Logo for the podcast 'The Last Catch' featuring the subtitle 'Conversations on the Columbia & Snake Rivers' in orange text.

Last Catch is a deep-dive conversation series bringing Tribal leaders, scientists, policy voices, and community storytellers together to explore the past, present, and future of the Columbia and Snake Rivers and the salmon, orcas, and people who depend on them.

What comes next for salmon, Southern Resident Orcas, & the communities who depend on the Columbia & Snake Rivers?

After decades of litigation, the Columbia Basin is entering a new era of collaboration, leaving many wondering what comes next for salmon, Southern Resident orcas, and the communities who depend on the Columbia & Snake Rivers? 

In our series premiere we break down the shifting landscape of restoration, how state and Tribal nations are working together, and why this moment matters for the entire region. 

  • Shannon Wheeler
    Chairman, Nez Perce Tribe

    Kate Marckworth
    Senior Staff Attorney, Yakama Nation

    Amanda Goodin Supervising Senior Attorney, Earth Justice

    Michael Garrity
    Special Assistant, WA State Dept. of Fish & Wildlife

  • In this episode, our panelists representing Tribal nations, science, advocacy, and on-the-water and job experience share a clear-eyed view of what’s happening right now and what is at stake.

    The discussion moves from personal histories to system-wide impacts, grounding the stakes in real people who rely on a living river.

    We explore what it means for salmon to be pushed toward extinction, why Tribal treaty rights remain central to any path forward, and how communities are navigating loss, hope, and responsibility.

Rocks of the Ages: The Hidden Story Beneath Our Rivers

In this episode geologist Dr. Brian Atwater and Nez Perce Tribal member and cultural educator Julian Matthews trace the Basin’s ancient past and reveal how its powerful geology continues to influence the rivers, people, and wildlife of the Northwest.

From the lava flows that built the Palouse to the floods that carved the Gorge, this conversation uncovers how earth’s forces forged the landscapes that nourish salmon, sustain cultures, and define the Pacific Northwest.

  • Jim O'Connor
    Geologist U.S. Geological Survey

    Lydia Staisch
    Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey

    Pat Baird
    Archaeologist, Nez Perce Tribe

    Alyssa Macy
    Member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs & CEO of Washington Conservation Action

  • Rock of Ages: The Hidden Story Beneath Our Rivers invites listeners into the deep time of the Columbia Basin, an ancient landscape shaped by fire, floods, upheaval, and movement long before modern infrastructure reshaped the Snake River.

    Host Alyssa Macy guides the conversation with a grounded clarity, setting the stage for a trio of experts who illuminate the terrain beneath today’s salmon crisis.

    USGS geologist Jim O’Connor opens the episode by walking us through the Basin’s dramatic geological past, lava flows, Ice Age floods, and the carved canyons that define the region. His explanations give listeners a crucial sense of scale, helping us understand how the land itself has always been dynamic, powerful, and alive.

    Nez Perce Tribe archaeologist Pat Baird brings the human dimension, connecting geological history with Indigenous presence that stretches back millennia. She describes how the land has always been a source of knowledge, meaning, and continuity, and how cultural sites across the Basin reflect a relationship with place that long predates the modern dams now altering the river’s flow.

    Rounding out the conversation, USGS research geologist Dr. Lydia Steich helps bridge ancient processes with present-day impacts. She explains how geology influences river health, from sediment transport to channel shape, and how changes in the modern system interrupt functions that salmon have relied on since time immemorial.

    Together, the speakers build a layered understanding of the Columbia and Snake Rivers: their origins, their transformations, and the forces, both natural and human-made, that continue to shape them. Rather than framing the region as static or broken, the episode reveals a landscape still capable of resilience, if we make choices that honor its rhythms and history.

Could breaching the dams on the Columbia & Snake Rivers save salmon & Southern Resident Orcas?

Once, salmon filled the Columbia and Snake Rivers so thick you could walk across their backs. Today, those same runs hover near extinction, and the Southern Resident orcas that rely on them are starving.

In this episode of Last Catch: Conversations on the Columbia & Snake Rivers, Nez Perce fisheries scientist Jay Hesse and Orca researcher Dr. Deborah Giles dig into what went wrong, what’s working, and what it’ll take to bring abundance back.

  • Dr. Giles
    Center for Whale Research / SeaDoc Society

    Jay Hesse
    Nez Perce Tribe, Fisheries Department

  • In this episode of Last Catch, host Angela Jackson leads a grounded, deeply human conversation about one of the most urgent questions facing the Pacific Northwest: could restoring a free-flowing Snake River help save both salmon and the endangered Southern Resident Orcas?

    The episode opens with the recent loss of an orca calf, a moment of collective grief that sets the emotional tone for a conversation rooted in urgency, respect, and clarity. Dr. Giles, a leading researcher with the SeaDoc Society, helps listeners understand how tightly the fate of these whales is bound to the abundance of Chinook salmon. She breaks down how declining salmon runs translate into starvation, failed pregnancies, and the heartbreaking images of mothers carrying their dead calves across the Salish Sea.

    Bringing a parallel perspective from the river itself, Jay Hesse of the Nez Perce Tribe outlines how salmon populations have collapsed from historical abundance to a fraction of their former strength. He explains the Tribe’s long stewardship of salmon, the scientific realities behind their decline, and why dam removal on the lower Snake River remains the most powerful action we can take to restore the species. His insights bridge cultural responsibility, treaty rights, and ecological science, showing how intertwined these issues truly are.

The Last Catch series is brought to you by the Columbia Snake River Campaign and organized by Nez Perce Tribe’s Orca Salmon Project, American Rivers, Washington Conservation Action, Hispanic Access Foundation, and Idaho Conservation league.

Logo of American Rivers featuring a river, a city skyline, and a sun.
Salmon Orca Project logo featuring a stylized orca whale in a circular design with text above and below
Seal of Nez Perce Tribe, featuring a Native American man with traditional earrings and necklaces, surrounded by the text "Nez Perce Tribe" and "Treaty of 1855".
A logo featuring a stylized green leaf and the words 'Eco Fresh' in brown, with a focus on environmentally friendly and fresh products.
Logo for Idaho Conservation League with mountain, water, and forest imagery.
Black and white graphic illustration of stylized salmon and orca intertwined among wavy lines like a river with the text 'Columbia Snake River Campaign' at the bottom.
Hispanic Access Foundation logo with stylized abstract figures in orange, blue, and green