News Stories for Wed., Jul. 19, 2017

The Warm Springs Red Cross Group will be installing smoke detectors in homes around the reservation this Saturday starting at 9:00 a.m. They also have smoke alarm options for residents who are deaf or hard of hearing. If you or your family need smoke detectors installed contact Rosemary Alarcon at the Warm Springs Library or Becky Picard at 541-900-3533. And, anyone who may be interested in becoming a volunteer, is encouraged to contact them.  The Warm Springs Red Cross Group meets the second Wednesday of every month at 5:30 p.m. at the Family Resource Center.

A Spokane production company has released a 13-episode television show detailing some of the successful efforts to improve salmon runs along the Columbia River and its tributaries. The series is being broadcast on PBS stations around the Pacific Northwest. Grant County PUD, Yakama Nation Fisheries, the Bonneville Power Administration and Northwest River Partners contributed financially to the project. Detailed efforts to improve fall Chinook spawning grounds in the Hanford Reach, just downstream from Priest Rapids Dam,  reintroducing fish to regional lakes, habitat restoration on tributaries, improving fish passage through the Columbia River hydropower system, and helping juvenile salmon to survive the trip to the ocean are projects being profiled in the series. Each episode includes some of the history of the river, of salmon and development along the river, and a look at how the region got where it is. The series can be seen on Oregon Public Broadcasting.

The final two commercial summer gillnet seasons have been set.  The first starts this morning and goes through 6 pm, Saturday, July 22nd; the second period is 6 am, Monday July 24^th, ending at 6 pm, Friday July 28th.  The open area is all of Zone 6.  Allowed gear is gillnets or driftnets with no minimum mesh restriction.

U.S. coal exports rose sharply in early 2017 amid increased demand in Asia and Europe. The U.S. Department of Energy said Tuesday that exports are up by 8 million tons through March. That’s a 58 percent jump over the same period last year. The increase comes after five years of declines. Exports volumes were up most significantly through ports in Norfolk, Virginia; New Orleans and Seattle. Top destinations for U.S. coal were the Netherlands, South Korea and India. Despite the increase, volumes remain well below industry expectations when plans were announced over the past decade to build or expand coal ports in Oregon, Louisiana, Washington state and California. Most of those projects have stalled or been cancelled. Federal officials say there’s still more export capacity than needed.