamette system for the next several decades,” said Jennifer Fairbrother, Conservation Director with the Native Fish Society. “This is an important step in a process that was initiated five years ago by our litigation against the Corps for their failure to implement the existing Biological Opinion and associated plan to recover these fish. We will continue to advocate for those actions we believe are necessary to ensure that native fish species like salmon and steelhead not only survive but have a real chance to once again become healthy, self-sustaining populations.”

This draft is the first EIS for the dams since 1980, 42 years ago. Since that time, upper Willamette spring Chinook and winter steelhead were listed as threatened in 1999 under the federal ESA; bull trout were listed as threatened in 1999; and Oregon chub were listed in 1993. All are present in the Willamette River system. The chub was delisted in 2015, the first time a fish has been delisted in the U.S.

“Over the ensuing four decades following completion of the 1980 EIS (1980 – 2022), operations have been modified and structural measures for fish passage and temperature control have been implemented to improve conditions for ESA-listed fish species,” the Corps said when releasing the DEIS for comment, Friday, Nov. 25.

The DEIS describes and evaluates impacts related to a No Action Alternative and seven other action alternatives.

The more than 2,200 page draft EIS is here.

The preferred alternative would result in less generation at the dams due to spring and fall deep drawdowns designed to aid juvenile downstream fish passage through Cougar Dam’s diversion tunnels. The dam is located on the McKenzie River. The Corps estimates the entire system generation would drop by 18 average megawatts, or enough to power 14,334 households annually. Although the 13 dams’ total maximum generating capacity is 495 MW, the average varies. In August 2019 in an average water year, according to the Corps, generation averaged 184.4 MW.

The impetus behind the DEIS is a March 2018 lawsuit in federal district court in Eugene, OR, by conservation organizations. Plaintiffs Northwest Environmental Defense Center, WildEarth Guardians and Native Fish Society, represented by attorneys at Advocates for the West, asked the court to force the two federal agencies – the Corps and NOAA Fisheries – to reevaluate the impacts of the Corps’ Willamette Valley dams on the threatened fish, to reinitiate consultation and to make immediate operational adjustments to dams on four tributaries of the Willamette River (North Santiam, South Santiam, McKenzie and Middle Fork Willamette) that the groups say block between 40 and 90 percent of spawning habitat.

The last biological opinion by NOAA Fisheries of the Willamette River dams’ operations was in 2008. However, when the lawsuit was filed 10 years after the BiOp had been released, many of the actions required by the BiOp’s reasonable and prudent alternative had not been implemented by the Corps. The RPA is composed of a suite of alternatives that, if implemented, would be expected to not jeopardize the continued existence of the threatened fish.

A final order in the lawsuit was issued Sept. 1, 2021 by U.S. District Court Judge Marco Hernandez. In his final order, he included interim actions the Corps must take to protect threatened wild spring chinook and winter steelhead, while it completes an EIS and until NOAA completes a new BiOp.

He assigned an expert panel to develop implementation plans for each sub-basin in the Willamette River basin. In the final order, Hernandez found that these measures were necessary because, “[a]s evinced by the listed species’ continuing decline, the Corps’ failure to provide adequate fish passage and mitigate water quality issues is causing substantial, irreparable harm to the salmonids.”

He wrote in his final decision that the Corps’ lack of actions is “pushing the UWR Chinook and steelhead even closer to the brink of extinction. The record demonstrates that the listed salmonids are in a more precarious condition today than they were at the time NMFS issued the 2008 BiOp.”

See CBB, September 2, 2021, JUDGE ISSUES FINAL ORDER FOR OPERATIONS AT CORPS’ WILLAMETTE VALLEY DAMS TO AID ESA SALMON, STEELHEAD; DEEP DRAWDOWNS, SPILL

In a presentation to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s Fish and Wildlife Committee in February this year, the Corps’ Ida Royer, Columbia River Fish Mitigation program manager, said that a couple of structural items listed in the 2008 BiOp’s RPA had been completed, such as a new adult salmon collection facility at Minto Hatchery on the North Fork Santiam River, and a temperature control tower at Cougar Dam (actually it was completed in 2007 under a previous BiOp) to aid downstream juvenile salmon migration on the McKenzie. Other RPAs, such as water temperature and flow control at Detroit Dam, on the North Santiam, are operational measures, she said.

However, most of the RPAs the Corps completed prior to the 2018 lawsuit were for planning and design. In addition, the Corps until recently had not implemented spill or deep drawdowns at dams for juvenile migrants, also requirements of the 2008 BiOp.

See CBB, February 24, 2022, CORPS DETAILS TO COUNCIL NUMEROUS MEASURES TAKEN AT WILLAMETTE PROJECTS TO AVOID JEOPARDIZING LISTED SALMON, STEELHEAD,

Each of the alternatives evaluated by the Corps in its DEIS consist of a unique suite of measures that are characterized into general categories: flow, water quality, downstream fish passage, upstream fish passage, and measures common to all action alternatives such as gravel augmentation and operation and maintenance of adult fish facilities, among others, the Corps says.

ESA-focused objectives for the alternatives are:

1. Allow greater flexibility in water management (related to refill, drawdown timing, and other water management measures).

2. Increase opportunities for the creation of nature-based structures during maintenance of USACE-owned revetments (structures that help prevent bank erosion).

