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Cohens, B. A., and Williams, M. K. 2012. Resilience and water governance: adaptive government in Columbia River Basin. Ecology and Society, 17(4): 3.

Harnish, R. A., Sharma, R., McMichael, G., Landshaw, R. B., and Pearsons, T. N. 2014. Effect of hydroelectric dam operations on the freshwater productivity of  Columbia River fall Chinook salmon population. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 71(4): 602-615.

Rupp, D. E., Abatzoglou, J. T., and More, P. W. 2016. Projections of 21st century climate of the Columbia River Basin. Climate Dynamics, 49(5-6): 17830-1799.

2017. American Rivers. Columbia River.
Retrieved from: https://www.americanrivers.org/river/columbia-river/

2019. Climate and climate change. Northwest Power and Conservation Council.
Retrieved from: https://www.nwcouncil.org/reports/columbia-river-history/climate

2019. What is the Columbia Basin and what makes it Unique? Foundation for Water Energy & Education.
Retrieved from: https://fwee.org/environment/what-makes-the-columbia-river-basin-unique-and-how-we-benefit/

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As hydrologic ecosystems continue to change from hydropower dams, the US and Canada have focused their conservation efforts on adaptive management to prepare for the impact global climate change will have on Columbia River Ecosystems (Cohens & Williams, 2012).  Climate change has the potential to decimate the entire Columbia River Basin, this approach will allow both countries to foster the healthiest environment possible and tackle some impacts of climate change on Columbia River Ecosystems before they happen. Hydroelectric dams cause extreme damage to native fish populations
Image: The Columbia River

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Threat of Climate Change to Columbia River Ecosystems 

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Threat of Climate Change to Columbia River Ecosystems 

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Ecological communities in the Columbia River Basin are adapted to a fine-tuned spectrum of seasonal temperatures, changes in the climate presents the potential for changes in predator-prey interactions, changes in water temperature, changes in seasonality, and changes in discharge and runoff, all of which could eventually contribute to species extinction. This is especially true to endangered Chinook salmon populations that are adapted to the coolness of the waters of the Columbia River Basin and depend on the cold water to survive, rising water temperatures could mean extinction (Harnish et. al, 2014).
Image: Deceased Chinook salmon

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Climate Change and the Columbia River Basin 

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Climate Change and the Columbia River Basin 

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The climate in the Columbia River Basin will rise in temperature and decrease in precipitation in the summer months, resulting in a decline in overall soil moisture and present changes in the growing season and decrease discharge in the Columbia River and its tributaries. Winter temperatures are projected to decrease, and average precipitation and winter storms are projected to increase (Rupp et. al, 2016).
Image: Water shortages from global climate change in the Columbia River Basin

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Impeding Threat of Global Climate Change and it's Impacts on Water Use and Riparian Systems 

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Impeding Threat of Global Climate Change and it's Impacts on Water Use and Riparian Systems 

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Earth’s climate is rapidly changing, largely in part from human-caused carbon emissions. These climate changes are studied using global climate models and are projected to alter the hydrological cycle, ability of hydroelectric dams to produce power, agricultural water supply for irrigation, and ecosystem security in the Columbia River Basin (Rupp, Abatzoglou, & Mote, 2016). Here is a helpful video to understand climate change from the one and only Bill Nye the Science Guy.

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Additonal Cultural Services in the Columbia River Basin 

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Additonal Cultural Services in the Columbia River Basin 

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Cultural services provided by Chinook Salmon to Columbia River Basin ecosystems are the cultural significance of salmon in Native American history. Chinook salmon are also heavily studied in the Columbia River Basin due to their significance in the diets of Southern Resident orca whale populations, as well as California sea lion populations near the Bonneville Dam. The ecosystem services of The Columbia River Basin and Chinook salmon are one in the same because Chinook salmon are essentially what makes the Columbia River Basin whole. As fish populations continue to decline, the Columbia River Basin faces a threat that will exacerbate the ecosystem degrades of losing Chinook salmon and discharge fluctuations, global climate change (Harnish et. al 2014).
Image: Adult Male California Sea Lion feeding on Chinook salmon at the Bonneville Dam in Bonneville, Oregon.

