Council Meeting

March 10 - 11, 2026
Add this meeting to your calendar
Portland

Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Council Meeting and Council Work Session – 9am (PDT) / 10am (MDT) – Large and Small conference rooms

General ATTENDEES should use this link to register: After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.Contact CouncilIT@nwcouncil.org with any technical questions.

  9 – 9:15am Executive director report and state updates: Peter Cogswell, Executive Director; Chair Mike Milburn, and Council Members

1.

 9:15 – 10:15am Comprehensive update on sea lion predation and management in the Columbia Basin: Kate Self, Fish and Wildlife Program Scientist and Windy Schoby, Fish and Wildlife Policy Advisor; Donella Miller and Doug Hatch, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC); Robert Anderson, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); Mike Brown and Shay Valentine, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW); Casey Clark and John Edwards, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW); and Sarah Maher, Idaho Fish and Game

2.

 10:15 - 11am Briefing on Columbia Basin Water Transaction Program: Heather Hendrixson, Fish and Wildlife Habitat Specialist; Femke Freiberg and Alex Mahmoud National Fish and Wildlife Foundation; Matt Schwartz; and Daniel Newberry, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)
  11 – 11:15am Break

3.

 11:15 -11:30am Update on Project Review – Fish and Wildlife Lands: Maureen Hess, Fish and Wildlife Program Scientist, Heather Hendrixson, Fish and Wildlife Habitat Specialist, Mark Fritsch, Project Review and Implementation Manager

4.

 11:30 – 11:45am Power Plan update: Jennifer Light, Director of Power Planning

5.

 11:45am – 12:15pm Final Ninth Plan needs assessment: Jennifer Light, Director of Power Planning, Dor Hirsh Bar Gai, Power System Analyst
  12:15 – 1:45pm Lunch

6.

 1:45 – 2:45pm WestTEC 10-Year study: Ryan Roy, Western Power Pool

7.

 2:45 – 3:30pm Study on retail electricity price trends: Ryan Hledick, Brattle Group

Executive Committee – Closed Session – 3:45pm – Large and Small conference rooms

The Executive Committee will meet in closed session to discuss financial matters.

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Council Meeting and Council Work Session – 9am (PDT) / 10am (MDT) – Large and Small conference rooms

General ATTENDEES should use this link to register: After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.Contact CouncilIT@nwcouncil.org with any technical questions.

8.

 9 – 9:30am Fish and Wildlife Division update: Patty O’Toole, Fish and Wildlife Division Director

9.

 9:30am – 12pm Fish and Wildlife Program amendments
  • Amendment process check-in: Staff
  • Discuss comments on Draft Program: Staff
Break included

10.

 12 – 12:15pm Council business:
  • Council approval for the summary of the February 2026 Council Meeting
  • Independent Scientific Review Panel (ISRP) membership decisions and Independent Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB) membership discussions
    Public comment on any issues before the Council. Please sign up prior to the meeting to provide comment by emailing your name to meetingorganizer@nwcouncil.org

Any person participating in the meeting should review and abide by the Code of Conduct expected of all who participate in the Council’s public forums.

All meetings are recorded.