Landmark Columbia River salmon recovery deal scrapped by Trump Administration
The now-defunct Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement had pledged more than $1 billion for salmon restoration and tribal energy development.
Donald Trump has withdrawn the U.S. federal government from a landmark agreement to restore salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest, slamming the initiative as “radical environmentalism”.
A presidential memorandum signed by Trump on 12 June abruptly ends federal government support for a deal between the Biden administration, Washington, Oregon, and four Native American tribes, aimed at boosting renewable energy for tribal communities and supporting salmon recovery.
The Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement, signed in December 2023, promised more than $1 billion in federal investments for salmon restoration over the next decade, along with clean, affordable energy projects on tribal lands. The agreement initiated a federal-state partnership to analyze replacement of the hydropower services provided by four dams on the lower Snake River.
In the memorandum, Trump claimed the agreement “placed concerns about climate change above the Nation’s interests in reliable energy resources.”
Environmental advocates, members of Congress, and Northwest tribes expressed deep disappointment over Trump’s decision to reverse the deal.
“Donald Trump doesn’t know the first thing about the Northwest and our way of life – so of course, he is abruptly and unilaterally upending a historic agreement that finally put us on a path to salmon recovery, while preserving stable dam operations for growers and producers, public utilities, river users, ports and others throughout the Northwest,” said Patty Murray, a Democratic U.S. senator for Washington. “This decision is grievously wrong and couldn’t be more shortsighted.”
Activists from Backbone Campaign project messages to save wild salmon, respect treaty rights, and remove the four dams on the Lower Granite Dam in 2021. Credit: Ben Herndon/Backbone Campaign
The Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement was described as a significant step toward restoring salmon and steelhead in the region, where wild populations have declined to dangerously low levels. Once home to 16 distinct species, the basin has already lost four to extinction, while seven more are now listed under the Endangered Species Act.
The Snake River dams - the Ice Harbor, Little Goose, Lower Monumental and Lower Granite - are one of the greatest threats to the survival of salmon. Although the dams provide significant hydropower and barge access, conservationists say they also block access to the species’ most productive remaining habitat.
“The Trump administration is turning its back on an unprecedented opportunity to support a thriving Columbia Basin — and ignoring the extinction crisis facing our salmon,” said Earthjustice Senior Attorney Amanda Goodin. “Unfortunately, this short-sighted decision to renege on this important agreement is just the latest in a series of anti-government and anti-science actions coming from the Trump administration. This administration may be giving up on our salmon, but we will keep fighting to prevent extinction and realize win-win solutions for the region.”
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