BOISE, Idaho -- Energy companies and conservation groups want to bridge the divide on a contentious issue in the Northwest: the future of four Snake River dams.

This week, utilities and environmental groups came together to write an open letter to the governors of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, calling for a collaborative approach to river management. It urges leaders to keep tribes, dwindling salmon and steelhead numbers in mind, as well as the region's energy needs.

Bear Prairie, general manager of Idaho Falls Power, said it's important that his grandchildren can catch wild salmon and steelhead in the future.

"They've definitely challenged me to continue to be engaged, understand the science, and make sure that we're balancing our energy needs and needs for [an] affordable, reliable power system," he said.

The letter comes just before the release of the Columbia River System Operations draft Environmental Impact Statement, expected at the end of the week, in which the impact of the four lower Snake River dams on fish survival is considered.

Robb Krehbiel, northwest representative for Defenders of Wildlife, said this letter shows there's an appetite for breaking the cycle of litigation that surrounds dam management in the region. He added that folks are concerned that the salmon that define the Northwest are in peril of disappearing.

"Nobody wants to see that happen, so it's time for us to come up with some big, bold new ways of doing business here in the Northwest," he said, "and people are really opening themselves up to having a conversation about restoring the lower Snake River."

Conservation groups also are concerned about the threat that low salmon numbers pose to the endangered orca population, which is nearly at its historic low. Other letter-signers include utilities and power companies throughout the Northwest, the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition and Sierra Club, and the Port of Lewiston, Idaho.

The letter is online at medium.com.

New Hampshire yards will soon be covered in fallen leaves, but a new survey finds a growing number of people are willing to leave them lie to improve biodiversity.

The National Wildlife Federation found most people know that leaf layers provide a home to moths and insects, which birds need to survive - yet continue to bag them up and send them to a landfill.

NWF Naturalist David Mizejewski said there's a growing trend nationwide towards more natural lawns as wildlife populations decline.

"If we want to have beautiful songbirds and see butterflies flying around," said Mizejewski, "we just absolutely can not continue on this trajectory of monoculture lawns, pesticide ridden yards."

Mizejewski said making even small changes like leaving some of the leaves is a great way to help the environment right at home.

It's also great for the garden. Leaves are a rich source of mulch, which helps choke out weeds, hold moisture in the ground and protect soil from erosion.

Sean O'Brien - program manager of home horticulture with the University of New Hampshire Extension Center - said he often fields calls from people asking what to do with all the leaves.

He advises them to spend less on commercial lawn and garden products and take advantage of the free resource in their own backyard.

"You can run them over with a lawn mower," said O'Brien. "That kind of helps break them up a little bit, and they will actually add organic matter to your lawn and your soil - so they can be a big benefit in that way."

O'Brien said too many leaves will smother a lawn and that just a few inches of cover is best for both wildlife in the grass and garden.

The U.S. Interior Department has invested $5 million in reintroducing bison to Native American Tribal lands across the country. Montana's iconic Yellowstone buffalo are playing a big part.

As part of the Biden administration's "America the Beautiful" initiative, the money will support Tribal-led efforts to bolster bison conservation efforts - and to help return bison to their ancestral roots in Indigenous areas across the country.

Chamois Andersen - senior field representative for Defenders of Wildlife's Rockies and Plains program - said the animals being reintroduced contain DNA from the iconic Yellowstone bison, the buffalo that originally roamed the Plains.

"These are the descendants of those animals - really, the wildest of the wild," said Andersen. "These animals tend to have big heads. They can withstand cold winters - selecting a mate, and how they forage in large herds and migrate. So, having this be sort of the source population, Yellowstone bison, for tribes is really helpful."

The Bison Conservation Transfer Program and Defenders of Wildlife have partnered with Yellowstone National Park, Fort Peck Tribes, and InterTribal Buffalo Council on the relocation of 284 bison on Tribal lands in Plains states - but also as far north as Alaska, where pilots flew four bison to relocate in a project known as "Operation Buffalo Wings."

Beyond the ecological and environmental impacts of restoring bison to grasslands and Plains, Andersen said there are important cultural and ceremonial reasons for Indigenous people to have bison reintroduced to tribal lands, too - especially for elders.

"For them to bring back their buffalo on their land and have them utilize these animals as a wildlife resource," said Andersen, "for their ceremony, for their songs, for the elders to provide that oral history. You know, it's been more than a hundred years since our Native nations have had buffalo on the ground."

While the $5 million is critical to the bison reintroduction program, it is part of a larger, $25 million measure introduced by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to do even more. That legislation is pending in Congress.

A new partnership between the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the group Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA) aims to improve migration corridors and other critical habitat for Wyoming's iconic big game species.

Brittany Parker - habitat stewardship coordinator with BHA - said a big emphasis of their work will be removing or modifying outdated fencing on public lands, to help animals get under or over barriers and access food.

"Every two miles of fencing results in one big game mortality," said Parker. "So, that's pretty significant, considering that there is enough fencing in the American West to circle the equator 24 times."

The $2.5 million BHA grant is part of the BLM's investment of $28 million from the Inflation Reduction Act for six large-scale partnerships.

The agency is working with national organizations, states, and the Navajo Nation to support restoration and conservation on public lands.

On one project, BHA will collaborate with the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation to adopt and manage several miles of lay-down fencing on BLM land.

Parker explained that this type of fencing is designed to maintain grazing livestock during certain months of the year, but can be adjusted when cattle move on to create easier access for wildlife.

"So we would come in, lay that fencing down," said Parker, "and then open all of that pasture space and that winter habitat up for mule deer, pronghorn and elk."

The IRA funding aims to advance the Biden administration's America the Beautiful initiative, which supports locally led conservation efforts across the nation to protect and restore 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.

Parker said she believes the new funds will help preserve hunting and fishing for future generations.

"Migration corridor restoration work is extremely important to ensure the long-lasting survivability and legacy of these big game animals," said Parker, "the ones that we love to see as we're driving down highways or out hiking around in the woods."




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