IN-RIVER JUVENILE SPRING CHINOOK SURVIVAL SHOWS INCREASE Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 (PST)

Survival of juvenile Snake River spring chinook salmon from Lower Granite Dam to Bonneville Dam was higher in 2006 -- 58 percent -- than it has been since federal research began in 1993, according to researchers. Read More...

CONGRESSIONAL HEARING FOCUSES ON POWER RATES, FISH COSTS Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 (PST)

The Endangered Species Act is often "used as a tool to drive up costs for our electricity ratepayers," U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris said during a July 7 congressional oversight field hearing in Pasco, Wash. Read More...

. BPA RELEASES PROPOSAL ON SELLING LOW-COST POWER AFTER 2011 Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 (PST)

The Bonneville Power Administration released a proposal this week aimed at defining its electrical power supply role in the Pacific Northwest after 2011, when its current power sales contracts expire. Read More...

FEDS CONSIDER REDUCED DRAWDOWN OF MONTANA RESERVOIRS Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 (PST)

Federal officials -- reluctant July 6 to implement a hydrosystem operational strategy offered by Montana -- will next week consider an alternative that would draw down Libby and Hungry Horse faster than the state would like but not as fast as is now planned. Read More...

MONTANA , KOOTENAI TRIBE JOIN WHITE STURGEON LAWSUIT Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 (PST)

The state of Montana and the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho have joined a lawsuit contesting Libby Dam operations on different sides but with similar goals. Montana intervened as plaintiffs in a lawsuit initiated by the Center for Biological Diversity, which has staunchly advocated higher flows in the Kootenai River for the benefit of white sturgeon, an endangered species. The Kootenai Tribes, meanwhile, joined in support of a recent biological opinion that the lawsuit challenges. Read More...

COURT GETS UPDATE ON PROGRESS OF BIOP REMAND COLLABORATION Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 (PST)

The state of affairs will become clearer in the coming weeks within the federal government's "collaborative" process to reconstruct its Columbia River hydrosystem salmon protection plan. Read More...

COUNCIL STAFF AIMS FOR PROJECT RECOMMENDATIONS IN SEPTEMBER Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 (PST)

With advice from a variety of sources now in hand, Northwest Power and Conservation Council staff will begin piecing together a recommendation for how available fish and wildlife monies will be spent in fiscal years 2007-2009. Read More...

RULING CALLED A THRESHOLD IN TRANSBOUNDARY POLLUTION CASES Posted on Friday, July 14, 2006 (PST)

In an unprecedented decision, a three-judge federal appeals court panel on July 3 that a Canadian metals smelting company can be held liable under U.S. environmental law for pollution resulting from nine decades of slag discharges into the Columbia River. Read More...