Save Our Wild Salmon Media Center

Data Fails to Support BPA Wind Policy Decision for “Protecting Salmon”
Portland, OR – In a new report released today, salmon advocates present biological data showing that Columbia and Snake River salmon populations were largely unharmed by this spring’s unusually high water and dissolved gas levels. The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) used “protecting salmon” as its rationale for repeated shut-offs of Northwest wind power projects’ access to the power grid over nearly two months.  The report concludes BPA’s policy did little to nothing to protect salmon.
Press Release  PDF of the Report

Portland, OR – Over 1,000 American businesses have asked President Obama for decisive change in the government’s failed policy to restore endangered wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers.  The request comes in a letter released today, following U.S. District Judge James Redden ruling on August 2, 2011 finding the administration’s current salmon plan illegal.
Press Release  National Salmon Mean Business Letter and Signers  Additional Background

Fishing, conservation groups call for solutions table on salmon crisis - Portland, OR – U.S. District Court Judge James Redden ruled today that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service failed for the third time in ten years to produce a legal and scientifically adequate plan to protect imperiled Columbia-Snake River salmon from extinction. The harm to these species has been largely caused by operation of the federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. Today’s court action is a watershed moment for fishing and conservation groups, the state of Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribe, and the Spokane Tribe, all of which opposed the federal biological opinion, or BiOp, in court.
Press Release  PDF of the Ruling  Additional Background

Fishermen, Businesses, Salmon Groups Ask Court to Increase Endangered Salmon Survival - Olympia, WA –Today, a coalition of fishermen and sport fishing associations, partnering with salmon conservation groups, filed an appeal asking a Washington State appeals court to help the downstream migration of endangered salmon. The appeal seeks to overturn a Superior Court ruling against salmon fishermen, businesses, and advocates in a lawsuit that seeks to ensure that Washington’s water quality standards effectively protect salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The groups had asked the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) to heed the best available science and revise Washington’s existing so-called Total Dissolved Gas (TDG) limits to assist young salmon making their journey to the sea. Press Release

Western Division of American Fisheries Society Deems the Four Lower Snake River Dams a Threat to Wild Salmon and Steelhead Survival - Today, the Western Division of American Fisheries Society (WDAFS) announced that it has passed a resolution acknowledging that based on the best available science, the four lower Snake River dams and reservoirs present a significant threat to the continued existence of remaining wild fish populations. It goes on to say that if society wishes to save and restore these imperiled species, “then a significant portion of the lower Snake River must be returned to a free-flowing condition by breaching the four lower Snake River dams[.]” The resolution passed with 86.4% approval. Press Release Fact Sheet