In the 1990s, sockeye salmon in the Okanagan Basin were at a very low point. Today, thanks to a variety of restoration actions through multiple entities, sockeye returns hit record numbers at Bonneville and Wells dams in 2022.
Federal and state fisheries biologists say more than a quarter million Columbia River sockeye salmon have died in the river and its tributaries this summer as the result of unusually warm water prompted by the regionwide drought and hot weather,
The Council has recommended construction of a new hatchery to boost production of Snake River sockeye salmon, an endangered species, and continue a long-term effort to rebuild the population to naturally spawning, self-sustaining levels.
