Discover Top Posts Tagged with #snake river

Ansel Adams #photography The Tetons And The Snake River, 1947

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“Such reciprocity is the very structure of perception. We experience the sensuous world only by rendering ourselves vulnerable to that world. Sensory perception is this ongoing interweavement: the terrain enters into us only to the extent that we allow ourselves to be taken up within that terrain.”

― David Abram, Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology

#Ansel Adams #The Tetons #Snake River #David Abram #Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology #quotes #reciprocity #perception #the sensuous world

We need your voice. Right now, the future of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers is on the line.

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC) is reviewing and revising its Fish and Wildlife Plan, a process that determines how the region protects salmon impacted by dams. But once again, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) — the entity that operates and sells power from the lower Snake River dams — is attempting to gut recovery efforts.

BPA is trying to walk away from its legal responsibilities. BPA has proposed eliminating NPCC’s long-held goal of 5 million salmon returning annually to the Columbia River Basin and claims it has no legal obligation to meet any salmon recovery targets at all. This directly contradicts BPA’s mandate under the Northwest Power Act “to protect, mitigate, and enhance salmon populations to the extent they are affected by the federal hydrosystem.” (Learn more)

On the other hand, for the first time ever, NPCC staff are recommending modeling dam breach and “fish-first” scenarios for dam operations. This is a crucial step toward developing solutions that support both abundant salmon and affordable, reliable energy — and it reflects the recommendations of state and Tribal fish and wildlife experts across the region.

This is a critical moment. With the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement now dissolved and federal threats to the Endangered Species Act growing, the NPCC’s decisions matter more than ever.

We cannot allow BPA to move the goalposts. We must demand that NPCC hold the line — and act swiftly for fish, Tribes, and the people of the Northwest.

Take action by July 3:

Submit a public comment telling NPCC to reject BPA’s reckless recommendations and to include dam breaching and fish-first modeling in its updated plans.

Sample Comment:

Dear Chair Milburn and Council Members,

As a resident, taxpayer, and energy customer in the Northwest, I am deeply concerned about the crisis facing salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Basin. I strongly urge the Council to reject the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)’s proposal to lower salmon recovery goals and instead adopt recommendations from state and Tribal experts to include modelling for dam breach and “fish first” hydro operations in the Council’s 2026 Fish and Wildlife Program and Power Plan.

BPA’s proposal to eliminate the 5 million salmon return goal and adult return benchmarks would undermine recovery efforts – attempting to redefine the problem rather than solve it. These goals are essential for accountability, funding, and meaningful progress on fish recovery. BPA’s stance that it has no legal obligation to meet these goals directly contradicts its mandate under the Northwest Power Act “to protect, mitigate, and enhance salmon populations to the extent they are affected by the federal hydrosystem.”

I also support including dam breach and “fish first” scenarios in program modeling. Understanding the impact of these scenarios on energy production is critical to developing solutions that support both healthy salmon runs and affordable, reliable energy – which is the core of the Council’s mission.

Energy is replaceable. Our region’s wild salmon and steelhead are not. I strongly urge you to maintain these important goals and benchmarks as you finalize the 2026 Fish and Wildlife Program, and ensure BPA meets its obligations to salmon, Tribes, and our entire region.

Thank you for your consideration.

[YOUR NAME]

[YOUR CITY, STATE]

Provide a comment on a recommendation to the Fish and Wildlife Program

#salmon #washington #seattle #columbia river gorge #Columbia river #snake river #fish and wildlife #bonneville