Trump Ends Columbia River Salmon Deal, Sparking Northwest Outrage

Historic Agreement Canceled as Energy Priorities Trump Conservation

President Donald Trump’s abrupt withdrawal from a landmark Columbia River salmon recovery agreement has ignited fierce opposition across the Pacific Northwest, with tribal leaders condemning the move as another broken federal promise while energy advocates celebrate the decision as necessary for grid reliability.

The 2023 Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement, brokered by the Biden administration after decades of legal battles, committed over$1 billion in federal investments for salmon restoration and tribal clean energy projects. Trump’s Thursday memorandum effectively ends this historic deal, citing concerns that it prioritized “speculative climate change” over reliable energy production.

The Stakes: Energy vs. Extinction

The canceled agreement represented a rare moment of cooperation between federal agencies, four major Columbia Basin tribes, and the states of Washington and Oregon. At its heart lay a fundamental question that has divided the region for decades: Should the four Lower Snake River dams be removed to save salmon runs, even at enormous economic cost?

These hydroelectric facilities generate enough power for 2.5 million homes while providing crucial shipping channels for agricultural exports. Yet they’ve also contributed to the near-extinction of salmon populations that once numbered in the millions.

“The Nez Perce Tribe holds a duty to speak the truth for the salmon, and the truth is that extinction of salmon populations is happening now,” declared Shannon Wheeler, chairman of the Nez Perce Tribe, in response to Trump’s action.

Broken Promises and Treaty Rights

The withdrawal strikes particularly hard at tribal communities whose 1855 treaties with the federal government guaranteed perpetual fishing rights in their traditional territories. These legally binding agreements reserved sovereign rights that tribes argue the government has systematically violated through dam construction and inadequate salmon protection.

Gerald Lewis, chairman of the Yakama Tribal Council, didn’t mince words: “The administration’s decision to terminate these commitments echoes the federal government’s historic pattern of broken promises to tribes.”

The four affected tribes—the Nez Perce, Yakama Nation, Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, and Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation—had agreed to pause two decades of litigation in exchange for the federal commitment. Now that legal truce appears over.

Energy Industry Celebrates, Environmentalists Mourn

The Northwest Public Power Association hailed Trump’s decision as “a necessary course correction toward energy reliability, affordability, and transparency.” Kurt Miller, the organization’s CEO, emphasized the dams’ critical role in maintaining grid stability amid skyrocketing electricity demand.

“In an era of skyrocketing electricity demand, these dams are essential to maintaining grid reliability and keeping energy bills affordable,” Miller stated.

However, environmental groups see the withdrawal as a catastrophic missed opportunity. Amanda Goodin, senior attorney at Earthjustice, warned that “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.”

The Science Behind the Crisis

The numbers tell a stark story of ecological collapse. Where 10-16 million salmon once returned annually to the Columbia Basin, recent averages show only 2.3 million fish—and some individual runs have dwindled to just 50 returning salmon.

Twenty-eight different runs of West Coast salmon and steelhead are now listed under the Endangered Species Act, with 12 in the Columbia Basin alone. Despite decades of recovery efforts, not a single listed population has recovered.

The Lower Snake River dams represent just one factor in this decline, alongside habitat destruction, overfishing, climate change, and predation. Yet scientific studies consistently identify dam removal as the most promising path to salmon recovery, albeit at an estimated cost of$10.3-27.2 billion to replace lost services.

Political Fallout Across Party Lines

Congressional reactions split predictably along partisan lines, but with notable regional variations. Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington) called Trump’s decision “grievously wrong and couldn’t be more shortsighted,” while Representative Dan Newhouse (R-Washington) praised the action for protecting dams that support grain exports and energy reliability.

Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) characterized the Biden agreement as a “one-sided, backroom” deal that ignored dam-dependent communities, calling Trump’s reversal “a return to sound science and common-sense.”

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson reaffirmed his state’s commitment to Columbia River restoration despite federal withdrawal: “The Columbia River Basin is the lifeblood of our region, our sovereign tribal nations and our agricultural community.”

What Happens Next?

With the agreement’s collapse, the legal battles that had been paused are expected to resume. Earthjustice’s Goodin noted that “without the agreement, there is no longer any basis for a stay” of litigation challenging dam operations.

The Trump administration’s fact sheet frames the withdrawal as part of broader efforts to combat “radical environmentalism” and prioritize energy dominance. However, it makes no mention of the affected tribes or the treaty obligations at stake.

Meanwhile, tribal leaders and their allies vow to continue fighting for salmon recovery through other means. As Wheeler of the Nez Perce Tribe emphasized, their vision for preventing salmon extinction “is a vision we believe is supported, publicly or privately, by most people in the Northwest.”

The Bigger Picture: Climate, Energy, and Justice

This controversy reflects broader tensions between environmental protection and energy security that will likely intensify as climate change accelerates. The Columbia River system faces mounting pressures from rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and evolving ocean conditions that further stress salmon populations.

The canceled agreement had attempted to thread this needle by supporting both salmon recovery and clean energy development, including significant tribal energy projects. Its collapse leaves the region without a comprehensive framework for addressing these interconnected challenges.

For tribal communities, the stakes extend far beyond fish populations to fundamental questions of sovereignty, treaty rights, and environmental justice. The federal government’s latest reversal reinforces longstanding grievances about broken promises and inadequate consultation on decisions affecting tribal resources.

A Call for Regional Solutions

As legal battles resume and political rhetoric intensifies, the underlying problems remain unchanged. Salmon populations continue declining toward extinction while energy demands grow and climate pressures mount.

The path forward will require the kind of collaborative, science-based approach that the canceled agreement represented—bringing together diverse stakeholders to balance competing needs while honoring treaty obligations and environmental imperatives.

Whether such cooperation can emerge from the current polarized environment remains an open question. What’s certain is that without decisive action, the Pacific Northwest risks losing both its iconic salmon runs and the cultural heritage they represent for tribal communities who have depended on these fish for millennia.

The Columbia River’s future—and that of its salmon—now hangs in the balance as the region grapples with fundamental questions about energy, environment, and justice that extend far beyond the Northwest’s borders.

Take Action: Contact your representatives to express your views on Columbia River salmon recovery and support policies that balance energy needs with environmental protection and tribal treaty rights.