3. Allow greater flexibility in hydropower production.

4. Increase ESA-listed fish passage survival at WVS dams.

5. Improve water management during the conservation season to benefit anadromous ESA-listed fish and other authorized project purposes.

6. Reduce pollutant levels to restore impaired water quality associated with the WVS dams to benefit anadromous ESA-listed species.

7. Reduce spawning and rearing habitat competition caused by hatchery fish.

The No Action Alternative is required by NEPA to provide the existing condition or baseline as of spring 2019 for comparison of environmental effects of the alternatives. This alternative does not meet the purpose and need of the project because the current operating conditions of the Willamette system adversely affect ESA-listed fish species, specifically UWR Chinook salmon, UWR steelhead, and bull trout, and the designated critical habitat for these species, the DEIS says.

Alternative 1 includes structural measures for temperature control, fish passage and total dissolved gas abatement. It is the second most expensive alternative. With this alternative flows would be reduced to congressionally-authorized minimum flow requirements which would allow for the greatest increase in total storage. Additionally, many of the structural measures allow for fish passage and temperature management that do not result in lower reservoir elevations in the spring through fall.

Although Alternative 1 did rank highest for downstream survival and three out of four UWR spring Chinook salmon populations would reach replacement, only two out of four UWR spring Chinook salmon populations would have high persistence (e.g., a low risk of extinction). Additionally, the McKenzie Core Legacy UWR spring Chinook salmon population would remain at risk of extinction.

Alternatives 2A, a Hybrid Alternative with the Cougar floating screen structure, was developed to improve fish passage through the WVS dams using a combination of modified operations and structural improvements, along with other measures to balance water management flexibility and meet ESA-listed fish obligations, the DEIS says.

The uncertainty that a floating screen structure would effectively collect juvenile fish migrating downstream at Cougar Dam – coupled with uncertain mitigation options to improve such a structure compounded with the high cost to design, construct and operate the facility, led the Corps to not select Alternative 2A as the Preferred Alternative, the DEIS says.

Alternative 2B, a Hybrid Alternative with a Cougar Diversion Tunnel Modification, was developed to improve fish passage through the WVS dams using a combination of modified operations and structural improvements, along with other measures to balance water management flexibility and meet ESA-listed fish obligations. Alternative 2A uses a structure that operates with existing reservoir fluctuations to pass fish downstream, whereas Alternative 2B includes an operation where the reservoir is drawn down to use the diversion tunnel to pass fish.

Alternatives 3A, also referred to as the Operations-Focused Fish Passage Alternative, would primarily use Willamette Valley System dam operations for water quality and fish passage. Alternative 3A ranks fifth for downstream survival and the McKenzie Core Legacy population is at risk of extinction. However, there would be habitat gains for bull trout compared to the No Action Alternative.

Alternative 3B, also referred to as the Operations-Focused Fish Passage Alternative using Diversion Tunnel at Cougar, would primarily use WVS dam operations for water quality and fish passage

Alternative 4 takes a structures-based approach to improve fish passage through the WVS dams to increase the survival of ESA-listed fish. Alternative 4 proposes only structures for water quality and downstream fish passage, shifting the release of stored water from the spring into the summer and fall and augmenting instream flows by using the power and inactive pools. In contrast to Alternative 1, Alternative 4 proposes the “Integrated Temperature and Habitat Flow Regime” operation, the targets of which are generally higher and more variable than those in the congressionally authorized minimum flow requirements proposed under Alternative 1. Alternative 4 also proposes the most structural measures for fish passage and water quality of any alternative. Alternative 4 includes a fish passage structure and water temperature control tower at Hills Creek Dam and a fish passage structure at Cougar Dam but replaces the water temperature control tower at Green Peter Dam proposed in Alternative 1 with using operational measures to utilize the spillway and ROs for temperature management. Alternative 4 proposes an upstream passage structure at Hills Creek Dam and not at Green Peter Dam.

Alternative 5 is the Corps’ Preferred Alternative. In contrast to Alternative 2A, Alternatives 5 and 2B result in only three of the four UWR Chinook salmon populations with high persistence. This is the biggest difference in how Alternatives 5 and 2B perform for the ESA objectives compared to Alternative 2A, a result of the downstream fish passage measure proposed at Cougar Dam. Alternative 2A proposes a floating screen structure and Alternatives 5 and 2B propose a deep drawdown to pass fish through the diversion tunnel. The difference in the number of populations with high persistence is because the ESA models assume increases in downstream survival with a structure at Cougar Dam than through a deep drawdown operation. However, there is higher confidence that the diversion tunnel operation at Cougar will be successful making the likelihood of meeting the ESA objective more certain to occur.

The Willamette River is 180 miles long and drains 11,487 square miles or nearly 12 percent of the state of Oregon. It meets the Columbia River at Portland. Today, over 70 percent of Oregonians live in the Willamette River basin.

