Courtesy of the U.S. Department of the Interior:

WASHINGTON — The Biden-Harris administration announced an important step to continue charting a path forward in a longstanding Columbia River Basin dispute regarding the operation of 14 federal dams and their impacts on the region’s salmon, steelhead, and other native fish populations.

In an effort to continue collaborating on the important issues affecting the communities, economy and resources of the Pacific Northwest, the United States, the State of Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Spokane Tribe of Indians, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, and a coalition of plaintiffs led by the National Wildlife Federation have agreed to extend the stay in litigation through August 31, 2023.

The Administration is committed to supporting development of a durable long-term strategy to restore salmon and other native fish populations to healthy and abundant levels, while honoring federal commitments to Tribal Nations, delivering affordable and reliable clean power, and meeting the many resilience needs of the basin’s diverse stakeholders across the region, including those that use the rivers for irrigation, transportation, water supply, and recreation. This process will afford affected states, Tribal Nations, and regional stakeholders the opportunity to identify and implement alternative and durable solutions to longstanding challenges in the Columbia River Basin.