Critical spill protections for salmon ignored in Council’s draft fish plan

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council (the Council) released its draft 2026 Fish and Wildlife Program on Dec 17, a plan for mitigating harm to fish affected by hydropower operations on the Columbia and Snake Rivers for the next five years. The Columbia Snake River Campaign has raised concerns that the draft plan neglects key recommendations of the region’s state and Tribal fish managers – specifically, not accommodating elevated levels of spill for fish through August 31 to protect juvenile fish during their outmigration. 

“The Council has a clear obligation under the Northwest Power Act to defer to state and Tribal fish managers on fish protection measures,” said Kayeloni Scott, Executive Director of the Columbia Snake River Campaign. “Ignoring their recommendation not only causes further harm to deeply imperiled salmon and steelhead, it violates the mandate on which the Council was founded.” 

Oregon Council member Margaret Hoffman openly objected to the omission during the group’s meeting on Dec 16, noting that the draft also neglects an obligation to explain why a comment from a fish manager was not incorporated. Washington Council members affirmed her statement. 

State and Tribal fishery managers also recognized that abundance goals are unlikely to be met without considering breach of the four lower Snake River dams, which is dismissed as an option in the draft plan. 

With early indicators pointing to another difficult year for multiple salmon runs, the Columbia Snake River Campaign said the region cannot afford to weaken spill protections or delay action until more damage is done. “There has never been a more crucial time for the Council to protect fish,” said Scott. “This plan will play an instrumental role in determining whether there will be Columbia and Snake River salmon for future generations.”

The Campaign noted that there is much to applaud in the draft Fish and Wildlife plan. It maintains the Council’s long-held interim goal of 5 million salmon returning annually to the Columbia River Basin, despite the recommendation of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to remove it. The draft affirms BPA’s legal obligation to “protect, mitigate and enhance fish and wildlife” according to the Council's plan and calls on federal agencies to increase funding for a whole-of-government approach to salmon recovery, relieving some of the financial burden from BPA ratepayers.

“Fortunately, we still have time to fix what’s missing,” said Scott. “We respect and appreciate Council staff’s careful, objective work on this plan, and the fix is straightforward. Keep summer spill through August 31, and follow the recommendations of the experts, Tribal and state fish managers – not energy providers – on what the fish need.” 

Immediately following the amendments to the Fish and Wildlife Plan, the Council will draft their Ninth Power Plan. Without adopting strong measures to protect and restore salmon and steelhead in the Fish and Wildlife Plan, the Power Plan will not include a reliable and affordable energy future that includes abundant salmon and steelhead.

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