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    Integrating energy and the environment in the Columbia River Basin

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    • Fish and Wildlife Planning
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  • Fish and Wildlife

    The Council works to protect and enhance fish and wildlife in the Columbia River Basin. Its Fish & Wildlife Program guides project funding by the Bonneville Power Administration.

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    The Fish and Wildlife Program

    • 2020 Addendum
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    Topics

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  • Energy

    The Council develops a plan, updated every five years, to ensure the region’s power supply and acquire cost-effective energy efficiency.

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    THE NORTHWEST POWER PLAN

    • The 2021 Northwest Power Plan
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    TECHNICAL TOOLS AND MODELS

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  • Meetings
    See next Council meeting February 9 - 10, 2021 in TBA or webinar › See all meetings ›

    View all council meetings View full calendar

    Recent and Upcoming Meetings

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    • Aug 2020 Wed 05
      9:30 am—3:30 pm System Analysis Advisory Committee Webinar
    • Aug 2020 Tue Wed 11 - 12
      Council Meeting
    • Aug 2020 Tue 18
      9:00 am—1:00 pm RTF Meeting: August 18, 2020
    • Sep 2020 Wed 02
      9:30 am—3:30 pm System Analysis Advisory Committee
    • Sep 2020 Wed Thu 09 - 10
      RTF Meeting: September 9, 2020
    • Sep 2020 Thu 10
      10:00 am—11:00 am Informal Hatchery Workgroup Meeting
    • Sep 2020 Tue Wed 15 - 16
      Council Meeting
    • Sep 2020 Fri 25
      9:30 am—11:00 am RTF Policy Advisory Committee Meeting
    • Sep 2020 Tue 29
      9:00 am—1:00 pm System Analysis Advisory Committee
    • Sep 2020 Wed 30
      9:30 am—12:30 pm Conservation Resources Advisory Committee
    • Oct 2020 Thu 01
      9:30 am—12:30 pm Power Committee Webinar
    • Oct 2020 Tue Wed 06 - 07
      RTF Meeting: October 6, 2020
    • Oct 2020 Tue 06
      1:30 pm—4:00 pm Resource Adequacy - Technical Committee
    • Oct 2020 Wed 07
      9:00 am—12:30 pm System Analysis Advisory Committee
    • Oct 2020 Mon Wed 12 - 14
      Council Meeting
    • Oct 2020 Thu 22
      1:00 pm—4:00 pm System Analysis Advisory Committee
    • Oct 2020 Fri 23
      9:00 am—10:30 am Conservation Resources Advisory Committee
    • Oct 2020 Tue 27
      10:00 am—12:30 pm Demand Response Advisory Committee
    • Nov 2020 Wed 04
      9:30 am—12:30 pm System Analysis Advisory Committee
    • Nov 2020 Tue 10
      9:00 am—1:30 pm RTF Meeting: November 10, 2020
    • Nov 2020 Tue Wed 17 - 18
      Council Meeting
    • Nov 2020 Mon 30
      1:00 pm—4:00 pm System Analysis Advisory Committee
    • Dec 2020 Tue 01
      9:00 am—12:00 pm Resource Adequacy - Technical Committee
    • Dec 2020 Wed 02
      9:30 am—11:00 am Generating Resources Advisory Committee
    • Dec 2020 Thu 03
      9:00 am—11:00 am Power Committee Webinar
    • Dec 2020 Tue 08
      9:00 am—1:00 pm RTF Meeting: December 8, 2020
    • Dec 2020 Wed 09
      9:00 am—11:00 am RTF Policy Advisory Committee Meeting 9:30 am—12:30 pm System Analysis Advisory Committee 10:00 am—12:00 pm Informal Hatchery Workgroup Meeting
    • Dec 2020 Fri 11
      9:30 am—11:30 am Resource Adequacy - Steering Committee
    • Dec 2020 Tue Wed 15 - 16
      Council Meeting
    • Dec 2020 Thu 17
      9:00 am—12:00 pm Conservation Resources Advisory Committee
    • Jan 2021 Fri 08
      9:00 am—12:30 pm System Analysis and Resource Adequacy Combined Committee Meeting
    • Jan 2021 Tue Wed 12 - 13
      Council Meeting
    • Jan 2021 Tue 19
      1:00 pm—4:00 pm System Analysis Advisory Committee
    • Jan 2021 Wed 20
      9:00 am—1:00 pm RTF Meeting: January 20, 2021
    • Jan 2021 Thu 21
      9:00 am—12:00 pm Regional Coordination Forum
    • Jan 2021 Tue 26
      9:00 am—12:00 pm Conservation Resources Advisory Committee
    • Jan 2021 Thu 28
      8:30 am—11:30 am Power Committee Webinar
    • Feb 2021 Wed 03
      9:00 am—12:30 pm System Analysis Advisory Committee
    • Feb 2021 Mon 08
      1:00 pm—4:00 pm Demand Response Advisory Committee
    • Feb 2021 Tue Wed 09 - 10
      Council Meeting
    • Feb 2021 Wed Thu 17 - 18
      RTF Meeting: February 17-18, 2021
    • Feb 2021 Wed 17
      9:00 am—12:30 pm System Analysis Advisory Committee
    • Feb 2021 Fri 19
      9:00 am—3:30 pm SIF: 2021 Power Plan and DEI
    • Feb 2021 Wed 24
      8:30 am—11:30 am Power Committee Webinar
    • Feb 2021 Thu 25
      9:00 am—12:00 pm Conservation Resources Advisory Committee
    • Mar 2021 Wed 03
      9:00 am—12:30 pm System Analysis Advisory Committee
    • Mar 2021 Tue Wed 09 - 10
      Council Meeting
    • Mar 2021 Tue Wed 16 - 17
      RTF Meeting: March 16-17, 2021
    • Mar 2021 Wed 17
      9:00 am—12:30 pm System Analysis Advisory Committee
    • Mar 2021 Fri 19
      9:00 am—3:00 pm RTF Policy Advisory Committee Meeting
    • Mar 2021 Wed 24
      8:30 am—11:30 am Power Committee Webinar
    • Apr 2021 Tue Wed 06 - 07
      Council Meeting
    • Apr 2021 Tue Wed 13 - 14
      RTF Meeting: April 13-14, 2021
    • Apr 2021 Wed 21
      8:30 am—11:30 am Power Committee Webinar
    • May 2021 Tue Wed 04 - 05
      Council Meeting
    • May 2021 Tue Wed 11 - 12
      RTF Meeting: May 11-12, 2021
    • May 2021 Wed 26
      8:30 am—11:30 am Power Committee Webinar
    • Jun 2021 Wed 02
      1:00 pm—4:00 pm RTF Policy Advisory Committee Meeting
    • Jun 2021 Tue Wed 08 - 09
      Council Meeting
    • Jun 2021 Tue Wed 15 - 16
      RTF Meeting: June 15-16, 2021
    • Jul 2021 Tue Wed 13 - 14
      Council Meeting
    • Jul 2021 Tue Wed 20 - 21
      RTF Meeting: July 20-21, 2021
    View Council Meetings View all Meetings
  • Reports and Documents

