Columbia Basin Bulletin - August 31, 2024

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Columbia Basin Bulletin
August 31, 2024

The Bureau of Reclamation and partners of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan completed a new fish passage facility at the Cle Elum Dam in July that will allow juvenile sockeye salmon to naturally pass downstream. Once all parts of the Integrated Plan are in place, annual adult sockeye returns to the Cle Elum River are projected to rise from 20,000 fish to 100,000 fish.

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ operation that began July 1 to maintain tailwater temperatures at Lower Granite Dam under 68 degrees Fahrenheit by releasing cool water from Dworshak Dam into the lower Snake River system is coming to an end this weekend.

A regional panel of scientists’ recent review of the Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation’s assessment of spring/summer Chinook losses resulting from the construction of upper Snake River dams said the Tribes’ analysis could be improved and gives pointers to help with a second round of work.

Oregon U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission is set to receive a $794,000 federal grant from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to support their salmon recovery work and strengthen underserved communities impacted by climate change in the Columbia River Estuary.

NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation is investing $9.5 million through the Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to restore salmon habitat for South Fork Nooksack River Spring Chinook. Projects led by the Lummi Nation and Nooksack Indian Tribe will install engineered log jams in the river.

Greenhouse gas concentrations, the global temperature across land and oceans, global sea level and ocean heat content all reached record highs in 2023, according to an international State of the Climate report led by NOAA scientists.

The Colorado River and its tributaries provide water for hydropower, irrigation and drinking water in seven U.S. states and Mexico. Much of this water comes from the snowpack that builds up over the winter and then melts each spring. Every year in early April, water managers use the snowpack to predict how much water will be available for the upcoming year.

Oregon State University researchers are part of a team looking at reducing bird collision risks with wind turbines by painting a single blade of the turbine black.

The Center for Biological Diversity this week petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the highly imperiled Alvord chub under the Endangered Species Act.