Dams

Crews have finished the demolition of a large dam near Cave Junction that hindered passage of salmon and other fish..

A new report acknowledged the ongoing damage done by dams on the Columbia River. But that’s only part of the story.

The U.S. government on Tuesday acknowledged for the first time the harms that the construction and operation of dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers in the Pacific Northwest have caused Native American tribes.

The money will be used for an aging dam on the Illinois River in southern Oregon and updating infrastructure to improve fish migration on the Wallowa River in the northeast of the state.

The drop in production comes at a time of higher demand for electricity which is expected to continue.

The governors of Oregon and Washington, and four Native American tribal leaders gathered at the White House on Friday to celebrate last year’s agreement to avoid litigation over dams in the Columbia River Basin.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is pledging to fast-track more than half a dozen projects to remove or bypass dams that have blocked salmon. The proposals are part of Newsom's strategy to protect salmon.

The utility says it takes years to obtain federal approval and do public consultations for removing the decommissioned hydroelectric project.

The Biden administration punted on key demands from Indigenous leaders to tear down hydroelectric dams hindering salmon. But tribes won control over $1 billion for other salmon efforts.

The White House has reached what it says is an historic agreement over the restoration of salmon in the Pacific Northwest, a deal that could end for now a decades long legal battle with tribes.

Unlike a year ago, water storage is above average. Whether the year is wet or dry, though, remains uncertain despite El Niño conditions.

Members of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe on Washington's Olympic Peninsula harvested about 200 coho salmon from their home river in October. That marked a milestone for river restoration a decade after two dams on the Elwha River were dismantled. It could also offer a window into the future of the Klamath River, as four dams there are being removed.