Salmon

A three-mile section of the East Fork Lewis River is on its way to recovery, despite concerns about future environmental restoration funding.

President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Thursday pulling the federal government out of a historical Columbia River management deal.

President Donald Trump on Thursday pulled the federal government out of what Northwest tribes have hailed as a historic agreement to recover salmon in the Columbia River Basin.

The White House’s proposed 2026 budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would eliminate the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, the leading source of money for restoring the Northwest’s struggling salmon runs.

An internal document from the Office of Management and Budget, reviewed by KUOW, calls for eliminating NOAA’s Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, as well as national grant programs for species recovery, interjurisdictional fisheries, and habitat conservation and restoration.

After decades of conflict, farmers and tribes say they’re working in concert to restore salmon habitat in the Klamath Basin. But two dams remain - one that blocks fish passage another that plays a key role for agriculture.

The groups argued the dam, located about 70 miles east of Eugene on the McKenzie River, has prevented endangered Chinook salmon and bull trout from migrating and blocked access to cold water.

Eighty-eight years after its creation by an act of Congress, Bonneville Power is widely viewed as both an engine of prosperity in the Northwest, and — at times — an obstacle to environmental goals and economic growth.

The rolling 10-year average return has gone up since the 1990s, but is still well short of goals set by the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.

The newly signed legislation follows reporting from Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica that underscored the risks and costs associated with a plan to migrate salmon past hydroelectric dams using a giant fish collector and tanker trucks.