After nearly a century, Washington's White Salmon River in south central Washington is flowing freely again! Earlier today, a hole was blasted in the base of Condit Dam, and its reservoir - Northwestern Lake - began to pour through it. The reservoir drained in about an hour.

The last day of 2009 saw seven hydropower projects filing their application for certification with the Low Impact Hydropower Institute. In 2009 alone, the Institute issued certifications for nine projects throughout the country. So far, there are 46 LIHI certified projects in 24 states.

Three new reports show that removing the four dams on Klamath River will benefit the health of the river and salmon in the long run.

After years of negotiation the Klamath Settlement Group has finalized the Klamath River Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA).

Coalition members Idaho Rivers United and American Whitewater helped make a settlement promise become a reality: dam removal on the overregulated Bear River in Idaho.

The Bear River project, a series of four dams, was consolidated under a single license in 2003 after a comprehensive settlement involving a broad group of stakeholders, including members American Whitewater, Trout Unlimited, and Idaho Rivers United. Now in license and settlement implementation, a stakeholder consensus was reached to remove one of the older developments, Cove Dam.

Karuk Tribal members' health is declining because the Klamath River salmon that used to make up most of their diet are declining, says a Washington Post article published yesterday. The salmon that once amply supported the Tribe are now an endangered species, blocked from their habitat by dams and diseased or killed by poor water quality on their seasonal runs. According to a University of California study, the lack of fresh salmon in the Tribe's diet - and replacement of other sources of nutrition - have harmed the health of Tribal members.

A comprehensive settlement has been reached (hurrah!) on the Lewis River projects in Washington. The settlement will allow for improved and restored flows, and sets fish passage triggers that may open up as much as 174 miles of new habitat.

Read PacifiCorp's press release, or read on for the lead conservation group's statement on the settlement. Other signing organizations include Trout Unlimited and Native Fish Society.

KLAMATH RIVER, Calif., July 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Studies released today by a collection of conservation groups suggest that the option of removing one or more of the five mainstem dams on the Klamath River may be more cost effective and technically viable than previously thought.

Salem, Ore. -- Today, Governor Theodore R. Kulongoski cheered a cooperative agreement among state and federal resource agencies, PacifiCorp, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, American Rivers and the Hood River Watershed Group, whereby the Powerdale Hydroelectric Project on Oregon's Hood River will be decommissioned and portions of it removed beginning in 2010.