The Corps’ Willamette Valley Project, which is a part of the Federal Columbia River Power System, includes 13 federal multipurpose dams across four sub-basins. The dams were constructed between 1941 and 1969 to reduce flood risks in the Willamette Valley and provide hydropower generation, recreation, water quality, municipal drinking water and irrigated agriculture benefits, a February 8 Council memorandum says. Most of the dams are “high head” dams, over 250 feet tall and as a result, the Project overall blocks about 70 percent of chinook and 33 percent of steelhead historic habitat in the upper Willamette basin while also modifying downstream habitat. In key sub-basins, 90 percent of spring chinook and nearly 40 percent of winter steelhead historic spawning habitat is blocked.

Public Comments

Virtual information meetings:

• Tuesday, December 6, 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

• Thursday, December 8, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

The Corps says it will consider all comments received during the comment period and will respond to comments in the Final EIS. If applicable, the Final EIS will reflect changes to the DEIS based on public comments and/or information made available since publication of the DEIS. All public comments will be included in the USACE EIS record.

Public comments must be submitted in writing or via email correspondence by email or postal service mail.

For email, send comments by Jan. 15, to willamette.eis@usace.army.mil. Please add “Willamette Valley System Draft EIS” in the subject line of the email.

For comments through USPS, send comments to:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Attn: CENWP-PME-E / Willamette EIS

P.O. Box 2946

Portland, OR 97208-2946

Please add “Willamette Valley System Draft EIS” in the subject line of submitted letters.

For background, see:

— CBB, February 24, 2022, CORPS DETAILS TO COUNCIL NUMEROUS MEASURES TAKEN AT WILLAMETTE PROJECTS TO AVOID JEOPARDIZING LISTED SALMON, STEELHEAD, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/CORPS-DETAILS-TO-COUNCIL-NUMEROUS-MEASURES-TAKEN-AT-WILLAMETTE-PROJECTS-TO-AVOID-JEOPARDIZING-LISTED-SALMON-STEELHEAD/

— CBB, September 2, 2021, JUDGE ISSUES FINAL ORDER FOR OPERATIONS AT CORPS’ WILLAMETTE VALLEY DAMS TO AID ESA SALMON, STEELHEAD; DEEP DRAWDOWNS, SPILL, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/JUDGE-ISSUE-FINAL-ORDER-FOR-OPERATIONS-AT-CORPS-WILLAMETTE-VALLEY-DAMS-TO-AID-ESA-SALMON-STEELHEAD-DEEP-DRAWDOWNS-SPILL/

— See CBB, July 15, 2021, “Federal Judge Orders Corps To Take Immediate Action To Protect ESA-Listed Willamette Valley Wild Spring Chinook, Steelhead; ‘No Patience For Further Delay,’” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/federal-judge-orders-corps-to-take-immediate-action-to-protect-esa-listed-willamette-valley-wild-spring-chinook-steelhead-no-patience-for-further-delay/

— CBB, August 26, 2021, “Willamette River Reservoirs Far Below Average As Parties Move Forward On Court-Ordered Interim Measures To Address Listed Steelhead, Chinook,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/willamette-river-reservoirs-far-below-average-as-parties-move-forward-on-court-ordered-interim-measures-to-address-listed-steelhead-chinook/

— CBB, November 12, 2020, “Corps Modifies Operations At Willamette Valley Dam To Improve Juvenile Salmon Passage As Court Case Continues On ‘Remedies’ For Wild Salmon/Steelhead,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/corps-modifies-operations-at-willamette-valley-dam-to-improve-juvenile-salmon-passage-as-court-case-continues-on-remedies-for-wild-salmon-steelhead/

— CBB, August 19, 2020, “Federal Judge Rules Corps Not Moving Fast Enough To Halt Continued Decline of ESA-Listed Upper Willamette River Wild Spring Chinook/Steelhead; ‘Significant Measures Never Carried Out,’” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/federal-judge-rules-corps-not-moving-fast-enough-to-halt-continued-decline-of-esa-listed-upper-willamette-river-wild-spring-chinook-steelhead-significant-measures-never-carried-out/

— CBB, November 21, 2019, “NOAA Says Corps’ Draft Proposal On Managing Willamette Dams/Reservoirs Likely To Jeopardize Salmon, Steelhead,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/noaa-says-corps-draft-proposal-on-managing-willamette-dams-reservoirs-likely-to-jeopardize-salmon-steelhead/

— CBB, May 30, 2019, “Details On Proposed Detroit Dam Water Temperature Control Tower, Fish Passage Facility To Boost ESA-Listed Steelhead, Spring Chinook,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/details-on-proposed-detroit-dam-water-temperature-control-tower-fish-passage-facility-to-boost-esa-listed-steelhead-spring-chinook/

— CBB, April 6, 2019, “Court Hears Arguments For Immediate Changes At Willamette Dams To Aid ESA-Listed Salmonids,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/court-hears-arguments-for-immediate-changes-at-willamette-dams-to-aid-esa-listed-salmonids/

— CBB, March 15, 2019, “Corps Proposal For Downstream Fish Passage At McKenzie River’s Cougar Dam Out For Review,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/corps-proposal-for-downstream-fish-passage-at-mckenzie-rivers-cougar-dam-out-for-review/

— CBB, February 8, 2019, JUDGE SAYS NO TO EXPEDITED HEARING BUT LAWSUIT OVER WILLAMETTE BASIN DAMS MOVES FORWARD, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/JUDGE-SAYS-NO-TO-EXPEDITED-HEARING-BUT-LAWSUIT-OVER-WILLAMETTE-BASIN-DAMS-MOVES-FORWARD/

— CBB, March 16, 2018, “Conservation Groups Sue Federal Agencies Over ESA-Listed Willamette Salmon, Steelhead,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/440366.aspx

— CBB, November 3, 2017, “Conservation Groups Announce Intent To Sue Corps Over Willamette Chinook, Steelhead,” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/439813.aspx

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NOAA Says No Change Needed To ESA-Listing Status Of Interior Columbia River Basin Salmon/Steelhead; Two Populations Face High Extinction Risk

Seven interior Columbia River basin salmon and steelhead species listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act should retain their current listing status, according to five-year status reviews released by NOAA Fisheries. The listed species are in the mid- and upper-Columbia River basin and the Snake River basin.

