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Director of Columbia River Task Force Nik Blosser Steps Down by K.C. Mehaffey NW Fishletter, May 14, 2025

"(I)t became clear that I was not the person to continue this
work in the Trump Administration, so I stepped down,"
-- Nik Blosser announced on LinkedIn.

Nik Blosser, executive director of a federal task force working to restore native fish populations in the Columbia Basin, resigned April 18, while calling attention to the likelihood that all river users will be impacted by federal budget cuts and staff reductions.

The Columbia River Task Force was created in June 2024 to implement measures in a settlement agreement that led to a stay in litigation over Columbia River System Operations (CRSO).

"So much work over so many years had gone into forging this agreement that I wanted to give my best efforts to preserving it in some form with the new regime, to brief the new appointees who set policy. But it became clear that I was not the person to continue this work in the Trump Administration, so I stepped down," Blosser announced on LinkedIn.

He told NW Fishletter that he does not yet have specific plans for what he will do next and that his LinkedIn post best describes thoughts about the future of the task force and salmon recovery in the basin.

The task force is co-chaired by leaders from the U.S. departments of the Interior and Energy, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

These and other federal agencies have been carrying out numerous U.S. commitments in the settlement since last year. The commitments include studies on impacts of removing the four lower Snake River dams on water supply, transportation and energy production, and plans to conduct a CRSO supplemental environmental impact statement.

Blosser noted that the agreement provides 10 years of stable operations for the Federal Columbia River Power System, along with 10 years of funding commitments for fish and wildlife habitat and fish passage.

"Unfortunately, many of the key federal agencies who had commitments to fulfill in this agreement, from the Department of Energy and the Bonneville Power Administration, to the Bureau of Reclamation and the Fish and Wildlife Service, to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Army Corps of Engineers, are facing significantly reduced capacity given recent actions by the Administration. But the issues facing our region related to energy, fish and wildlife, and upholding treaty rights with Tribes are not going away, and the need to work together as a region to find common ground is more important than ever," Blosser's post says.

It concludes, "The likely impacts of federal staff and budget cuts on all uses of the river, from species protection to energy to commerce, is a story that needs much greater exposure."