The commerce, energy and interior departments, as well as the United States Army Corps. of Engineers and the Bonneville Power Administration, have withdrawn from an agreement signed by the previous administration to safeguard native fish populations in the Columbia River Basin.
The December 2023 memorandum of understanding (MOU) launched a 10-year partnership with tribes, conservation groups and the states of Oregon and Washington to restore wild fish populations. That agreement pledged a federal investment of over $1 billion and enabled a 10-year break from decades-long litigation against the federal government’s operation of dams in the Pacific Northwest.
The MOU followed then-President Joe Biden’s “Restoring Healthy and Abundant Salmon, Steelhead, and Other Native Fish Populations in the Columbia River Basin” memo of September 2023. Biden’s memo sought to honor U.S. “treaty responsibilities” to tribal nations and enforce safeguards under the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act. Biden’s memo directed all agencies with applicable authority to review their programs affecting native fish in the basin.
The federal agencies’ withdrawal from the 10-year partnership agreement, also called the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA), complies with a memo issued by President Donald Trump earlier in June 2025 to rescind Biden’s September 2023 memo.
In a letter of withdrawal, the federal agencies and the Bonneville Power Administration told signatory states, tribes and wildlife campaigners, “The undersigned signatories to the [December 2023] MOU now withdraw the United States from the MOU”.
“It should be noted, however, that none of the undersigned agencies are opposed to seeking a satisfactory solution to the pending litigations and concerns of the various stakeholders and are willing to engage in good faith in efforts to achieve such a result”, stated the letter, published online.
Commenting on the federal agencies’ withdrawal, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said, “This Administration will continue to protect America’s critical energy infrastructure and ensure reliable, affordable power for all Americans”.
In an earlier statement June 12 announcing Trump’s memo, the White House said the targeted memo by Biden “placed concerns about climate change above the Nation’s interests in reliable energy resources”.
Trump’s office added, “The [December 2023] MOU required the Federal government to spend millions of dollars and comply with 36 pages of onerous commitments to dam operations on the Lower Snake River”.
“Dam breaching would have resulted in reduced water supply to farmers, eliminated several shipping channels, had devastating impacts to agriculture, increased energy costs, and eliminated recreational opportunities throughout the region”, the White House claimed.
“The dam breaches would have eliminated over 3,000 megawatts of secure and reliable hydroelectric generating capacity – which is enough generation to power 2.5 million American homes”.
In a statement on the government’s withdrawal from the RCBA, a group of Oregon representatives said Trump “has created upheaval and uncertainty for the future of salmon runs, clean energy in the Pacific Northwest, and our nation’s commitment to honoring Tribal treaty rights”.
“Moving forward, we will continue to work with our partners across the Pacific Northwest to reach a resilient solution to ensure abundant salmon populations and reliable clean energy for our region”, added Reps. Andrea Salinas, Janelle Bynum, Maxine Dexter, Suzanne Bonamici and Val Hoyle.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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