Although the listings for each of the seven species remains unchanged, NOAA says there is an “increased level of concern” due to climate change and for that reason urgent action is needed, including further improving passage through hydropower dams, restoring tributary and estuary habitat, controlling predators and modifying hatchery practices.

Comprehensive recovery actions will help improve the resilience of the species to climate change, the agency says.

The seven species reviewed by NOAA and released this week are:

•         Upper Columbia River spring Chinook salmon

•         Upper Columbia River steelhead

•         Middle Columbia River steelhead

•         Snake River spring/summer Chinook

•         Snake River fall run Chinook

•         Snake River sockeye salmon

•         Snake River steelhead

Some 28 salmon and steelhead stocks in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington are listed under the ESA by NOAA’s West Coast Division.

The reviews are “a snapshot of how the species have done in the last five years and how they are faring overall at a critical time,” said Michael Tehan, Assistant Regional Administrator for the Interior Columbia Basin. “We are seeing the impacts of climate change play out, which demonstrates the urgency of moving the most critical recovery actions ahead now. The takeaway message is that we cannot wait.”

At most risk, according to NOAA Fisheries, are upper Columbia River spring-run Chinook salmon and Snake River sockeye salmon. The two species are also among the most endangered salmon on the West Coast and “face high extinction risk.”

That is according to the agency’s “Biological Viability Assessment Update for Pacific Salmon and Steelhead Listed Under the Endangered Species Act: Pacific Northwest,” released in early 2021 by NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center.

All three populations of upper Columbia spring-run Chinook salmon have declined over the last 5 years by an average of 48 percent, the status report says, adding that low survival in the ocean was a major factor, but impacts in freshwater also had an impact on the fish.

The recovery plan, which also applies to upper Columbia River steelhead, can be found here.

“Although the recent decline of population abundances is concerning, each population remains well above the abundance levels of when they were listed,” the review says. Still all three populations of upper Columbia River spring Chinook remain at high risk of extinction.

For upper Columbia River steelhead, the review says there is renewed interest in the removal of the Enloe Dam that has blocked the Similkameen River in northeast Washington since 1923 and has not produced electricity since 1958. Dam removal would provide access to hundreds of miles of habitat for anadromous fish and restore riverine processes in a portion of the Similkameen River that would be more resilient to temperature increases caused by climate change.

“The benefits of dam removal to anadromous fish, including UCR steelhead and UCR spring-run Chinook, are expected to improve all viability parameters of both species including abundance, productivity, spatial structure, and diversity,” the review says.

Sockeye salmon are native to the Snake River basin and historically were abundant in several lake systems in Idaho and Oregon. Today, the last remaining Snake River sockeye spawn in Sawtooth Valley lakes high in the Salmon River drainage in Idaho. The species, listed under the ESA as endangered in 1991, is considered by NOAA in its status review at a high risk of extinction.

The strategy for recovering Snake River aims to reintroduce and support adaptation of naturally self-sustaining sockeye salmon populations in the Sawtooth Valley lakes, the review says. The three phases of the strategy are: (1) Preservation with the captive broodstock program; (2) reintroduction; and (3) a program emphasizing natural adaptation and viability.

However, “No natural anadromous fish have been released since 2014 as they are required to be spawned in the captive broodstock program under NMFS Section 10 permit 1454,” the status review says.

The status reviews are not all bad news. Snake River fall-run Chinook salmon are listed as threatened and face moderate-to-low extinction risk.

“Current trends for this species are encouraging,” NOAA says. “If recent actions prove to be as effective as predicted and current trends continue, Snake River fall-run Chinook salmon could be removed from the list of species protected by the ESA.”

“Fall-run Chinook salmon are a bright spot that reflect the hard work that tribes and states have put into their recovery,” Tehan said. “We know what the species needs and we have been able to apply that.”

See NOAA’s status review for Snake River fall Chinook here.  

Snake River spring/summer-run Chinook salmon are also listed as threatened but with a moderate-to-high extinction risk. The survival of the species over the tough conditions of the last five years reflects their resilience, Tehan said. However, climate change poses a tougher test that will require more ambitious recovery actions to support the species.

Still, the review for Snake River spring/summer-run Chinook signaled an “increased level of concern” for the species based on declining population trends and climate change impacts. It called for further review if that trend continues. The review recommended additional habitat restoration. Research indicates that at least 20 percent of floodplain and side-channel habitat in a watershed must be restored to support a 25 percent increase in surviving salmon smolts.

See NOAA’s status review for Snake River spring/summer Chinook here.

