Demand strong action in the Northwest Fish and Wildlife Program

Act now to protect salmon and honor Tribal commitments

To the Northwest Power and Conservation Council: We, the undersigned, appreciate the Council's developing the 2026 Fish and Wildlife Program. Please adopt ALL measures necessary to recover endangered salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Thank you for maintaining the recovery goal of 5 million salmon returning annually and for recognizing the importance of this moment. For generations, salmon have been the lifeblood of the Northwest -- culturally, economically, and ecologically. For millennia, salmon have sustained the Tribal Nations of our region, yet populations remain at crisis levels. With the Trump administration terminating the comprehensive recovery agreement in June 2025, your Program can move essential recovery actions forward. We urge the final plan to: Include elevated spill over the dams through August 31 to help protect outmigrating juvenile salmon and steelhead. This is the safest way to pass young migrating salmon over dams and out to the ocean, especially critical for fish traveling hundreds of miles from spawning grounds. Incorporate ALL recommendations of Tribal and State Fish Managers. These experts know what measures are necessary to help our salmon. The Regional Act requires the NPCC to "defer" to their recommendations and expertise--please honor this legal obligation. Adopt a 2035 timeframe for achieving the 5 million fish goal. Hold Bonneville Power Administration accountable for meeting its responsibilities to protect all fisheries impacted by the hydro system and for honoring our treaties with Tribal Nations. Measures must show progress and accountability toward achieving the goal in a meaningful time period. Include breaching of the Lower Snake River dams so the Ninth Power Plan can analyze it alongside other hydropower measures in developing comprehensive regional energy planning. Lower Snake River Dam removal will have the single largest impact for restoring salmon abundance. Connect measures with specific actions and performance standards, with backup actions if targets aren't met. Accountability and measurable progress are essential elements of an effective plan. Strengthen monitoring programs, including the Fish Passage Center, Comparative Survival Study, and Smolt Monitoring Program. Make these programs directly accountable to state and Tribal agencies through a management board. Protect the genetic diversity of wild and natural stocks to allow the generational population growth necessary to recover harvestable fisheries. Use the watershed levels goals established by the Columbia Basin Partnership to assure we are achieving our goals for all populations. This Program can also help protect the endangered orca that depend on the Columbia River chinook salmon. Thank you for this opportunity to comment and for your dedication to both healthy salmon runs and reliable energy for our region.