Creative Advocacy for Major Climate Threat

Nearly 150 organizations including Columbia Riverkeeper are urging the White House to use its authority to stop the TC Energy GTN Xpress pipeline expansion. Audrey Leonard, a staff attorney with Columbia Riverkeeper, was quoted in Bloomberg News explaining: “There needs to be a change of course if the administration is actually going to make progress toward reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. This is a fantastic opportunity for the EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] to show its commitment to addressing the climate crisis and environmental justice issues.”

Will PacifiCorp Make Good on its Fish Recovery Promises?

Columbia Riverkeeper continues to work in solidarity with Tribes to recover the Columbia Basin’s iconic salmon. For example, this year we’ll continue our work with the Cowlitz Tribe and Yakama Nation to revive salmon migration along the Lewis River. Creating fish passage is crucial, as it allows salmon to navigate around dams and reach previously inaccessible habitats. This is essential for the recovery of salmon and steelhead in the culturally significant Lewis River, a tributary to the Columbia.

New Nuclear Reactors at Hanford?

The nuclear power industry would like you to believe that Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMNRs) are a magic bullet to solve the climate crisis. Our opinion: SMNRs are a false solution that diverts funding from proven renewable energy technologies that are safer, less expensive, and faster to deploy.

Investigate Groundwater Contamination at Hanford 

Want to discover new tools to better understand the cleanup at the Hanford Nuclear Site? Check out our latest video tutorial to learn how to navigate the publicly accessible PHOENIX website, a partnership between the U.S. Dept. of Energy and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which provides real time access to groundwell data across Hanford as well as a vast amount of additional information about contamination at Hanford.

In Memory: Tom Bailie (Mesa, WA)

We are saddened by the loss of Tom Bailie. Three generations of his family worked farmland around the Hanford Nuclear Site dating back to the 1940s and ‘50s. In 1990, they first learned of the U.S. government exposing them to plutonium and other radioactive material from the development of the atomic bomb. Upon this discovery, Tom became an outspoken activist, bringing awareness to Hanford and the health impacts the community faced. This included a national interview with journalist Connie Chung in the 1990s. In 2021, Columbia Riverkeeper interviewed Tom about his connection to Hanford (watch it here). In addition, read this article from the Spokesman Review about Tom's life.