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Editorials 
Biden Deal With Tribes Promises $200M for Columbia River Salmon Reintroduction
The Biden administration has pledged over $200 million toward reintroducing salmon in the Upper Columbia River Basin in an agreement with tribes that includes a stay on litigation for 20 years. 2009 Map of The…
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Editorials Biden Administration Promises $200 Million To Help Reintroduce Salmon in Columbia River
The Biden administration agreed Thursday to spend more than $200 million to fully fund Native tribes’ plans to reintroduce salmon in the Upper Columbia River Basin — more than 80 years after construction of the…
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Editorials Northwest RiverPartners’ Statement on Salmon Reintroduction in the Upper Columbia River Basin
(Vancouver, WA) – The following statement can be attributed to Kurt Miller, executive director of Northwest RiverPartners: “The announcement of an agreement between the US Government, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the Coeur…
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Editorials Joint Statement on Biden Administration Delay of Columbia River System Operations Litigation Mediation
Organizations express concern with the process and support more transparency (Washington State) Today, the Biden Administration requested [and secured] an additional 60-day stay extension to allow for the continuation of the already 2-year-long mediation process…
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Editorials Dam Removal Still on Table As Settlement Talks Over Lower Snake River Operations Continue
Dam removal remains on the table on the Lower Snake River under an agreement announced Thursday, after 2 years of settlement talks between the federal government and tribes and conservationists. Read the full article: Dam…
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Editorials Salmon & Farmers Are on the Same Side
In the hottest year ever recorded, another wheat harvest is wrapping up. Extreme weather means it’s more important than ever to preserve the critical infrastructure we depend on to deliver goods to market. Read the…
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Editorials Ratepayer Owned Public Utilities Launch Ads To Protect Affordable, Reliable, & Clean Power for Communities
The Biden Administration’s consideration of a proposal to tear down dams public utilities in Northern Nevada rely on could raise electricity rates by up to 65%. (Vancouver, Wash.) – On behalf of four of its…
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Editorials Ag Stakeholders Say They’re Shut Out of Federal Snake River Dam Mediation
Northwest stakeholders say they’ve been shut out of the federal mediation sessions over the Snake River dams. BPA Snake Dams Fact Sheet 2016 (PDF). Read the full article: Ag Stakeholders Say They’re Shut Out of…
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Editorials Anti-Hydro Interests Continue Attack on NW Clean Energy
Removing the region’s hydroelectric infrastructure is anti-science and would result in more fossil fuel consumption A group led by anti-hydro and harvest interests, including the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Idaho Rivers United, Columbia Riverkeeper, and…
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Editorials Want an Electric Vehicle? Better Keep Our Hydropower
As we embark on a second “Great Electrification,” in an effort to decarbonize our economy, it’s worth remembering the first 1 that occurred 80 years ago. Campaigning for president in Portland, Franklin Roosevelt pushed for…
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Editorials Heating Planet Demands We Keep Lower Snake River Dams
With wildfire smoke encircling the globe, we are feeling the effects of climate change directly. And it is only June. Unfortunately, “heat domes” are no longer novel and will continue to be part of our…
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Editorials Biden’s Fishy Plan To Breach the Snake River Dams
The Biden administration is committed to destroying four hydroelectric dams on the Snake River in southeastern Washington state. Given the energy crisis in America—with two-thirds of the U.S. risking electricity outages this summer, including nearly…
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Editorials The Importance of Lower Snake River Dams
As we embark on a second “Great Electrification,” in an effort to decarbonize our economy, it’s worth remembering the first one that occurred 80 years ago. Campaigning for president in Portland, Franklin Roosevelt pushed for…
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Editorials Idaho has the Lowest Electricity Rates in the Country, Washington State is 7th Lowest
LEWISTON – According to a recent 2021 state electricity profiles report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Idaho has the lowest average electricity cost in the nation. Read the full article: Idaho has the Lowest…
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Editorials Snake River Ag Stakeholders Comment on Klamath Dam Removal
Regional stakeholders are mixed on whether federal regulators’ decision to breach 4 dams on the Klamath River has any bearing on future arguments to breach dams on the lower Snake.
