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Integrating energy and the environment in the Columbia River Basin

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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.

Fish and Wildlife Overview

The Fish and Wildlife Program

2020 Addendum 2014/2020 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program Subbasin Plans Project Reviews and Recommendations F&W Program Costs Reports

Independent Review Groups

  • Independent Economic Analysis Board (IEAB)
  • Independent Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB)
  • Independent Scientific Review Panel (ISRP)

Forums and Workgroups

  • Asset Management Subcommittee
  • Ocean and Plume Science and Management Forum
  • Regional Coordination
  • Science and Policy Exchange
  • Toxics Workgroup
  • Columbia Basin Research, Monitoring and Evaluation Workgroup
  • Informal Hatchery Workgroup
  • Strategy Performance Indicator Workgroup

Topics

  • Adaptive Management
  • Anadromous Fish Mitigation
  • Blocked Areas
  • Invasive and Non-Native Species
  • Lamprey
  • Predation: Sea lions, pike, birds
  • Protected Areas
  • Research Plan
  • Resident Fish
  • Resource Tools and Maps
  • Sockeye
  • Sturgeon
  • Hatchery Map
Energy

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

Energy Overview

The Northwest Power Plan

The 2021 Northwest Power Plan 2021 Plan Supporting Materials Planning Process and Past Power Plans

Technical Tools and Models

  • Regional Portfolio Model
  • Generation Evaluation System Model (GENESYS)

Energy Advisory Committees

  • Regional Technical Forum
  • Conservation Resources Advisory Committee
  • Demand Forecast Advisory Committee
  • Demand Response Advisory Committee
  • Generating Resources Advisory Committee
  • Fuels Advisory Committee
  • Resource Adequacy Advisory Committee
  • System Analysis Advisory Committee
  • RTF Policy Advisory Committee
  • System Integration Forum

Energy Topics

  • Energy Efficiency
  • Demand Response
  • Power Supply
  • Resource Adequacy
  • Energy Storage
  • Hydropower
  • Transmission
Meetings
See next Council Meeting October 11 - 12, 2023 in Redmond › See all meetings ›

Recent and Upcoming Meetings

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NOV 2022
TUE WED
15 - 16
Council Meeting
NOV 2022
WED
30
9:00 am—10:00 am
RTF Policy Advisory Committee Q4 Meeting
DEC 2022
MON
05
1:30 pm—3:30 pm
Resource Adequacy Advisory Committee
DEC 2022
TUE
06
9:00 am—4:00 pm
RTF Meeting
DEC 2022
TUE WED
13 - 14
Council Meeting
JAN 2023
TUE WED
10 - 11
Council Meeting
JAN 2023
WED
18
9:00 am—4:00 pm
RTF Meeting
FEB 2023
TUE WED
14 - 15
Council Meeting
FEB 2023
WED
22
2:00 pm—3:30 pm
Conservation Resources/Demand Response Adv Comm Combined Meeting
FEB 2023
WED THU
22 - 23
RTF Meeting
FEB 2023
FRI
24
9:00 am—2:00 pm
Conservation Resources Advisory Comm.
MAR 2023
TUE WED
14 - 15
Council Meeting
MAR 2023
TUE
21
9:00 am—4:00 pm
RTF Meeting
MAR 2023
THU
23
9:00 am—12:00 pm
Resource Adequacy Adv Comm - Technical Committee
MAR 2023
TUE
28
9:00 am—11:00 am
RTF Policy Advisory Committee Q1 Meeting
MAR 2023
FRI
31
9:00 am—10:30 am
Generating Resources Advisory Committee
APR 2023
WED
05
9:00 am—12:00 pm
System Analysis Advisory Committee
APR 2023
MON
10
1:00 pm—4:00 pm
Regional Coordination Forum (RCF) Meeting
APR 2023
TUE WED
11 - 12
Council Meeting
APR 2023
TUE
18
9:00 am—12:30 pm
RTF Meeting
MAY 2023
TUE WED
16 - 17
Council Meeting
MAY 2023
TUE
23
9:00 am—4:00 pm
RTF Meeting
10:00 am—12:00 pm
Regional Coordination Forum (RCF) Meeting
MAY 2023
WED
24
1:00 pm—3:00 pm
RTF Policy Advisory Committee Q2 Meeting
JUN 2023
TUE WED
13 - 14
Council Meeting
JUN 2023
WED
21
9:00 am—12:00 pm
RTF Meeting June 21, 2023
JUL 2023
TUE WED
11 - 12
Council Meeting
JUL 2023
FRI
14
9:00 am—12:30 pm
Demand Forecast Advisory Committee
JUL 2023
TUE
18
9:00 am—4:00 pm
RTF Meeting
JUL 2023
THU
20
9:00 am—3:00 pm
Conservation Resources Advisory Committee
AUG 2023
TUE WED
15 - 16
Council Meeting
SEP 2023
TUE
05
1:30 pm—4:30 pm
System Analysis Advisory Committee
SEP 2023
TUE WED
12 - 13
Council Meeting
SEP 2023
FRI
15
9:00 am—11:00 am
RTF Policy Advisory Committee Q3 Meeting
SEP 2023
TUE
19
9:00 am—3:00 pm
RTF Meeting
SEP 2023
THU
21
1:00 pm—3:00 pm
Regional Coordination Forum (RCF) Meeting - Governors Report and Future Reporting
OCT 2023
WED THU
11 - 12
Council Meeting
OCT 2023
TUE WED
17 - 18
RTF Meeting
OCT 2023
TUE
24
9:00 am—12:30 pm
Fuels Advisory Committee
OCT 2023
THU
26
1:00 pm—3:00 pm
Regional Coordination Forum (RCF) Meeting - Flat Funding
NOV 2023
WED
01
9:30 am—4:00 pm
Reserves in Power Planning Workshop
NOV 2023
THU
02
9:30 am—12:30 pm
Demand Response Advisory Committee
NOV 2023
TUE
07
9:00 am—1:00 pm
RTF Meeting
NOV 2023
WED
08
12:30 pm—3:30 pm
RTF Policy Advisory Committee Q4 Meeting
NOV 2023
TUE WED
14 - 15
Council Meeting
DEC 2023
TUE
05
9:00 am—4:00 pm
RTF Meeting
DEC 2023
TUE WED
12 - 13
Council Meeting
JAN 2024
TUE WED
09 - 10
Council Meeting
FEB 2024
TUE WED
06 - 07
Council Meeting
MAR 2024
TUE WED
12 - 13
Council Meeting
APR 2024
TUE WED
09 - 10
Council Meeting
MAY 2024
TUE WED
14 - 15
Council Meeting
JUN 2024
TUE WED
11 - 12
Council Meeting
JUL 2024
TUE WED
09 - 10
Council Meeting
AUG 2024
TUE WED
13 - 14
Council Meeting
SEP 2024
TUE WED
10 - 11
Council Meeting
OCT 2024
TUE WED
08 - 09
Council Meeteing
NOV 2024
WED THU
13 - 14
Council Meeting
DEC 2024
TUE WED
10 - 11
Council Meeting
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 Financial Reports Independent Scientific Advisory Board Independent Scientific Review Panel Independent Economic Analysis Board

