the film forum library tutorial contact

Federal Government Appears Ready to Roll Back Salmon Protections, Shelve Deal with Tribes by Kendra Chamberlain Columbia Insight, May 7, 2025

President Biden promised to restore salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest.
President Trump isn't having it

Two federal agencies have decided to push back a public comment period on an issue related to the breaching four Lower Snake River dams.

The move has sparked concerns that the Trump administration may be working to undo—or at least bury—the historic settlement agreement between a group of Pacific Northwest Tribes and the federal government to restore salmon populations that have been harmed by dam operations in the Columbia River Basin.

The settlement, and a suite of related agreements, initiatives and studies championed under the Biden administration represent the culmination of 22 years of conflict across four different lawsuits between tribal nations and environmental groups and five federal agencies over the impacts of dams on salmon.

It also laid out a pathway for four controversial dams operating on the Lower Snake River to be breached, pending congressional approval.

That all now seems unlikely under a new administration that's shown itself to be hostile toward conservation issues, and, in particular, has vowed to put "people over fish."

Kurt Miller, CEO of the Northwest Public Power Association, told The Daily News of Longview, Wash., that the Trump administration "does not like" the wider salmon recovery initiative.

The Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation said in a May 1 announcement that they'd paused their environmental review in order to figure out how to proceed after the White House's Council on Environmental Quality rescinded the mandated implementation of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations.

The two agencies extended the public comment period to August 15, and have promised to hold public meetings on the review at some point this summer. But neither dates nor details have been released.

In the meantime, there are only breadcrumbs to follow.

The National Rural Electric Association (NRECA) has called on Congress to rescind parts of the initiative. The group recently praised the Trump administration for indefinitely delaying the review and promised to continue working with the administration on "ensuring the dams are protected for years to come."