salmon

Michelle Hennings, executive director of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) testified June 26, 2023, in front of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries regarding the importance of the Columbia Snake River System, and the Lower Snake River Dams in particular, for wheat farmers in…

From the Capital Press The vast majority of salmon are getting up, over, around and through the four lower Snake River dams even as legal challenges and political battles swirl around them, according to the federal agency in charge of monitoring fish health. Read the rest of the article here.

The state 2022 Legislative Session wrapped up March 10, with legislators working up until nearly the last minute to pass a supplemental budget that adds $5 billion to the $59 billion budget lawmakers passed last year. Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ lobbyist, Diana Carlen, assembled a list of agriculture-related spending…

A group of Washington state agricultural organizations sent a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee and state House and Senate leaders offering suggestions on actions that would significantly increase riparian enhancement and protections for salmon. “Our farmers have implemented conservation on their lands for decades and generations with help and in…

From the Capital Press A Senate Democrat warned Thursday that a salmon recovery bill moving through the Legislature would repeat Gov. Jay Inslee’s mistake of not consulting with farmers before proposing riparian buffers. House Bill 1117 calls for Inslee and tribes to develop riparian buffer standards for Western Washington cities…

Report could have major implications for dam debate From Northwest River Partners Newly published research has unveiled remarkable insight into the survival rates of Chinook salmon populations along the North American West Coast, highlighting a dramatic omission in the way such data has been interpreted for over two decades. The…

By Trista Crossley As the debate around breaching the lower Snake River dams continues, the Washington state agricultural industry brought more than 3 dozen state legislators and aides on a boat tour last week in an effort to demonstrate how important the dams are to the region’s economy. Legislators boarded…

Seattle Times opinion piece by Don Britain, mayor of Kennewick; Matt Wakins, mayor of Pasco; Robert Thompson, mayor of Richland; and Brent Gerry, mayor of West Richland For more than 20 years. there has been an ongoing debate about the impact of the four Snake River dams on the Pacific Northwest’s salmon…

By Diana CarlenWAWG Lobbyist On June 11, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 4-4 decision in what is known as the “Culvert Case.” The Culvert Case involves a 17-year battle over who pays to install or replace stream culverts where salmon are blocked. The effect of the tie decision…