By: Miles Johnson
On June 12, 2025, Trump unilaterally withdrew the federal government from the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement, an historic agreement among federal agencies, States, Tribes, and conservation, fishing, and clean energy groups including Columbia Riverkeeper.
The agreement had promised increased federal funding for fisheries projects and infrastructure; a federal-state partnership to analyze replacement of the energy, transportation, irrigation, and recreation services provided the Lower Snake River dams to pave the way for dam removal; and federal investments in new Tribal clean energy projects.
In the words of Senator Patty Murray: “The Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement was the result of years of painstaking work—this was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernize infrastructure across the Columbia River Basin, support reliable clean energy, and save imperiled salmon and steelhead runs. The Trump administration’s senseless decision to tear it up is a betrayal of our Tribes and a tremendous setback for the entire Northwest.”
While many of the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement’s promises remain unfulfilled, the agreement did result in a hard-hitting report explaining how the Columbia River basin’s dams have harmed Tribal culture and communities, as well as a report showing that there would be more than enough water for irrigation without the Lower Snake River dams.
Despite this serious setback (which, in all fairness, had been foreseeable since election night in November 2024), Columbia Riverkeeper will continue to actively support the broader State and Tribal Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative and its goal of restoring abundant, harvestable runs of salmon. Trump’s short-sighted decision to end this agreement will hurt river communities and slow—but not derail—our region’s progress and strong partnerships for salmon recovery and Lower Snake River dam removal.
What Now?
This agreement paused litigation by Columbia Riverkeeper and others over the federal government’s illegal management of dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement is, essentially, a decision to return to the courtroom and hand management of the river and the hydrosystem back over to a federal judge.
The likely result will be renewed legal arguments about the amount of “spill” and other dam operations legally required to protect endangered salmon. Columbia Riverkeeper is likely to continue participating in this litigation. These incremental measures are important to avoiding further extinctions of Columbia River basin salmon, but will not provide the kind of robust, healthy, and harvestable fisheries that river communities deserve and Tribal Treaties promise—that will require large-scale restoration efforts like Lower Snake River dam removal.
What Can You Do?
Unfortunately, Trump isn’t the only threat to salmon recovery. Congress is also considering legislation to strip protections for Columbia Basin salmon. Now more than ever, it’s important to speak up for salmon and Tribal rights! Click here to tell your U.S. Senators and Representative not to turn back the clock on salmon recovery or undermine progress by States and Tribes.
