For Immediate Release: Thursday, June 12, 2025
Contacts:
Mitch Cutter, Salmon and Energy Strategist, (541)280-8474, [email protected]
Abby Urbanek, Communications and Marketing Manager, (208) 345-6933 x214, [email protected]
Trump Administration Backs Out of Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement, Undoing Years of Progress
BOISE, ID – Today President Donald Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum unilaterally pulling federal agencies out of the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA). The RCBA was an agreement between the federal government, states, Tribes, and conservation groups which charted a path forward to restore salmon, steelhead, and other native fish in Idaho and throughout the Columbia River Basin. It was a landmark achievement that paused decades-long litigation over federal hydroelectric dams in the Pacific Northwest and the impact they have on wild salmon and steelhead, most of which are listed under the Endangered Species Act.
“This move by the Trump Administration to throw away five years’ worth of progress is shortsighted and reckless,” said Idaho Conservation League Salmon & Energy Strategist Mitch Cutter. “The Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement was a landmark achievement between the federal government, states, Tribes, and salmon advocates to find solutions for salmon and stay out of the courtroom. Now, it’s gone thanks to the uninformed impulses of a disconnected Administration that doesn’t understand the Pacific Northwest and the rivers and fish that make our region special.”
When the RCBA was signed in late 2023, it marked a significant departure from previous Presidential Administrations on both sides of the aisle. The collaboration between federal agencies, sovereign states and Tribes, and regional stakeholders promised progress for salmon while strengthening the region’s energy, transportation, irrigation, and recreation infrastructure. Trump also rescinded a Presidential Memorandum signed in September 2023 that committed to restoring healthy and abundant populations of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Basin.
“President Trump’s action is another step in a long trail of broken promises, threatening salmon, indigenous Tribes, Idaho communities that rely on salmon and steelhead fishing to support their economy, and anyone else that depends on certainty in river operations for business,” continued Cutter. “The Idaho Conservation League will continue to do what it must to safeguard our wild fish and restore them to true abundance.”
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Idaho Conservation League is a statewide organization whose mission is to protect and restore the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the land and wildlife you love. www.idahoconservation.org