APPEALS COURT ORDERS BPA TO FUND FISH PASSAGE CENTER Posted on Friday, January 26, 2007 (PST)

A federal appellate court on Wednesday – in response to a request by Columbia River basin tribes and fishing and conservation groups – ordered the Bonneville Power Administration to "continue its existing contractual arrangements to fund and support" the Fish Passage Center. Read More...

REACTION: WEIGHT OF CONGRESSIONAL REPORT LANGUAGE KEY ISSUE Posted on Friday, January 26, 2007 (PST)

Columbia Basin tribes and fishing and conservation groups are jubilant, and Idaho's senior U.S. senator is frustrated, over a Wednesday order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit requiring continued federal funding for the Portland-based Fish Passage Center. Read More...

COLUMBIA BASIN ECOLOGICAL HEALTH NOW A PRIORITY FOR EPA Posted on Friday, January 26, 2007 (PST)

A newly-bestowed priority designation for the 260,000 square mile Columbia River basin has provided impetus for the Environmental Protection Agency to accelerate its efforts to reduce what is viewed as a significant threat to salmon and other forms of life -- toxics pollution. Read More...

FISH SURVEY DOCUMENTS MERCURY LEVELS IN WESTERN RIVERS Posted on Friday, January 26, 2007 (PST)

A new survey by researchers at Oregon State University and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of more than 600 rivers and streams in the western United States found widespread mercury concentrations in fish. Read More...

BRIEFINGS DEBATE HOW HATCHERY SALMON FIT WITH ESA LISTINGS Posted on Friday, January 26, 2007 (PST)

The federal judge who in 2001 triggered a three-year reassessment of West Coast salmon and steelhead Endangered Species Act listings is once again fielding arguments about how hatchery produced fish should be accounted for in evaluating species status. Read More...

TRIBES COMMERCIAL FISH PROCESSING FACILITY OPERATION DELAYED Posted on Friday, January 26, 2007 (PST)

Full-scale operation of a commercial fish processing facility built for tribal fishers at an in-lieu fishing access site near White Salmon, Wash., is not expected to begin this fall as anticipated. Read More...

CHINOOK FISHING CONTINUES; FORECAST SHOWS LESS FISH THAN 2006 Posted on Friday, January 26, 2007 (PST)

Anglers may continue fishing for hatchery spring chinook salmon in the lower Columbia River from the Interstate 5 bridge downstream to Buoy 10 through April 15 under an agreement reached Thursday by Washington and Oregon fishery managers. Read More...