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Editorials How Our Advocacy Efforts Saved Hydropower in 2022
Imagine the following scenario: Backed by a review of existing “analysis” and stakeholder input, a senior U.S. Senator from the Pacific Northwest introduces legislation to remove 3,000 MW of productive, cost-effective, zero-carbon, dispatchable hydropower capacity…
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Editorials Breaching Dams Pt. 2
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. Breaching the dams on the lower Snake River is still the focus in the final report that came out recently from NOAA Fisheries. Read the full article:…
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Editorials With Climate Change, Is Hydropower Still a Renewable Energy Resource?
Recently, US News & World Report listed the states with the best energy infrastructure. The criteria included renewable energy availability, energy affordability, and grid reliability. Northwest states took 4 of the top 5 rankings, with…
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Editorials NOAA Determines Dams on Lower Snake River Must Be Breached
Seattle – The final report from NOAA on rebuilding salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia basin is out; among other actions, it calls for the removal of the 4 lower Snake River dams. Read…
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Editorials Why Hydropower Is Critical to the Food Supply
I recently went camping with my daughter near Tonasket, Washington. Being from Vancouver—the 1 by Portland—we took in a lot of scenery during our 7-hour drive up north. Read the full article: Why Hydropower Is…
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Editorials Murray-Inslee Report Confirms Importance of the LSRD, High Value of Hydroelectricity to the Region
Community Service Advocates Were Concerned Replacement Costs Would Fall on Disadvantaged Vancouver, Washington — August 25, 2022 — Senator Patty Murray and Governor Jay Inslee today released their final “Lower Snake River Dams Benefit Replacement…
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Editorials Dam Breaching Not Feasible at This Time, Inslee and Murray Announce
Washington politicians acknowledge that a free-flowing Snake River would be the strongest action to help salmon and steelhead, but region isn’t prepared to give up benefits of dams. Read the full article: Dam Breaching Not…
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Editorials Salmon Face Bigger Threat Than Snake River’s Dams
Our 2020 study demonstrated that chinook all along the Pacific Coast of North America have seen a 65% decline in survival since the 1970s. Snake River salmon are not the exception,… Read the full article:…
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Editorials All Those EVs Are Great, but Where Will the Electricity Come From?
As part of my career of over 30 years in the energy industry, I led the effort to complete Oregon’s portion of the… Read the full article: All Those EVs Are Great, but Where Will…
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Editorials A Carbon Free, Renewable Resource Faces Extinction
The lower Snake River dams— a critical component of the Federal Columbia River Power System—play an essential role… Read the full article: A Carbon-Free, Renewable Resource Faces Extinction
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Editorials Damned if You Do…
The 20-page report is called “Rebuilding Interior Columbia Basin Salmon and Steelhead,” it was released July 12 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with input. Read the full article: Damned if You Do…
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Editorials Apples to Wine: Washington Ag Backs Dams on the Lower Snake River
Dams benefit family farms, local food production Vancouver, Washington — July 25, 2022 — Family farms depend on the benefits provided by the lower Snake River dams (LSRD). Removing the dams would hurt agriculture and…
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Editorials Labor Leaders Across the PNW Support Keeping the Dams on the Lower Snake River
From Pierce County to Idaho, union members back clean, affordable hydroelectricity Vancouver, Washington — July 19, 2022 — This summer, a growing movement of labor leaders and the organizations they represent took a stand to…
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Editorials White House Reports Eye Dam Removal on Lower Snake River
The White House dropped a couple of weighty items into the lower Snake River dams discussion on Tuesday – a draft scientific assessment that makes a case for dam breaching as part. Read the full…
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Editorials Blatant Political Posturing Overrides Science in WA’s Snake River Dams Debate
It appears partisan politics has unabashedly and officially taken over the debate on whether salmon and the Snake River dams can coexist. The Biden Administration’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) just released 2 draft reports…
Contact: Aaron Toso, (253) 495-1296, Aaron Toso email
About Northwest RiverPartners
Northwest RiverPartners (NWRP) is a not-for-profit, member-driven organization. We represent not-for-profit, community-owned utilities across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Nevada. We also proudly represent farmers, ports, and businesses across the region that support clean energy and low-carbon transportation.
NWRP is focused on raising awareness about how the Northwest’s hydropower system betters communities and the natural environment, and we encourage science-based solutions that help hydropower and salmon coexist and thrive.