COLUMBIA RIVER HISTORY PROJECT

The State of the Columbia River Basin, Fiscal Year 2017

Annual Report to Congress

Council Document Number: 
2017-6
Published date: 
March 23, 2018
Document state: 
Draft

Share

For the operators of the Northwest’s power system, 2017 was another challenging year. While our system continues to be low-cost and hydropower-based, changes in the way electricity is utilized, produced, stored, and delivered are sweeping the entire West.

The most visible change, aside from sustained low natural gas prices, is the rapid ascendency of renewable energy resources, especially in California where conventional and rooftop solar systems are being built at a breakneck pace to substantially reduce carbon emissions. This threatens to disrupt power markets by flooding the Northwest with electricity when California’s supply exceeds its demand for power. Northwest utilities are evaluating how to function efficiently under these new conditions.

Other trends that could transform the power system include more electric vehicles; utility-scale battery systems for storing renewable energy; new and more flexible gas-fired power plants to back-up the wind and solar resources; and innovative alternatives to building new high-voltage transmission lines.

The Council invited a series of utility industry leaders to share their thoughts on the impacts to the region and the steps we should take to leverage them to our advantage. What will the system look like in a decade or two? We don’t know yet, but we’re willing to bet that it will continue to be low-cost, low-carbon, reliable, and efficient.

The Northwest’s second largest energy resource after our clean, renewable hydropower base is energy efficiency. In 2016, the most recent year of available data, the region added another 275 average megawatts of efficiency at a cost of $475 million, about $100 million less than the cost to build new generating plants. This brings the region’s total savings to about 6,300 average megawatts. The Council’s Seventh Northwest Power Plan estimates it will increase by another 4,000 average megawatts by 2035.

The Council also maintained its focus in 2017 on protecting fish and wildlife affected by the Columbia River Basin hydropower system. With our partners, we worked to control invasive northern pike and prevent the spread of invasive quagga and zebra mussels into the basin. And, we are relentlessly working to conserve the natural legacy of the Columbia River Basin, including protecting and rebuilding populations of threatened and endangered species of salmon and steelhead.

The Council greatly appreciates your continued interest and support.

Topics: 
Fish and wildlife
Tags: 
Financial ReportsState of Columbia River Basin

ISRP 2021-05 LibbyMFWPfollow-up1June.pdf

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