Articles

Salmon, tribal sovereignty and energy collide as Trump admin abandons Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement

The move threatens treaty rights and salmon recovery as energy demands from AI and crypto surge
Ice Harbor Dam, one of the four Lower Snake River dams (photo: Salmon Recovery).

Earlier this month, the Trump administration pulled the federal government out of the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement — a deal struck in 2023 by the Biden administration between two states and four Indigenous nations aimed at restoring salmon populations and paving a way to remove four hydroelectric dams along the river system. The move is likely to revive decades-old lawsuits and further endanger already struggling salmon populations.

Remember

Resistance comes in many forms
Photo: Johnny Carrol Sain.

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”
— E.B. White

Land purchase halts controversial mine near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

The Conservation Fund purchase eliminates the largest threat to the refuge in decades
Photo: Chris Hunt.

A controversial heavy sands mining project proposed on the southern fringes of the Okefenokee National Wildlife refuge will not be developed, thanks to a $60 million land purchase agreement between The Conservation Fund and the Alabama-based mining company, Twin Pines Minerals. The purchase was finalized Friday.

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