December 12, 2007: The Court has set Jan. 4, 2008, as the deadline for close of comment to NOAA Fisheries on its draft FCRPS BiOp and draft Upper Snake BiOp. The Court has set March 18, 2008, as the date for NOAA to submit final BiOps. Comments may be submitted in writing to FCRPS BiOp Comments, NOAA Fisheries Portland Office, 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd, Suite 1100, Portland, OR 97232; or by e-mail.
November 5, 2007: A task force appointed by NOAA Fisheries has recommended that the agency approve a request from the states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho to "lethally remove" sea lions preying on ESA-listed fish below Bonneville Dam. NOAA will produce a draft environmental assessment in January. See NOAA webpage for more information.
October 31, 2007: NOAA Fisheries today released draft Biological Opinions for the Federal Columbia River Power System and the Upper Snake projects. These BiOps reflect recent Court decisions, using a higher standard than in the past. Using the best available science, NOAA concludes that comprehensive actions in hydropower operations and passage improvements, habitat enhancements, hatchery reform and predator management will prevent harm to threatened and endangered salmon and ultimately move the species towards recovery.
October 9, 2007: NOAA Fisheries today announced that it is releasing a final recovery plan for Upper Columbia spring chinook and steelhead, both listed under the Endangered Species Act. This is the third recovery plan NOAA has completed for ESA-listed salmon in the Northwest. NOAA has also completed plans for Hood Canal summer chum and Puget Sound chinook.
September 6, 2007: The federal action agencies today released Biological Assessments for the Federal Columbia River Power System and the Upper Snake projects, and a Comprehensive Analysis of the impacts of actions proposed for listed Columbia River Basin salmon and steelhead.
June 20, 2007: At a status conference with U.S. District Court Judge James Redden today, the Department of Justice presented a document entitled, "Structural and Operational Changes at FCRPS Dams to Improve Fish Survival." The document explains the substantial improvements to federal dams since the 1990s to help fish safely past the dams. The rate of juvenile salmon survival through the federal dams is now more than two times what it was in the mid-1970s.
June 14, 2007: In a joint news release, federal agencies noted today that adult spring chinook returns were low, as predicted. "Jacks" - adult fish that return to the river one year early - however, were coming in at near-record numbers, which could be a predictor of better returns to come. See also summary fact sheet.
June 8, 2007: Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have released an After Action Report on the 2006 spring and summer spill operations for fish passage on the Columbia and Snake River federal dams. The report shows that 99 percent of the fall chinook migration had passed Bonneville Dam by August 15 of last year. It also shows that BPA and the Corps' variances from required spill levels accounted for 1.7 percent of the total hours of spill between June 1 and August 31, 2006. Most of those variances due to barging issues or other unavoidable circumstances.
June 5, 2007: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, jointly with the Bonneville Power Administration and the Bureau of Reclamation, today submitted a Supplemental Biological Assessment on operation of the dams on the Willamette River for ESA-listed fish.
May 25, 2007: Juvenile spring chinook survival through the eight federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers was the highest yet measured in 2006, according to recent estimates from NOAA Fisheries Science Center. Juvenile steelhead survival was the highest it's been in several years. View draft report.
May 23, 2007: Judge Redden has incorporated the terms of the 2007 Operations Agreement between BPA and Northwest tribes into a court order for operations of the federal hydrosystem in 2007.
May 21, 2007: The federal action agencies have submitted their draft proposed action for operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System to Judge Redden of U.S. District Court. The PA is a comprehensive, science-based analysis and set of actions that addresses the needs of Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead throughout their lifecycle. See also summary fact sheet.
May 1, 2007: The Department of Justice has filed a report requested by District Court today regarding the operation of FCRPS facilities on April 3, 2007.
April 24, 2007: The Corps of Engineers has filed a fish operations plan with the Court. Judge Redden has asked the federal action agencies to file reports every 30 days during the 2007 spill season.
April 9, 2007: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today affirmed Judge Redden's application of ESA when he remanded the 2004 FCRPS BiOp to NOAA Fisheries in 2005. The regional federal executives responded to the ruling saying they remain committed to the collaboration to develop a new BiOp.
March 28, 2007: As proposed by the parties in a March 28, 2007, joint stipulation, the Court has adopted a schedule for the next steps in the 2004 FCRPS BiOp litigation. The schedule calls for the action agencies to submit an updated proposed action/RPA by May 21, 2007. Parties or amicus may submit comments to the Court by June 11, 2007. A status conference is set for June 20, 2007, to be followed by a status conference on the Upper Snake remand.
February 2, 2007: Today the federal agencies involved in the FCRPS Biological Opinion remand submitted their fifth quarterly report on the status of the collaboration to Judge James Redden.
February 1, 2007:Today BPA customers and the State of Montana filed a response to National Wildlife Federation's notice regarding injunction procedures on 2007 FCRPS operations for fish.
January 19, 2007: Today, NOAA Fisheries announced approval of the Puget Sound Recovery Plan for Puget Sound Chinook, Hood Canal summer chum and Lake Ozette sockeye
January 9, 2007: Five Northwest tribes have notified Judge Redden in US District Court of Oregon that they have agreed with BPA and the US Army Corps of Engineers on hydro operations for fish in 2007. Notification and exhibits.
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