It is not an accident that NOAA Fisheries prioritized its seven reviews for Snake River and upper and middle Columbia River salmon and steelhead before it completed its reviews for the other 21 species of anadromous fish listed by the agency. In a news release announcing the status reviews, the agency said it was “to provide updated information for discussions on long-term approaches for salmon and steelhead restoration across the Columbia River basin.”

In July, the White House Council on Environmental Quality released NOAA’s draft report “Rebuilding Interior Columbia River Basin Salmon and Steelhead” for review from fisheries managers. NOAA worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the State of Oregon and the Nez Perce Tribe to complete the report. NOAA says it will incorporate comments from regional fisheries managers and scientists and complete the report by Sept. 30.

In the draft report NOAA outlined what it would take to achieve the Columbia Basin Partnership’s mid-range abundance goals. It called for urgent and large-scale comprehensive actions in the basin if the region is to meet mid-range salmon and steelhead abundance goals set by the partnership task force in 2020. Those actions are “expedited” breaching of the lower Snake River dams, controlling predators and reintroducing salmon and steelhead upstream of blocked areas.

The agency said that inaction will result in the catastrophic loss of the basin’s wild salmon and steelhead stocks.

The Columbia Basin Partnership’s low-range adult abundance goals would result in ESA delisting. However, its mid- and high-range goals would go substantially further and provide for healthy and harvestable stocks. The Partnership also noted a sense of urgency to act now to achieve its goals, recognizing that it could take decades to ultimately achieve them, NOAA said.

“Recovery plans for these species say that additional improvements in survival through the hydrosystem are necessary. They do not explicitly call for breaching the lower Snake River dams, nor do the 5-year reviews analyze breaching the dams,” NOAA said.

NOAA’s “Rebuilding” report and a second report estimating the costs and types of replacement power if Snake River dams are breached are important parts of the commitments made by “moving” parties – the United States, National Wildlife Federation et al., the State of Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and the Spokane Tribe – as they requested a one-year stay in litigation earlier this month.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon on Aug. 4 agreed to a request by the Biden Administration and plaintiffs to extend for another year the stay in the litigation challenging the federal government’s environmental impact statement and biological opinion for Columbia/Snake river salmon and steelhead. The parties said they want more time to identify “comprehensive” solutions to basin salmon recovery.

See CBB, August 4, 2022, JUDGE AGREES TO EXTEND STAY ON COLUMBIA/SNAKE SALMON RECOVERY CASE FOR ANOTHER YEAR AS PARTIES SEEK ‘COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTIONS’

The Endangered Species Act calls for a review of listed species at least every five years to determine if their listing status remains accurate or should be changed. The reviews also provide a report card on recovery, as outlined by each species’ recovery plan. They identify the most critical threats to the species, and recommend key actions that can yield the greatest improvements in their odds for recovery.

For background, see:

— CBB, August 11, 2022, NOAA TAKING COMMENTS FROM FISHERIES MANAGERS ON SALMON REBUILDING REPORT KEY TO ADMINISTRATION’S COLLABORATIVE RECOVERY EFFORTS, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/NOAA-TAKING-COMMENTS-FROM-FISHERIES-MANAGERS-ON-SALMON-REBUILDING-REPORT-KEY-TO-ADMINISTRATIONS-COLLABORATIVE-RECOVERY-EFFORTS/

— CBB, July 15, 2022, WHITE HOUSE ISSUES REPORTS ON BASIN SALMON RECOVERY, COSTS; ‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’ NOT RESTORING ESA-LISTED SALMON, STEELHEAD, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/WHITE-HOUSE-ISSUES-REPORTS-ON-BASIN-SALMON-RECOVERY-COSTS-BUSINESS-AS-USUAL-NOT-RESTORING-ESA-LISTED-SALMON-STEELHEAD/

— CBB, May 7, 2021, NEZ PERCE STUDY SHOWS SNAKE RIVER BASIN SALMON/STEELHEAD AT RISK OF EXTINCTION; TRIBE SAYS EMERGENCY ACTIONS NEEDED, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/NEZ-PERCE-STUDY-SHOWS-SNAKE-RIVER-BASIN-SALMON-STEELHEAD-AT-RISK-OF-EXTINCTION-TRIBE-SAYS-EMERGENCY-ACTIONS-NEEDED/

— CBB, February 26, 2021, UNSETTLING: NOAA RESEARCH SAYS WARMING OCEAN POSES RISK OF EXTINCTION FOR SNAKE RIVER SPRING/SUMMER CHINOOK BY 2060S, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/UNSETTLING-NOAA-RESEARCH-SAYS-WARMING-OCEAN-POSES-RISK-OF-EXTINCTION-FOR-SNAKE-RIVER-SPRING-SUMMER-CHINOOK-BY-2060S/

–CBB, Jan. 15, 2021, WASHINGTON STATE SALMON RECOVERY REPORT: MOST POPULATIONS NOT MAKING PROGRESS, SOME ON PATH TO EXTINCTION https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/washington-state-salmon-recovery-report-most-populations-not-making-progress-some-on-path-to-extinction/

— CBB, October 30, 2020, COLUMBIA BASIN PARTNERSHIP RELEASES FINAL REPORT STRESSING URGENCY IN ADDRESSING SALMON, STEELHEAD RECOVERY, HTTPS://CBBULLETIN.COM/COLUMBIA-BASIN-PARTNERSHIP-RELEASES-FINAL-REPORT-STRESSING-URGENCY-IN-ADDRESSING-SALMON-STEELHEAD-RECOVERY/

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Judge Agrees To Extend Stay On Columbia/Snake Salmon Recovery Case For Another Year As Parties Seek ‘Comprehensive Solutions’

U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon this morning agreed to a request by the Biden Administration and plaintiffs to extend for another year the stay in the litigation challenging the federal government’s environmental impact statement and biological opinion for Columbia/Snake river salmon and steelhead. The parties want more time to identify “comprehensive” solutions to basin salmon recovery.

