Latest Snake River Stories

Case study: Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System detected 98 percent of tagged fishA new acoustic telemetry system tracks the migration of juvenile salmon using one-tenth as many fish as comparable methods, suggests a paper published in the January edition of the American Fisheries Society journal Fisheries. The paper also explains how the system is best suited for deep, fast-moving rivers and can detect fish movement in more places than other tracking methods.The Juvenile Salmon...

Plume slants northwest; magma body bigger than thoughtThe most detailed seismic images yet published of the plumbing that feeds the Yellowstone supervolcano shows a plume of hot and molten rock rising at an angle from the northwest at a depth of at least 410 miles, contradicting claims that there is no deep plume, only shallow hot rock moving like slowly boiling soup.A related University of Utah study used gravity measurements to indicate the banana-shaped magma chamber of hot and molten rock...

Temperature differences, slow water could delay ocean entryTemperature differences and slow-moving water at the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake rivers in Idaho might delay the migration of threatened juvenile salmon and allow them to grow larger before reaching the Pacific Ocean.A team of Northwest researchers are examining the unusual life cycle of the Clearwater's fall Chinook salmon to find out why some of them spend extra time in the cool Clearwater before braving the warm Snake....

A federal judge said on Friday that the federal agency in charge of saving salmon in the Columbia River Basin from extinction should have a plan in place to remove dams on the lower Snake River if necessary, the AFP reported.There has been a long running dispute over how to balance energy and utility needs in the Columbia Basin with salmon and steelhead populations. U.S. District Court Judge James A. Redden said he has not eliminated the possibility that the hydroelectric dams could come down...

SEATTLE, Dec. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- The Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association (CSRIA) will be donating a truckload of potatoes and apples to the White Center Food Bank (10829 8th Ave SW) in Seattle on Tuesday, January 6th. The donation came about as a result of a meeting a couple of months ago that CSRIA had with Rep. Sharon Nelson (D-Vashon, 34th Legislative District), who then helped connect the association to the White Center Food Bank. "As we fight through this...

Attempts to avoid dams decrease survival in adult fishScientists have discovered that management efforts intended to assist migrations of salmon and steelhead trout can have unintended consequences for fish populations. Juveniles that are transported downstream on boats can lose the ability to migrate back to their breeding grounds, reducing their survivorship and altering adaptations in the wild.Transportation programs have been in place for over three decades to improve the survival of fish...

By Bill Lee The Seattle Times, Sept. 30: Retired Seattle Mariner Edgar Martinez and his wife Holli stand to provide valuable assistance in efforts to encourage more minority students to attend college and steer at least some of them toward a teaching career. The Martinez Foundation has two goals. First, to get more minority students, particularly Latinos, to choose college by offering scholarships and other help. The second, which is equally important, is to diversify the teachers corps to...

IDAHO FALLS (AP) -- The South Fork of the Snake River is flowing at more than 10,000 cubic feet per second, the highest rate measured in decades on Sept. 1. In recent years, the river that cuts through southeastern Idaho typically drops to 8,000 cfs by the end of August. But Mike Beus, a Bureau of Reclamation hydrologist, says irrigation demand and water supply is allowing for the higher flows. The river flowed at 13,100 cfs on Sept. 1, 1966. That marked the last time the river, which is...

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) -- The South Fork of the Snake River is flowing at more than 10,000 cubic feet per second, the highest rate measured in decades on Sept. 1. In recent years, the river that cuts through southeastern Idaho typically drops to 8,000 cfs by the end of August. But Mike Beus, a Bureau of Reclamation hydrologist, says irrigation demand and water supply is allowing for the higher flows. The river flowed at 13,100 cfs on Sept. 1, 1966. That marked the last time the river,...

By Andrew Weeks, The Times-News, Twin Falls, Idaho Aug. 4--Sometimes nature can use a little boost. High water levels and faster flows along parts of the Snake River -- such as the Hagerman stretch below Lower Salmon Falls Dam -- is giving a boost to young steelhead trout and salmon as they make their way to the Pacific Ocean. "That's why the water is up," said Randy McBride, owner of High Adventure River Tours in Hagerman. Water levels along McBride's 10-mile float tour,...