Salmon on the Brink: Columbia Snake River Campaign Supports Renewed Litigation
September 11, 2025
The Columbia Snake River Campaign stands with Tribal Nations, state governments and conservation partners in pursuing renewed litigation to hold the federal government accountable for its failure to protect salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Basin.
The recent withdrawal from the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA) has left a dangerous void in efforts to secure real solutions. Unfortunately, litigation is once again necessary because without enforceable commitments, these iconic fish face extinction. If the RCBA is not the answer, then the question remains: what is the federal government’s plan to recover salmon, honor treaty rights, and provide a sustainable future for communities across the Northwest?
The crisis is undeniable. According to CRITFC:
The Columbia River Basin once sustained 10–16 million salmon and steelhead annually. Today, over one-third of those populations are extinct, and many that are on the brink of extinction with fewer than 50 wild fish returning to spawn.
Of the 16 salmon and steelhead stocks that historically returned above Bonneville Dam, four are already gone and more than half of those remaining are listed under the Endangered Species Act.
In 2024, nearly a quarter of Snake River spring/summer Chinook populations and 14% of wild Snake River steelhead populations had fewer than 50 spawners, placing them at the quasi-extinction threshold.
These facts speak for themselves. Salmon and steelhead are vanishing before our eyes. Federal inaction continues to drive species toward extinction, undermining Tribal treaty rights, impacting fishing communities, and eroding the cultural and ecological fabric of the Northwest.
Litigation is not the end goal; it is the necessary tool to compel the federal government to act. The Columbia Snake River Campaign remains committed to working toward durable solutions that benefit the whole region, but we cannot and will not stand by idly while salmon disappear.
The RCBA was abandoned, so leaders must tell us: what is the plan now? The people of the Northwest deserve solutions, and the salmon and orca cannot continue to wait.
