Items Tagged with 'snake river'

Federal agency officials, the governors of Washington and Oregon, and the leaders of four tribes on Friday gathered at the White House Friday for a ceremonial signing of a $1 billion agreement meant to halt salmon declines in the Columbia and Snake River system.

A longstanding court case over salmon declines in the Columbia and Snake rivers will see a five-to-ten-year pause after a federal judge agreed to give the Biden Administration, four Northwestern tribes, an assortment of environmental groups and the states of Washington and Oregon additional time to test out a $1 billion agreement intended to resolve the dispute.

The Biden Administration joined environmental groups, four tribal governments and the states of Washington and Oregon on Thursday in unveiling a $1 billion plan meant to halt salmon declines in the Columbia and Snake River system.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray announced Thursday that the energy and navigation benefits currently provided by four dams on the lower Snake River would need to be replaced before they will support breaching them to restore salmon populations.

Breaching four dams on the Lower Snake River and replacing the services they provide to the Pacific Northwest could cost between $10.3 billion and $27.2 billion, according to a draft report commissioned by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray.