News Releases

8 Apr 2026

Spring fish operations begin on Snake, Columbia rivers

Spring fish passage operations began April 3 at federal dams on the lower Snake River and will begin April 10 on the lower Columbia River.

1 Mar 2024

Litigation stay agreement increasing Columbia River spill, begins

After an agreement to stay the Columbia River Basin litigation for up to 10 years, federal water managers will begin spilling more water over basin dams this spring than in past years. In the agreement, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has committed to spill more water over spillways instead of through turbines during its annual “spring spill” operations at dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers as well as expanding spill in the fall and early spring.

3 Apr 2023

Water managers begin spring spill to benefit juvenile salmon

Federal water managers will begin spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of water over spillways instead of through turbines during annual “spring spill” operations at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers.

21 Apr 2021

Spring Spill begins facilitating fish passage at Snake and Columbia river dams

Federal water managers have begun the annual spill of water past hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers to help juvenile salmon and steelhead migrate to the ocean this spring. The spill began April 3 on the lower Snake River and April 10 on the lower Columbia River. Spill for juvenile fish passage helps reduce the proportion of juvenile fish that pass dams through the turbines and helps reduce passage delay at each dam, thereby shortening their travel time through the Snake and Columbia rivers.

8 May 2020

Corps begins flexible spring spill operations to benefit fish and hydropower

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began implementing its 2020 Fish Operations Plan at the four lower Snake River dams April 3 and at the lower Columbia River dams April 10.

12 Mar 2020

Feds shift Seattle, Portland CRSO EIS meetings to 'phone only'

Officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and the Bonneville Power Administration decided that the in-person public comment meetings planned for Seattle and Portland will not be held due to the high number of COVID-19 cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in those geographical areas and calls from local officials to limit public exposure. Phone-in options have been added to the formal comment choices for those avoiding crowded venues.