    Browse reports and documents relevant to the Council's work on fish and wildlife and energy planning, as well as administrative reports.

    Browse reports

    Reports by Topic

    • Power Plan
    • Fish and Wildlife Program
    • Subbasin Plans
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    • Independent Economic Analysis Board

    Columbia River History Project

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June hogs

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The largest salmon ever caught in the Columbia River were summer Chinook destined for tributaries in the interior and upper Columbia River Basin, primarily in Washington and British Columbia. The fish began arriving in the upper mainstem Columbia and its tributaries in June, and because of the size of the fish they came to be known as “June hogs.” Fish three to four feet in length and weighing more than 60 pounds were common.

Angus McDonald, who was in charge of the Hudson's Bay Company post at Fort Colville, just downstream from Kettle Falls, from 1852 to 1872, wrote: “Salmon as heavy as one hundred pounds have been caught in those falls.” The Spokane Spokesman-Review newspaper reported on Sept. 21, 1900, that two Chinook salmon were caught at the mouth of the Little Spokane River, one weighing 50 pounds and the other 52 pounds. The Upper Columbia United Tribes’ Fisheries Center at Eastern Washington University has a photo of a four-foot-long, 64-pound salmon caught in the Spokane River in the spring of 1937, and a transcript of an interview with a woman whose husband caught the fish. The woman, Christine LeBrett, reported that the salmon runs stopped in 1939, which is one year after the construction of Grand Coulee Dam blocked passage of anadromous fish.

The big fish spawned in British Columbia, too. In October 1910, under the heading “Nelson News of the Day,” the Nelson Daily News reported:

“A beautiful salmon was landed at the pool, Slocan Junction, yesterday by Robert Elliott, weighing exactly 50 pounds. The fish was caught on rod and line, with a rather small spoon, and was landed after a fight of an hour and twenty minutes. Its length is four feet two inches. It will be on display this morning in the window of the Nelson Hardware company, with whose tackle it was caught.”

The pool on the Kootenay was about a mile upstream from the point — Slocan Junction — where the Slocan River flows into the Kootenay River about half way between Nelson and Castlegar.

See more History topics >

junehog.jpg
This 85-pound Chinook salmon, a true June hog, was caught at Astoria by fisher Tony Canessa (pictured) in 1925. Photo: Columbia River Maritime Museum.

junehog2.jpg
An unidentified woman poses with a 45-pound coho salmon at the J.T. Little store in Spokane on July 23, 1929. The photo appeared in the Spokane Chronicle newspaper. Photo: L87-1.39894-29, Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, Spokane.

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