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Washington State Acts on Snake River Restoration

Expert BlogUnited States, WashingtonGiulia C.S. Good Stefani
If the federal government proposes a pathway to comprehensive Snake River restoration, we will all benefit from the important planning and progress underway in Washington State.

Saying Goodbye to Ken Balcomb, Whale Scientist and Defender

Expert BlogUnited StatesGiulia C.S. Good Stefani, Joel Reynolds
Renowned field scientist created extensive data base to identify and track whale species, advocated over decades for their protection from U.S. Navy and other powerful interests.

Senator and WA Governor Join Forces to Tackle Snake Dams

Expert BlogWashington, WestGiulia C.S. Good Stefani

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Washington Governor Jay Inslee answered advocates’ calls to energize the decades-long push to save our iconic salmon from extinction.

Orcas Lose a Grandmother, Matriarch L47

Expert BlogWashington, OregonGiulia C.S. Good Stefani

This Saturday is Orca Recovery Day and people are coming together for some healing—and to demand action.

Sockeye Salmon Dying, Temperature Rises on Snake River Dams

Expert BlogWashington, OregonGiulia C.S. Good Stefani

Columbia River Basin sockeye salmon are migrating upriver from the ocean, but new underwater videos show that this summer the fish have large chunks of flesh missing and bulbous growths across their bodies. The fish are rotting to death in…

Salmon: A Natural Climate Solution

Expert BlogUnited StatesGiulia C.S. Good Stefani

We must not forget our dependence on the biodiversity that makes this planet livable. After all, these fish grow the forests.

Invitation to New Path Forward for the Columbia River Basin

Expert BlogGiulia C.S. Good Stefani
Congressmen Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) recently unveiled a proposed $33 billion Columbia Basin Fund that would, among other aims, safeguard salmon and clean energy, restore the lower Snake River, increase the states’ and Columbia Basin tribes’ resource management authority, and support…

Oregon Rivers: Even More Wild and Scenic

Expert BlogGiulia C.S. Good Stefani
In the largest single effort to protect rivers in U.S. history, Senator Ron Wyden and Senator Jeff Merkley have introduced the River Democracy Act—a bill that adds nearly 4,700 miles of rivers and streams in Oregon to the national Wild…

Our Rivers Too Dam Hot for Salmon

Expert BlogWest, United StatesGiulia C.S. Good Stefani
Salmon need cool river temperatures to complete their migrations home.

Temperature Rises on Columbia Basin Dams

Expert BlogGiulia C.S. Good Stefani
Summers in the Northwest are getting hotter and that could have killer consequences for endangered salmon. A new Environmental Protection Agency analysis released this week found that it isn’t just climate change that is causing our rivers (and the fish…

Earth Day Order Ends Chapter in Fight to Save Vaquita

Expert BlogGiulia C.S. Good Stefani, Zak Smith
NRDC has been tenaciously fighting to save the vaquita porpoise. Our court battle ended today, on Earth Day, when U.S. Court of International Trade Judge Gary S. Katzmann granted our request to dismiss the case. We requested dismissal only after…

Columbia Basin EIS Missed Orca in the Room

Expert BlogGiulia C.S. Good Stefani
Yesterday the public comment period ended on a nearly 8,000 page draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Columbia River System Operations, which includes fourteen federal dams and reservoirs in the Columbia River Basin.

Collaborative Solution Needed to End the Deadlock Over Dams

Expert BlogGiulia C.S. Good Stefani
NRDC joins a diverse group of seventeen conservation, energy sector, and port leaders from across the Northwest in a letter to the governors of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Together, we want to try and break the decades old logjam…

A Home for Orcas

Expert BlogGiulia C.S. Good Stefani
The Southern Resident orcas are at their lowest abundance in 40 years.

Idahoans Take Lead on Snake River Salmon Restoration

Expert BlogGiulia C.S. Good Stefani
The Pacific Northwest has been deadlocked over salmon and dams for decades. Something is shifting, and everyone at the conference in Boise felt it. The topic of the day was Energy, Salmon, Agriculture, and Community: Can We Come Together? and…