Articles by Carol Winkel

The Council has appointed Jennifer Light as its power division director; she had been the interim director since April 2022.

This past spring, Oregon Council member Louie Pitt, Jr. and Council staff toured the Trout Creek Watershed Restoration Project located in Central Oregon. 

Council members were briefed on spring Chinook salmon returns to the Columbia and Snake rivers, as well as the more sobering update on recovery efforts for Tucannon River spring Chinook.

Laurie Porter and Jon Hess from CRITFC report on the current run of Pacific lamprey and tribal projects currently implemented through the Council’s Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program.

Earlier this spring, the Yakama Nation contracted professional falconers to work with their fisheries staff to successfully delay the nesting of the Miller Rocks gull colony by several weeks.

While in Whitefish, Montana for their May meeting, Council members toured Hungry Horse Dam, Flathead Electric Co-op’s biomass project, and Sekokini Springs Hatchery. 

Pacific lamprey—like salmon—are a significant fish for Northwest. At its May meeting, the Council was briefed on the region’s efforts support this distinctive species

The Upper Columbia United Tribes secured over $3 million in funding in the Washington State supplemental budget for salmon reintroduction in the upper Columbia.

On the ground results also point to the need for stable funding to sustain long-term benefits.

The Council has appointed Jennifer Light as interim director of power planning to replace Ben Kujala, who has taken a position starting in June with Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors.