NEW EASTERN OREGON DAM/WATER STORAGE SITE BEING ASSESSED Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 (PST)

A 320-foot high dam in Juniper Canyon northwest of Pendleton could impound up to 49,000 acre feet of water pumped from the Columbia River during winter months, according to an initial assessment by the Oregon Water Resources Department. Read More...

SUPREME COURT TO BE PETITIONED ON COLUMBIA POLLUTION CASE Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 (PST)

A Canadian metals company plans this month to ask the Supreme Court to consider the firm's arguments that it is not liable under U.S. law for the "release" of hazardous substances into the upper Columbia River in northeastern Washington. Read More...

OVERALL SNOWPACK LIGHT; WATER SUPPLY FORECAST DROPPING Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 (PST)

A relatively dry January in portions of the Columbia River basin have sent snowpack runoff forecasts for the spring and summer into a bit of a freefall, and started to raise concerns for fish managers, hydrosystem operators and other water users. Read More...

PROCESS BEGINS TO CONSIDER LETHAL REMOVAL OF SEA LIONS Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 (PST)

The federal government this week triggered a process that could ultimately provide the states of Idaho, Oregon and Washington authority to lethally remove California sea lions that prey each spring on threatened and endangered salmon in the lower Columbia River. Read More...

NEZ PERCE FISHERIES PLAN MOSTLY AIMED AT NEXT YEAR Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 (PST)

The Nez Perce Tribe would consider additional gill-net fisheries this year targeting steelhead in the Snake River basin, but the immediate goals for implementing a new Tribal Fisheries Management Plan have been lowered, according to a tribal official. Read More...

MEETING DISCUSSES CROWDED CLEARWATER STEELHEAD FISHING Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 (PST)

Fishing outfitters and private anglers both agreed Friday night that the lower Clearwater River is becoming more crowded during the annual steelhead season. Read More...

FEDS ANNOUNCE PROPOSAL TO DELIST WOLVES IN IDAHO, MONTANA Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 (PST)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials on Monday announced a formal proposal to remove legal protections for wolves in the Northern Rockies, a change that will proceed with or without Wyoming. Read More...

NEZ PERCE TRIBE HAS KEY ROLE IN WOLF RECOVERY, MANAGEMENT Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 (PST)

Nez Perce Tribal officials are backing a process to remove wolves from the federal list of endangered species in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Read More...

RESEARCH LACKING ON MARINE ECOSYSTEMS, FISH, INVASIVE SPECIES Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 (PST)

A 20-year survey of conservation science shows a disturbing disconnect between the world’s most pressing ecological issues and what researchers are actually studying, with some less serious problems getting the most attention while more critical concerns get largely ignored. Read More...