skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of the federal death row; Mississippi group working in 71 counties to end homelessness in Mississippi; Farmers no longer feeling Farm Bill anguish, but relief might be fleeting; Addressing Montana's expanding 'news deserts.'

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

President-elect Donald Trump considers reclaiming Panama Canal. Lawmakers are uncertain Trump's cabinet will help everyday Americans and, advocates feel Biden must reconsider clemency actions.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural folks could soon be shut out of loans for natural disasters if Project 2025 has its way, Taos, New Mexico weighs options for its housing shortage, and the top states providing America's Christmas trees revealed.

Gov. Inslee Report Weighs Future of Snake River

play audio
Play

Friday, December 20, 2019   

SEATTLE - A report on the future of the Snake River in southeast Washington comes out today.

The Lower Snake River Dams Stakeholder draft report relies on perspectives from more than 100 stakeholders and more than 3,500 online responders. While there are no recommendations, it could be an influential document on the future of the dams.

It's designed to increase understanding on both sides of the issue. Amy Grondin, a commercial fisher in Port Townsend, was interviewed for the report and says the salmon industry continues to be hurt because of the dams' effect on fish migration.

"Over the last 50 years, the commercial fishing fleet has been asked to compromise and to not fish and cut back their numbers, and annually we see what we're allowed to catch become less and less," says Grondin. "We're really at a tipping point for the fish and the fleets."

Supporters of the dams say they're important for cheap energy and shipping costs for farmers.

Gov. Jay Inslee called for the report in response to recommendations from his Southern Resident Orca Task Force. The whales have suffered from a lack of salmon due to the dams.

There will be three public meetings on the report in January and public comment is accepted through January 24.

The southeast Washington dams also have effects upstream in Idaho, where salmon and steelhead go to spawn. Aaron Lieberman is the executive director of the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association and a member of Idaho Gov. Brad Little's task force on salmon recovery.

Lieberman says their low numbers largely impact rural Idaho.

"Around 80% of resident outfitters in Idaho live in communities of around 450 or fewer," says Lieberman. "So the impacts of diminished returns of salmon and steelhead to Idaho are being felt and have been felt in particular in rural Idaho. And without rural Idaho, what is Idaho?"

Tom France is regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation's Northwest programs. He notes more than 17 billion dollars has been spent over the past two decades on salmon restoration projects in the Columbia River Basin, but they haven't helped.

"Now we're at a point where we really need to chart a new path or we're going to lose these fish for all time," says France. "And I think most people in the Pacific Northwest want to keep fish a part of their future and their children's future, and that we're going to find a way to do that."


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Juana Valle's well is one of 20 sites tested in California's San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast regions in the first round of preliminary sampling by University of California-Berkeley researchers and the Community Water Center. The results showed 96 parts per trillion of total PFAS in her water, including 32 parts per trillion of PFOS - both considered potentially hazardous amounts. (Hannah Norman/KFF Health News)

Environment

play sound

By Hannah Norman for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Ser…


Environment

play sound

Animal rights organizers are regrouping after mixed results at the ballot box in November. A measure targeting factory farms passed in Berkeley but …

Environment

play sound

Farmers in Nebraska and across the nation might not be in panic mode anymore thanks to another extension of the Farm Bill but they still want Congress…


Immigration law experts say applying for asylum status can be very lengthy, and that programs such as Temporary Protected Status can fill the void for people fleeing violence elsewhere in the world. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

With 2025 almost here, organizations assisting Minnesota's Latino populations say they're laser focused on a couple of areas - mental health-care …

Social Issues

play sound

A new report found Connecticut's fiscal controls on the state budget restrict long-term growth. The controls were introduced during the 2018 budget …

As of August, enrollment in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System had reached 66,114 students, representing an increase of 8.4%, according to state data. (Adobe Stock/AI generated image)

Social Issues

play sound

Nearly a dozen changes could be made to the Kentucky Community and Technical College system, under Senate Joint Resolution 179, passed by lawmakers …

Social Issues

play sound

By Jessica Scott-Reid for Sentient.Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan for Arkansas News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collab…

play sound

By Julieta Cardenas for Sentient.Broadcast version by Freda Ross for Texas News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaboration …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021