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Oregon Fisheries Face 'Major Consequences' After Bonneville Pulls Funding: ODFW by Michaela Bourgeois KOIN, June 22, 2026

'This decision by BPA caught us by surprise,' said ODFW Director Debbie Colbert.
"It puts decades of fishery reform work at risk'

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Oregon fisheries could face "major consequences" after the Bonneville Power Administration unexpectedly pulled funding for a program supporting salmon and steelhead fishing, state wildlife officials warned.

On June 18, the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife said the agency learned the Bonneville Power Administration is ending its share of funding for the Select Area Fisheries Enhancement (SAFE) Program in the Lower Columbia River.

The end of the estimated $2.4 million in funding could cause major impacts to commercial and recreational fishing, ODFW said.

"This decision by BPA caught us by surprise," said ODFW Director Debbie Colbert. "It puts decades of fishery reform work at risk and goes against the recommendation of the regional fish and wildlife managers and the Northwest Power and Conservation Council to fund this work."

ODFW isn't the only agency that was caught off guard by the cut funding.

In a statement shared Monday with KOIN 6 News, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife said, "WDFW was surprised by Bonneville Power Administration's decision to withdraw funding for the Select Area Fisheries Enhancement (SAFE) Program in the lower Columbia River. SAFE has played a critical role in providing fishing opportunities, supporting fishing communities, and advancing fishery management strategies designed to protect vulnerable salmon and steelhead stocks."

Beginning in 1993, the SAFE program aims to increase salmon and steelhead harvesting opportunities while working to decrease harm for fish protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Without these funds, ODFW says more than 7 million hatchery salmon currently in production are facing immediate risk. The lack of funding also creates an estimated $2.4 million funding gap for three agencies responsible for SAFE: ODFW, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Clatsop County.

The Bonneville Power Administration will end its share of the funding on September 30. Amid this three-month notice, ODFW is warning of "far-reaching impacts" for commercial and recreational fishing.

This includes major disruptions for commercial and recreational fisheries that rely on SAFE hatchery fish releases to provide a predictable and sustainable harvest.

In 2025, landings in Oregon's SAFE commercial fisheries led to nearly $6 million in economic impacts to fishing communities regionally, ODFW said, noting, on average, about 34% of fish harvested from SAFE are taken home by anglers in the ocean and lower Columbia River.

The lost funding will also strain state and county partners, who have no replacement funding for the program, according to ODFW.

Additionally, the lost funding risks ongoing work to shift commercial harvest away from the mainstem and protect weak and Endangered Species Act-listed stocks.

"SAFE is a cornerstone program that provides terminal, ocean, and mainstem harvest opportunities, supports living-wage jobs in coastal communities, provides forage for critically endangered southern resident killer whales, and reduces pressure on vulnerable Columbia River stocks," said Tucker Jones, ODFW's Ocean Salmon & Columbia River Program Manager. "Pulling funding with almost no notice undermines stability for both fishery managers and commercial and recreational fishers."

After funding the program for more than 30 years, BPA sent a letter to ODFW on June 18 announcing the end of the funds. In the letter, Executive Director for BPA's Fish and Wildlife Program Jason Sweet, outlined the admin's reasons for withdrawing the funds.

According to Sweet, the SAFE program -- which began as a pilot project -- is not benefiting the salmon or steelhead stocks.

"In the beginning, BPA supported this experimental objective because of the hypothesized enhancement benefit for fish stocks that are affected by the federal hydropower system during their migrations through the mainstem of the Columbia River. However, in the intervening years, implementation of the SAFE program ultimately has not demonstrated an ability to deliver this theoretical benefit, and the program's value as a hydropower mitigation tool has therefore been in question for some time," the letter stated.

"Although the off-channel fisheries supported by the SAFE program have clearly increased commercial and recreational harvest opportunities in those areas, there is no direct evidence that such increased off-channel harvest has resulted in reduced harvest impacts on weak and ESA listed stocks in the mixed-stock fisheries on the mainstem," the letter continued.

"In the letter, BPA noted that the current goals of the SAFE program are primarily focused on addressing "lost fishing opportunities" and focus less on minimizing negative impacts on fish stocks. This is among the reasons BPA claims the program does not align with the administration's goals.

Sweet's letter noted that the BPA previously advised ODFW to become less reliant on BPA funds.

"Because of this misalignment, BPA has consistently advised the region to plan for a transition away from dependence on BPA's cost-share funding for the SAFE program. Since at least 2011, there has been an expectation that the SAFE program should eventually become self-sustaining through funds other than BPA's. Unfortunately, if anything, the SAFE program is now more reliant on BPA funding as Washington began to phase out its participation starting in 2024," the letter continues.