Cool weather and a hard rain likely played a large role in this year's early return of fall chinook to the Columbia River. ...more

Federal District Court Judge James Redden ruled Aug. 21 that the new BiOp will not get any independent scientific scrutiny before he decides whether to throw it out. ...more

La Niña is lingering, but that part of the world where El Niños are born is warming once again. In the equatorial Pacific, waters have warmed to above-average temperatures in some places, from several degrees below average last winter. ...more

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council voted Aug. 28 to release its latest draft of the region's fish and wildlife plan for public comment. Staffers were finishing up final edits and expected to have the plan posted on the council's Web site by Sept. 2. ...more

All parties in litigation over the USFWS' 2006 sturgeon BiOp have reached an agreement that calls for extending interim operations at Libby Dam to help the ESA-listed sturgeon spawn in the Kootenai River below the dam. If these attempts at mimicking spring flows and reducing temperatures don't work, the Corps of Engineers will then boost spillway flows to see if that helps the sturgeon to reproduce. ...more