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Editorials 
Educating the Public & Policymakers About Hydropower & Irrigation
The irrigation water drawn from the Pacific Northwest’s dams is critical to the region’s valuable agricultural production. In this month’s cover interview, Kurt Miller of Northwest RiverPartners tells us about how his organization works to…
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Editorials BPA’s Part in Infrastructure Bill Aids Clean Energy
Being an elected leader isn’t for the faint of heart. Trying to do the right thing for your constituents often… Read the full article: BPA’s Part in Infrastructure Bill Aids Clean Energy
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Editorials Removing the Enloe Dam Not As Simple a Decision As It First Seems
My journey started with an op-ed that I wrote earlier this year in which I noted that, although I’m a hydropower advocate, I believe that dams should be removed if they don’t provide a societal…
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Editorials Collaboration, Not Litigation, Will Build a Sustainable Future
Gov. Kate Brown, in a recent op-ed, made the case for urgent action to help salmon and steelhead in defense of her decision to have… Read the full article: Collaboration, Not Litigation, Will Build a…
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Editorials Brown’s Dam-Busting Lawsuit Is Bad for Clean Energy
A few years ago, I attended a meeting where then-Secretary of State Kate Brown was the featured speaker. I didn’t know much about Brown… Read the full article: Brown’s Dam-Busting Lawsuit Is Bad for Clean…
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Editorials Recent Southern Resident Orca Success Could Reshape Recovery Approach
Earlier this month, headlines across various Northwest news outlets carried a message of hope; the Southern Resident orcas were in the best condition in a decade. This was largely due to the birth of 3…
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Editorials ‘Collaborative’ Effort To Save NW Salmon Looks Like Another Anti-Snake Dam Task Force
Idaho Power Co.’s Brownlee, Oxbow, and Hells Canyon dams on the Snake River near the Idaho and Oregon border have blocked a historic spawning route for steelhead and Chinook salmon. BPA Snake Dams Fact Sheet…
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Editorials 4-State Collaboration May Squeeze Out E. Wash. Interests in Keeping Snake River Dams
Advocates for retaining the four lower Snake River dams in Eastern Washington are questioning whether the Columbia Basin Collaborative to recover threatened and endangered salmon species. BPA Snake Dams Fact Sheet 2016 (PDF) Read the…
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Editorials State of Oregon’s Motion for Court Injunction To Control Dam Operations Reflects Disjointed Energy Policies, Disregard for Consumer Energy Costs & Climate Concerns
Governor Brown’s Actions Will Punish the Region’s Electricity Customers The following press statement was issued today by Kurt Miller, executive director, of Northwest RiverPartners. Key Quote: “It is hard to imagine that Governor Brown would…
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Editorials Lawsuit Seeks More Spill Over Columbia Basin Dams for Salmon
Spokane — The record-shattering heat wave in the Pacific Northwest prompted fishing and conservation groups to ask a federal court Friday to order more spill from dams on the lower Snake. Read the full article:…
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Editorials Northwest RiverPartners Urges Columbia Basin Collaborative To Reevaluate Current Framework; Establish More Equitable, Holistic Approach
Advocacy Group Urges Sincere Collaboration by Requiring Participants to Suspend Litigation Activities The Columbia Basin Collaborative was introduced last year by the governors of the four Northwest states to help move the region past unending…
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Editorials Northwest Hydropower System Provides Hope in Climate Fight
Those of us who live west of the Rockies are all too familiar with the profound East Coast bias in the media. From sports to politics… Read the full article: Northwest Hydropower System Provides Hope…
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Editorials Columbia Basin Collaborative Anything but Collaborative
The Columbia Basin Collaborative was introduced last year by the governors of the 4 Northwest states to help move the region past unending litigation around threatened and endangered salmon species… Read the full article: Columbia…
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Editorials Policymakers’ Inconsistent Energy Approach Could Bring Blackouts
The Western United States is in the midst of a historic mega-drought. This drought follows last summer’s devastating wildfires in the Pacific Northwest and this past winter’s super-freeze across Oklahoma and Texas. Many people tie…
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Editorials Salmon & the Snake
Breaching the Snake River dams may offer the best shot at ensuring a healthy future for salmon in the Columbia Basin. Read the full article: Salmon and the Snake
