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Columbia Basin Bulletin - December 22, 2024

Columbia Basin Bulletin - December 22, 2024

Bonus Christmas Stories: Impacts of Hydrosystem on Imperiled Salmonids, ESA-Listed Fish Continue to Struggle, NOAA Fisheries Accepting Project Applications From States... and more

Columbia Basin Bulletin
December 22, 2024

Agencies Taking Another Look At 2020 EIS Detailing Impacts Of Columbia/Snake River Federal Hydrosystem On Imperiled Salmonids

Citing new information and changed circumstances, two federal agencies are reopening this week their 2020 final environmental impact study for operations at 14 Columbia/Snake river federal hydroelectric dams and are now seeking public input. The final EIS guides the dams’ impacts on salmon and steelhead listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Council Shows Total Salmon/Steelhead Return Numbers To Columbia River Through The Years Short Of Goal; ESA-Listed Fish Continue To Struggle

The average number of salmon and steelhead returning to the Columbia River each year has remained mostly constant over the last twenty years. While today’s returns of the fish have improved dramatically since the 1990s at a time when many of the species were being listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, today’s combined returns are still only half of the 2025 goal of 5 million fish set by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.

NOAA Fisheries Accepting Project Applications From States, Tribes For Up To $99 Million Through Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund

The Department of Commerce and NOAA Fisheries has announced up to $99 million in funding through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund for conservation and recovery projects focusing on Pacific salmon and steelhead. The funding — which includes $34.4 million from the Infrastructure Law — is aimed at advancing state and tribal efforts to restore salmon populations and habitats.

USFWS Releases Final Recovery Plan For Oregon Spotted Frog, Inhabits Small Portions Of Habitat From Canada To Southern Oregon

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has published a final recovery plan for the Oregon spotted frog, a threatened species living in the Pacific Northwest. The plan provides a road map to help recover the frog so it can thrive and ultimately be delisted from the Endangered Species Act.

USFWS Proposes To List Suckley’s Cuckoo Bumble Bee As Endangered; Once Broadly Distributed In West, Last Sighting In 2016

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is opening a 60-day public comment period on a proposed rule to list Suckley’s cuckoo bumble bee as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. This determination also serves as the 12-month finding on a petition to list the bee.