A stay, says this morning’s filing by the federal government and plaintiffs, would give parties time to “continue working toward solutions that have the potential to resolve all claims in this litigation.” Simon granted the order soon after it was filed with no comment.

Accompanying this morning’s filing is an “exhibit” listing “United States Commitments,” including “The Administration commits to exploring lower Snake River habitat restoration opportunities, including but not limited to migration corridor restoration through breaching the four lower Snake River dams.”

In October, Simon approved the pause in litigation until July 31 while parties to the lawsuit searched for a comprehensive solution to recover 13 species of Columbia and Snake river salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Since then, the Biden Administration has been active in trying to put together a collaborative process to develop recovery strategies, including the use of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services www.fmcs.gov.

The Administration and plaintiffs asked Simon to stay the case through August 31, 2023.

“During the litigation stay, the United States prepared for and started engaging with other Tribes, States, and stakeholders on timely, basin-wide, durable comprehensive solutions that have the potential for resolving this litigation,” said the filing by Todd Kim, Assistant Attorney General, Romney Philpott, Senior Attorney, and Michael Eitel, Senior Trial Attorney, all with the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment & Natural Resources Division.

“As part of these efforts, the United States committed to developing strategies through inclusive regional collaborative processes that restore native fish and their affected habitats, honor the United States’ commitments to Tribal Nations, deliver affordable clean power, and satisfy other interests served by the Columbia River System projects.

“The United States also secured the services of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to facilitate meaningful engagement on comprehensive solutions by the United States, Tribes, States, and Stakeholders. The Moving Parties have committed to engage with each other and other Tribes, States, and stakeholders within the FMCS process. They agree and expect that the first task following a continued litigation stay is for the Administration, in the forums managed by FMCS, to expeditiously collaborate with affected Tribes, States, and regional stakeholders and to produce by no later than December 1, 2022, a schedule of Administration actions and critical milestones that the Administration intends to pursue.”

Based on expectations “that the participants in the FMCS process meaningfully collaborate and that sufficient progress is made on identifying and implementing comprehensive basin-wide solutions, the Moving Parties believe that a continued stay of the litigation is warranted. This stay will allow the Moving Parties and others to continue working toward solutions that have the potential to resolve all claims in this litigation.

“In requesting a stay, the Moving Parties agree that the FMCS process and the participants need to make substantial progress on identifying and implementing comprehensive basin-wide solutions. Every 90 days during the extended stay, the Moving Parties therefore agree to file with the Court and serve on the parties and amicus a progress report of steps and actions taken during the FMCS process. The Moving Parties also agree that any party can move to lift the litigation stay for good cause, which can include the lack of sufficient progress on identifying and timely implementing comprehensive basin-wide solutions, whether due to the action or inaction of the Administration, the Plaintiffs, or any other party.”

The “Moving Parties” are the National Wildlife Federation et al., the State of Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, the Spokane Tribe, and the United States.

In the United States Commitments exhibit, the Biden Administration says it is “committed to supporting development of a durable long-term strategy to restore salmon and other native fish populations to healthy and abundant levels, honoring Federal commitments to Tribal Nations, delivering affordable and reliable clean power, and meeting the many resilience needs of stakeholders across the region.

“The Administration recognizes that business as usual will not achieve the goals of restoring salmon populations and ecosystem functions and that, despite hard work, ingenuity, great expense, and commitment across all levels of Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments and a wide range of stakeholders, many fish populations in the Columbia River Basin—salmon, steelhead, and others—have not recovered, some continue to decline, and many areas remain inaccessible to them. In the face of climate change, urgent action is needed to restore salmon and other native fish populations to healthy and abundant levels. The Administration is committed to rapidly engaging on comprehensive, durable solutions in the Columbia River Basin.”

The Administration pledged these commitments:

–Commits NOAA and the USFWS to review comments on the draft salmon rebuilding report from Tribal and State fishery managers and scientists and finalize the report on or before September 30, 2022, or within 30 days of the close of the comment period if reasonable requests for an extension of the comment period from Tribal or State fishery managers and scientists are received and granted. The Administration recognizes time is of the essence to have a final science-based report for policymakers and agrees to proceed accordingly.

–Commits to thoroughly examining and supporting all legislative proposals to advance salmon restoration in the Columbia River and examining all legislative proposals that undermine such restoration.

–Commits to exploring lower Snake River habitat restoration opportunities, including but not limited to migration corridor restoration through breaching the four lower Snake River dams.