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Editorials Marching Towards a Decarbonized Future Without Leaving Communities Behind
We’ve often been told that Alexander Graham Bell wouldn’t recognize today’s smartphone, but that Thomas Edison would feel right at home with the present-day electric grid. However, the ability to make that comparison is going…
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Editorials Anti-Hydro Narrative Misses the Big Picture of Climate Change, Equity & Salmon
I recently participated in a panel for the CleanTech Alliance on the future of the lower Snake River dams. The panelists had diverse viewpoints, which is a good thing. Read the full article: Anti-Hydro Narrative…
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Editorials Inslee, Murray Reject Dams Removal Plan
Washington’s 2 most powerful politicians said Friday that the region’s salmon and steelhead need help “now more than ever,” but then dismissed Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson’s plan. Read the full article: Inslee, Murray Reject Dams…
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Editorials Bold Proposal To Breach Snake River Dams
A bold proposal to remove 4 dams on the lower Snake River to aid in salmon recovery has been set forth by an Idaho congressman. The proposal by Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, would include more…
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Editorials Dams Play Vital Role in Mitigating Warmer Future of Northwest
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recently warned, that as a result of a prolonged drought, it may be forced to declare an official water shortage for the Southwestern United States for the first time in…
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Editorials Hydropower Crucial to a Future for Electric Vehicles
President Biden, as part of the American Jobs Act, has proposed $174 billion of government spending to help win the electric vehicle market. The plan calls for $100 billion in new customer rebates and $15…
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Editorials We’re Asking the Wrong Questions About the Cost of Renewables
This year will mark my 30th working in energy-related fields. I began as an intern at the Bonneville Power Administration in 1991 and have… Read the full article: We’re Asking the Wrong Questions About the…
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Editorials Studies Shed Light on Why Dams Matter to Salmon & Orcas
There is something inexplicable that draws us to orcas. The large dolphins — often referred to as killer whales — inhabit every ocean on Earth and have captured the attention of humans for thousands of…
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Editorials Congressman Floats $33B Plan To Demolish Four Dams
A concept floated by Republican Mike Simpson, a U.S. congressman from Idaho, holds the potential to loosen the intractable logjam that has persisted for years among lawmakers. Read the full article: Congressman Floats $33B Plan…
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Editorials Dam Power: Snake River Dams Are Not Big Power Producers, but Play an Important Regional Role
After nearly 2 decades of politicking, controversy, and dispute, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the Cascade Locks on the Columbia River, near The Dalles, Oregon, allowing boats laden with goods to pass by…
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Editorials State of Oregon’s Decision To Litigate Undermines Hopes for Regional Collaboration on Salmon
Earlier today, the State of Oregon filed a lawsuit in district court over the federal government’s latest hydropower operations plan for the Columbia River Basin and the Biological Opinion in support of the plan under…
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Editorials New Website Imagines the Snake River Without Dams
An advocacy group angling for a free-flowing Snake River has released a detailed multimedia website envisioning what the removal of four dams could mean for the region. BPA Snake Dams Fact Sheet 2016 (PDF) Read…
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Editorials Are Rolling Blackouts Becoming the New Normal?
The hundreds of thousands of Oregonians who spent days without electricity, due to the recent ice storm, learned firsthand that power outages represent something more than an inconvenience. If you lose power during a period…
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Editorials Despite Unknowns, Dam-Breaching Proposal Is Opening Honest Conversations
Miller is the executive director of Northwest RiverPartners, a Vancouver-based nonprofit organization that advocates for hydropower… Read the full article: Despite Unknowns, Dam-Breaching Proposal Is Opening Honest Conversations
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Editorials Idaho Republican Offers $33.5B Plan To Breach Lower Snake River Dams, Replace Their Benefits
Rep. Mike Simpson, an Idaho Republican, has outlined a plan to spend $33.5 billion to breach 4 lower Snake River dams and replace their benefits through a wide range of investments. Read the full article:…
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.