These steelhead in the lower Snake River most likely did not migrate up from the ocean this spring, they spent the winter in the river. The majority of the migrating fish show up in September/October. Steelhead Total Counts, 2017: 6805 Steelhead Total Counts, 2016: 4879 Steelhead Total Counts, 10 yr avg: 7647 Wild Steelhead Total […]
The US Army Corps of Engineers is revising the Lower Granite Master Plan (LGMP). Public scoping is taking place until April 22nd, 2017 and comments received during this process will be considered during development of the draft LGMP. THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS SHOULD NOT BE DRAFTING A NEW LOWER GRANITE MASTER PLAN, UNLESS IT IS […]
The 2017 spring adult migration to the Columbia River basin has begun. Bonneville dam is the first dam encountered by salmon and steelhead adults as they return to their natal waters to spawn. Fish destined for the middle and upper Columbia and Snake Rivers will encounter 3 more dams (The Dalles, John Day, and McNary). […]
Lower Snake River Weekly Update- 4/6/17 The counting of returning fish at Lower Granite Dam on the lower Snake River resumed on 3/1/17. Steelhead are the first species to be seen. Here is the tally as of 4/6/17: Steelhead counted to date in 2017: 6104 Steelhead counted to date in 2016: 4314 Steelhead counted to […]
Poor run may spawn steelheading restrictions Sat., April 1, 2017, 4:11 p.m. By Eric Barker Lewiston Tribune The forecast calling for a dismal return of B-run steelhead to Idaho this fall has fisheries managers up and down the Columbia and Snake rivers contemplating regulations designed to protect wild fish and make sure enough hatchery […]
Special thanks to Linwood Laughy for this post. March 20, 2017 “Alternative Facts” and the Lower Snake River Dams Propaganda—information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view New Oxford American Dictionary The Corps of Engineers and special interest lobbying groups are […]
A dangerous Senate Joint Memorial (SJM 8004) has been introduced and passed by the Washington state senate in 2017. It has not been passed by the house, where it will hopefully die. The Memorial seeks to have certain federal officials prevent the breaching of any dam in the Columbia River system, including the 4 lower […]
Inland barging, like that which takes place on the Columbia and lower Snake Rivers, has been advertised as the greenest form of transportation of goods from inland ports. Comparisons with rail and truck show less fossil fuel consumption by barges and thus less greenhouse gas emissions. But new scientific evidence is showing that a key component […]
In 2002, after conducting a seven year, $33 million dollar comprehensive study, the Army Corps of Engineers found that breaching the four lower Snake River dams had the highest probability of meeting the government’s salmon survival and recovery criteria. In contrast, the Corps found that transporting fish around the dams and constructing expensive hardware improvements to […]
Opinion piece in the Moscow/Pullman Daily News His View: The ‘prosperity’ from Lower Snake River dams By Linwood Laughy Nov 7, 2016 In 1973 residents of Idaho’s Clearwater Valley were told their prospects for prosperity rose with each foot of slackwater filling the reservoir behind the Lower Granite Dam. Waterborne commerce would flourish, and Idaho’s […]