Columbia Basin Bulletin - November 6, 2025

Budget Cuts Lead to Hatchery Shut Down, More Briefings Filed In support of Injunction Calling for Operational Changes to Protect Salmon, Steelhead... and more

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Columbia Basin Bulletin
November 06, 2025

The Skamania fish hatchery on the Washougal River in Washington is shutting down due to budget cuts at the state’s fishery agency that have also resulted in layoffs and cuts in monitoring and fisheries management.

More Briefings Filed In Support Of Injunction Calling For Operational Changes At Columbia/Snake Dams To Protect Salmon, Steelhead

The state of Washington and Columbia River tribes are lining up in U.S. District Court to support a request for a preliminary injunction filed Oct. 14 by Earthjustice seeking emergency operational changes at federal Columbia and Snake river dams aimed at protecting endangered salmon and steelhead from harms caused by dam operations.

From 99 Sockeye In 1980s To 91,000 Today: Recovery Efforts Lead To Record Number Of Sockeye Returning To Washington’s Baker Lake This Year

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, and Puget Sound Energy announced that this year a record number of sockeye salmon returned to northwest Washington’s Skagit Bay and the Skagit River on their annual spawning migration.

2024 was the hottest year on record and likely the hottest in at least 125,000 years, according to an annual report issued by an international coalition led by Oregon State University scientists.

Alaska Study Finds Oldest Salmonid In Fossil Record, 73 Million Years Ago When Arctic Was Warmer

The Arctic landscape during the Cretaceous Period may have been dominated by the dinosaurs, but the rivers and streams held something more familiar.

Following an “unprecedented” level of livestock attacks across the Sierra Valley, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has lethally removed four gray wolves from the Beyem Seyo pack. This action follows months of intensive non-lethal management efforts to reduce livestock loss and, the agency says, “is grounded in the best available science and understanding of wolf biology.”

A federal court ruled this week that the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service broke multiple environmental laws in approving the Knotty Pine logging project in the Kootenai National Forest. The proposed project is deep in the Cabinet-Yaak grizzly bear recovery zone of northwest Montana.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and its partners have initiated a second year of spring-run Chinook salmon reintroduction efforts into historic habitat in the North Yuba River.