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Prepared by: Carl Christianson, Biologist, retired USACE; Sharon Grace, Attorney; Jim Waddell, P.E., retired USACE This report was sent to the following officials in early November 2015: Senator Patty Murray Senator Maria Cantwell Governor Jay Inslee LTG Thomas P. Bostick–USACE Jo-Ellen Darcy–USACE Eileen Sobeck–NOAA Sally Jewell–Secty, Dept of Interior Christy Goldfuss–CEQ Sonya L. Baskerville–DOE/BPA Rep. Hans Dunshee–WA […]

The Olympian Letter to the Editor Christina M. Price, Rochester I just finished reading “Into Great Silence” by Eva Saulitis about a pod of 22 transient orcas that frequented Prince William Sound. The pod will become extinct in our lifetime because of the Exxon Valdez disaster. We are the stewards of three resident pods of […]

Brenda Peterson Huffington Post Blog “It’s rare with any endangered species to rejoice–but the birth of six new orca whale calves this year to the J, K, and L pods has the Pacific Northwest breaching for joy. In any culture, we celebrate long-awaited births with gifts. What can we offer these orca families to commemorate […]

Leda Huta Endangered Species Coalition “Yet they [Southern Resident Killer Whales] face a major problem — a lack of food. The mighty rivers of the West — including the Columbia Snake River watershed, a key source of Chinook — have been broken. Though the Columbia Snake once brought salmon all the way from inland northern Nevada to the Pacific Ocean, today […]

The Fish Passage Center (FPC) staff received two similar requests for summaries of water temperature data, management actions, and adult sockeye passage in 2015. One request was submitted by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife technical staff, and one was a citizen request.  Read the full report here.

Rocky Barker writes in the Idaho Statesman about how Snake River and Pacific Ocean changes could affect the politics of dam breaching.  Read the full article here.

On October 27th, 2015, eight highly-respected Pacific Northwest fisheries scientists responded to Will Stelle’s recent column in the Seattle Times titled “NOAA Fisheries embraces- not ignores- climate research”.   Read the full response here.

On January 24th, 2015, orca advocates hand delivered a letter to Washington Senator Murray encouraging her to support the breaching of the four lower Snake River dams. Read the letter in full.

Editorial The Daily Astorian Oct. 26, 2015 An unfortunate fact of life for orcas — and everything else that relies on salmon — is that runs fluctuate.         Iconic Northwest species enters our waters There was fascinating news last week about southern resident killer whales that have an extensive connection to the Columbia River. These […]

Dear Lt. Col. Vail: We write to express concern over comments written by or attributed to you 1) at the October 3rd Free the Snake Flotilla, 2) in recent letters-to-the editor, 3) in recent news articles, and 4) on the Corps of Engineers’ current website. To a participant during the Flotilla event you noted your […]