Urge the Bonneville Power Administration to reconsider ending participation in the SAFE program and renew SAFE program contracts with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Clatsop County to support Columbia River fish mitigation and hatchery stocks.

We strongly urge BPA to reconsider its actions and commit to renewing its SAFE program contracts to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and Clatsop County.

Merkley and Oregon delegation members urged BPA to reverse its decision to end SAFE program participation and renew contracts with state and county partners.

Merkley, Oregon Delegation Decry Sudden Loss of Columbia River Hatchery Funding
primary · press_release · model gpt-5.5

CBFish lists Project 1993-060-00, Select Area Fisheries Enhancement, in implementation with ending FY 2026. It shows FY2026 expense budget of $2,394,135 and FY2026 issued contracts for Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife ($1,370,966), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife ($139,678), and Clatsop County Fisheries ($803,628), all dated 10/1/2025-9/30/2026.

This is the strongest current proof that SAFE participation and contracts with all three named entities were renewed/issued for FY2026, active during the 2026 lookback period.

delivered same_term

1993-060-00: Project Summary - CBFish.org
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 98%

BPA's SAFE project page states that Bonneville proposed to partially fund Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Clatsop County Fisheries to implement SAFE, and that BPA released the final EA and FONSI in February 2026.

BPA's current project status confirms the agency moved from considering SAFE funding to completed NEPA review for continued support of the three named partners.

delivered same_term

Select Area Fisheries Enhancement (SAFE) Program (DOE/EA-2277) - Bonneville Power Administration
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 95%

BPA's February 2026 FONSI announces environmental findings for proposed continued funding of Clatsop County Fisheries, ODFW, and WDFW to implement the ongoing SAFE Program. It says the proposed action would fund production of up to 4.25 million spring Chinook and 4.3 million coho salmon smolts annually.

The FONSI removed a major procedural barrier to BPA's continued SAFE funding and directly names the three entities in the commitment.

delivered same_term

Select Area Fisheries Enhancement (SAFE) Program Finding of No Significant Impact - Bonneville Power Administration
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 93%

BPA's February 27, 2026 public letter says Bonneville finalized the EA and issued a FONSI. It describes the proposed action as continued partial funding to WDFW, ODFW, and Clatsop County Fisheries for SAFE hatchery facilities, net pen sites, monitoring, evaluation, and juvenile salmonid release work.

This official notice documents BPA's final 2026 environmental action in favor of continued SAFE funding for the exact entities named in the promise.

delivered same_term

Select Area Fisheries Enhancement (SAFE) Program Public Letter - Bonneville Power Administration
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 94%

The final EA identifies WDFW as co-manager for Deep River SAFE Coho and ODFW/Clatsop County Fisheries as co-managers for Oregon SAFE programs. It reports BPA's recent annual contribution at roughly $1.6 million, about two-thirds of annual operations and maintenance costs and half of smolt production costs.

The final EA confirms BPA's funding role, the named co-managers, and the program structure supporting Columbia River hatchery and mitigation work.

delivered same_term

Select Area Fisheries Enhancement (SAFE) Program Final Environmental Assessment - Bonneville Power Administration
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 90%

BPA's January 2, 2024 scoping letter says Bonneville was proposing to fund SAFE to achieve maximum production levels of Chinook and coho salmon from WDFW, ODFW, and Clatsop County Fisheries, with a possible implementation start after environmental review.

This shows BPA formally reconsidered/initiated a funding path for the SAFE Program before the 2026 final EA/FONSI and FY2026 contracts.

partial same_term

People Interested in the Select Area Fisheries Enhancement (SAFE) Program - Bonneville Power Administration
secondary · model gpt-5.5 · confidence 88%