–Commits to collaborating with sovereigns and other stakeholders and to immediately exploring appropriated or otherwise available short- and long-term funding opportunities and actions identified by Plaintiffs and other regional stakeholders—including addressing unmitigated Tribal needs, avoiding future issues with respect to creating inequities, and actions supporting salmon and other fisheries and fish and wildlife programs and infrastructure that can be implemented in 2023 and subsequent years. The Administration understands that this commitment will require ensuring adequate funds are available for agreed upon short- and long-term measures. By December 1, 2022, the Administration agrees to identify those short-term funding, operational, and other actions that can be implemented in 2023 based on actual and projected funding available from sources across the federal Departments and Agencies.

–Commits to examining all current funding opportunities in 2023 and seeking additional funding for new power and transmission resources to offset future changes to the CRS (Columbia River System) as well as other emerging energy needs. The Administration understands that “future changes to the CRS” contemplates a broad set of future changes related to spills and other operational changes in addition to potentially breaching the four lower Snake River dams.

–Specific to reintroduction, the Administration commits to developing and implementing a plan to explore providing full support for and funding of Phase II reintroduction actions as well as other reintroduction efforts in the Upper Columbia River. The Administration commits to summarizing the status of the plan and progress on its implementation for these actions by December 30, 2022.

–Commits to extending the current agreed upon operations in the October 2021 Term Sheet for Stay until August 31, 2023. By October 31, 2022, the Administration commits to evaluating and, as appropriate, adopting any reasonable operational changes proposed by Plaintiffs based on lessons learned from implementation of 2022 spill operations. The Administration further commits to exploring with Plaintiffs and other sovereigns post 2023 operations as part of a long-term comprehensive solution.

–Commits to collaborating with affected Tribes, States, and regional stakeholders in the FMCS process and, by December 1, 2022, producing a schedule of Administration actions and critical milestones to meet the Administration’s principles and commitments described herein and which the Administration intends to pursue.

Also this morning, the state of Idaho filed a motion saying it did not oppose an order to extend the stay but said, “While the State of Idaho recognizes that breaching of these dams will be examined as part of this process, Idaho is opposed to any actions that lead to the breaching of the lower four Snake River Dams.”

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the State of Washington, and the Northwest Power and Conservation Council supported the motion.

Along with the state of Idaho, The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the State of Montana, the Inland Ports and Navigation Group, and the Public Power Council did not oppose the motion to stay.

The Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association, and Northwest RiverPartners did not indicate a position of support for or opposition to the motion.

–Bill Crampton, billcrampton@bendcable.com

Also see:

–CBB, July 15, 2022, WHITE HOUSE ISSUES REPORTS ON BASIN SALMON RECOVERY, COSTS; ‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’ NOT RESTORING ESA-LISTED SALMON, STEELHEAD https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/white-house-issues-reports-on-basin-salmon-recovery-costs-business-as-usual-not-restoring-esa-listed-salmon-steelhead/

— CBB, June 30, 2022, FEDERAL MEDIATORS FOR COLUMBIA BASIN SALMON RECOVERY HOPE FOR EXTENSION OF LITIGATION PAUSE; WOULD GIVE MORE TIME FOR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/federal-mediators-for-columbia-basin-salmon-recovery-hope-for-extension-of-litigation-pause-would-give-more-time-for-comprehensive-plan/

–CBB, March 31, 2022, WHITE HOUSE PLANS ON BEING INVOLVED WITH COLUMBIA BASIN SALMON RECOVERY AS BIOP LITIGATION TALKS CONTINUE; COLLABORATIVE APPROVES A CHARTER https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/white-house-plans-on-being-involved-with-columbia-basin-salmon-recovery-as-biop-litigation-talks-continue-collaborative-approves-a-charter/

— CBB, October 27, 2021, “Federal Judge Approves Pause In Salmon/Steelhead EIS/BiOp Case; Parties ‘In Good Faith Discussions To Resolve Litigation,’” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/federal-judge-approves-pause-in-salmon-steelhead-eis-biop-case-parties-in-good-faith-discussions-to-resolve-litigation/

— CBB, October 22, 2021, “Parties Put Salmon/Steelhead BiOp Litigation On Hold, Commit To Working Together To Find ‘Comprehensive, Long-Term Solution,’” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/parties-put-salmon-steelhead-biop-litigation-on-hold-commit-to-working-together-to-find-comprehensive-long-term-solution/

— CBB, June 11, 2021, “Columbia Basin Collaborative Second Workshop Focuses On Year-Long Process To Achieve Salmon Recovery Recommendations,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/columbia-basin-collaborative-second-workshop-focuses-on-year-long-process-to-achieve-salmon-recovery-recommendations/

— CBB, January 29, 2021, “Columbia Basin Collaborative Schedules Organizational Workshop To Discuss ‘Proposed Process Approach’, Goal to Create ‘Salmon Ethic’” https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/columbia-basin-collaborative-schedules-organizational-workshop-to-discuss-proposed-process-approach-goal-to-create-salmon-ethic/

— CBB, Dec. 11, 2020, OREGON FILES INTENT TO CHALLENGE FEDS’ NEW EIS/BIOP FOR BASIN SALMON/STEELHEAD IN CASE REGIONAL COLLABORATION GOES NOWHERE, https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/oregon-files-intent-to-challenge-feds-new-eis-biop-for-basin-salmon-steelhead-in-case-regional-collaboration-goes-nowhere/

