U.S. President Donald Trump has officially withdrawn the federal government from the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement, a cornerstone salmon restoration deal signed in 2023 by former President Joe Biden. The move marks a significant reversal of regional conservation policy and has drawn immediate backlash from Pacific Northwest Tribes and environmental groups.

The original agreement—reached between the Biden administration, four Lower Columbia Basin Tribes, and the states of Oregon and Washington—committed federal support to salmon recovery in the Columbia River Basin. It also provided funding for Tribal-led renewable energy projects intended to offset power generated by the Lower Snake River dams, a key sticking point in ongoing regional debates over fish survival and hydropower.

In a 12 June 2025 memo, President Trump ordered the termination of the agreement, calling it a misguided prioritization of “climate change concerns over the Nation’s interest in reliable energy resources.”

Tribal leaders condemned the move as both unilateral and damaging. “We are dismayed that an agreement that was among the best roadmaps charted for helping Columbia Basin salmon—representing years of work by Tribes, states, and the federal government—was undone with the stroke of a pen,” said Jeremy Takala, Chair of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. “This action, done without consultation with the Tribes, dismantles what should have been celebrated as a historic achievement.”

The decision adds to a growing list of environmental rollbacks by the Trump administration, particularly those targeting water, energy, and Tribal sovereignty in the Pacific Northwest.