Conservation Groups Seek Stronger Protections for NW Rivers

Thirty-six conservation organizations, including Washington Wild and American Whitewater submitted comments to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council on its Draft Amended Fish and Wildlife Program. The Council’s Fish and Wildlife Program is the largest fish and wildlife recovery program in the U.S., designed to protect and enhance fish and wildlife in the Columbia Basin, and mitigate the impacts of the Columbia River hydropower system. The Program covers a wide range of topics that apply to the Columbia River Basin and other areas in the Pacific Northwest. The joint comments focused on removing exceptions in protected areas, strengthening the Protected Areas program, which protects over 44,000 miles of rivers and streams throughout the region from new hydropower projects. Protected Areas are vitally important today as hydropower developers and the Department of Energy seek to increase hydropower production throughout the country–especially in the Pacific Northwest. Read the Joint Letter on NWPCC Draft Amendments to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.