— CBB, Oct. 23, 2020, CONSERVATION/FISHING GROUPS ISSUE NOTICE OF INTENT TO SUE OVER FEDERAL AGENCIES’ NEW PLAN FOR OPERATING COLUMBIA/SNAKE DAMS WITHOUT JEOPARDIZING SALMON, STEELHEAD, https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/conservation-fishing-groups-issue-notice-of-intent-to-sue-over-federal-agencies-new-plan-for-operating-columbia-snake-dams-without-jeopardizing-salmon-steelhead/

— CBB, Oct. 15, 2020, NW STATES AGREE TO ‘DEFINE A FUTURE COLLABORATIVE FRAMEWORK’ FOR ACHIEVING ABUNDANCE GOALS FOR COLUMBIA BASIN SALMON/STEELHEAD, https://www.www.www.columbiabasinbulletin.org/nw-states-agree-to-define-a-future-collaborative-framework-for-achieving-abundance-goals-for-columbia-basin-salmon-steelhead/

For more stories go to https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/category/litigation/

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New Regulatory Tool Released For Development That To Date Has Altered, Eliminated 70 Percent Of Nearshore Salmon Habitat In Puget Sound, Salish Sea

Pending shoreline projects in the Salish Sea can now proceed under a new regulatory tool, a programmatic consultation.

The tool provides “for efficient Endangered Species Act reviews in nearshore habitat of the Salish Sea while also protecting some of the most important but imperiled habitat for threatened salmon and steelhead,” says NOAA Fisheries.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and NOAA Fisheries collaborated to develop the programmatic action to help stop the net loss of nearshore habitat. That’s where young salmon have their last chance to grow before migrating to the ocean. Their growth in the shoreline marsh and wetlands improves their odds of returning from the ocean as adults. Adult salmon support tribal, sport, and commercial fisheries and provide food for endangered Southern Resident killer whales.

The same shorelines attract homes, harbors, seawalls, and other development efforts that have altered or eliminated more than 70 percent of nearshore habitat in Puget Sound and the Salish Sea. These habitat losses have depressed the survival of young salmon in that crucial stage. They have outpaced restoration of salmon habitat, often negating state and federal efforts to help recover fish populations.

“To save the species we have to provide the habitat they need, but we have been losing it faster than we can restore it,” said Kim Kratz, Assistant Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region. “Finally we are turning a corner.”

The new tool streamlines ESA consultations by identifying measures that proponents can incorporate into their construction and maintenance projects up front that minimize impacts to species and avoid costly changes later. “This makes the process clear and predictable, so everyone knows what’s needed,” Kratz said.

NOAA Fisheries develops biological opinions for projects such as wharves and piers permitted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers when those permitted activities may adversely affect threatened and endangered species. The biological opinions identify measures to reduce impacts on the species.

More than 100 projects with pending consultations across Puget Sound mounted as NOAA Fisheries and the Corps sought a way forward that would avoid more harm to the species, while allowing development in a predictable and efficient manner.

Use of the programmatic consultation requires project proponents to reduce or offset the long-term impacts with habitat of equal value to ESA-listed species. The consultation should streamline the review process, because it covers many types of projects, avoiding individual evaluations of each one, and can cover both pending and new projects proposed in the coming years.

Proponents have different options to meet the habitat standards. They can redesign their projects to reduce effects, or take additional steps to improve habitat, such as by removing toxic creosote pilings. They also could choose to obtain conservation credits through conservation banks that help fund larger restoration projects.

To help project proponents weigh their options, NOAA Fisheries developed a “Conservation Calculator” to assess the value of lost habitat. Based on decades of salmon habitat science, the calculator translates the attributes of habitat to be developed into a number of habitat debits. Proponents can then seek options that provide the credits they need to offset the debits.

“There is flexibility there, but the calculator also provides predictability,” Kratz said. “It ensures nobody is responsible for any more or less than necessary to address the impacts of their projects. The point is to make it easy, so every project does not have to have its own analysis, which is expensive for everyone. ”NOAA Fisheries and the Corps say they will work together to address pending projects under the new programmatic consultation as quickly as possible. The work builds on a memorandum signed by the NOAA Administrator and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works in January. It articulates a mutual understanding of how the agencies evaluate the impacts of maintaining existing structures.

The ESA requires the Army Corps of Engineers to consult with NOAA Fisheries before undertaking work or issuing permits to maintain structures that may affect species or habitat protected by the ESA. Consistent with the agencies’ respective statutory authorities and regulations, the memorandum explains how the agencies consult on infrastructure and maintenance projects that are important to the nation, while protecting species and habitat as required by the ESA. The memorandum explains differing approaches for Corps Civil Works and regulatory permit programs, and outlines when work on existing structures may result in effects to listed species and designated critical habitat.

“We appreciate the commitment of Army Civil Works to protect salmon and other species and their habitat while also maintaining infrastructure vital to our coastal communities,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “This solution is true to the law, the science, and the treaty rights of tribes who depend on these species.”

For more information see the Endangered Species Act Section 7(a)(2) Biological Opinion, and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Essential Fish Habitat Response for the Salish Sea Nearshore Programmatic Consultation.

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