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Regulating Services in the Columbia River Basin 

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Regulating Services in the Columbia River Basin 

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Regulating services in the Columbia River Basin involve fish and bird populations that maintain the macroinvertebrate populations. This allows for primary producers to thrive and keeps balance in the entire ecological community (Harnish et. al 2014).
Image: An American Dipper consuming an aquatic macroinvertebrate.

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Chinook salmon help keep the natural balance of the Columbia River Ecosystem. The supporting ecosystem services brought to the Columbia River Basin by Chinook salmon populations are nutrient recycling, salmon bring marine carbon and nitrogen nutrients to freshwater ecosystems when they return from sea to spawn. These nutrients are deposited in their eggs and brought back to the environment when they die and help facilitate primary production and the overall health of the ecosystem (Harnish et. al 2014) .
Here is a video from Little Wind River in Oregon that captures Chinook salmon spawning:

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Negative Impacts of Hydroelectric Dams on Native Fish Populations 

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Negative Impacts of Hydroelectric Dams on Native Fish Populations 

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The hydroelectric dams that bring power to 80% of the Pacific Northwest have caused detrimental hydrological changes to The Columbia River Basin and has contributed to a major loss in Chinook salmon populations. Hydroelectric Dams cause discharge fluctuations that vary in magnitude and length. If large enough, these discharge variations can cause a decline in fish populations by dewatering redds and stranding juvenile fish (Harnish et. al 2014).
Image: Chinook salmon traveling through a hydroelectric dam

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Habitats and Species in the Columbia River Basin

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Habitats and Species in the Columbia River Basin

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The Columbia River Basin provides ample riparian habitat for many important fish species, including salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, and lamprey. Columbia River Chinook salmon populations are listed as endangered on the US Endangered Species List (Harnish, Sharma, McMichael, Landshaw, and Pearsons, 2014).
Image: Chinook salmon

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Irrigation is an essential service of the Columbia River, water security in the Columbia River Basin is dependent on irrigation methods used. Irrigation causes less fresh water to be available in reservoirs and decrease the amount of water available to release to aid in fish passages through large dams (Foundation for Water Energy & Education, 2019).
Image: Crops getting watered in the Columbia River Basin.

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Much of the land use around the Columbia River basin is used for agriculture, 6% of run off from the Columbia River is diverted to irrigate 7.8 million acres of apple orchards, as well as wheat, corn, potato, onion, alfalfa, and grapes (Foundation for Water Energy & Education, 2019).
Image: Orchard in Cashmere, Washington. Deposit Photos.

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Aside from hydropower, the Columbia River provides many great recreation services to the public, including water sports, fishing, and sightseeing (American Rivers, 2017). Recreation uses on the Columbia River and it's tributaries is a form of cultural ecosystem services.
Image: A list of hikes near the Columbia River Gorge on the boarder of Washington and Oregon.

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Hydropower and Provisioning Ecosystem Services 

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Hydropower and Provisioning Ecosystem Services 

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Hydropower is the second most commonly used source of energy in the Columbia River Basin, behind coal (Foundation for Water Energy & Education). Hydropower is a provisioning service provided by the Columbia River.
Image: Seven Mile Dam in British Columbia.

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Through an extensive network of over 400 dams, Columbia River is the biggest producer of hydropower in the western hemisphere. Hydropower is a relatively inexpensive, efficient, and renewable energy production method and provides power to roughly 12 million people in the Pacific Northwest alone. Hydropower is the second most commonly used source of energy in the Columbia River Basin, behind coal.
Image: Map of hydroelectric dams in the Columbia River Basin

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Hydropower in the Columbia River Basin Introduction 

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Hydropower in the Columbia River Basin Introduction 

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Hydropower in the Columbia River Basin become an important and defining character of the watershed since the Columbia River Treaty in 1964 (Cohens & Williams, 2012).
Image: Grant Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in Washington State.

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Upcoming Revisions in the Columbia River Treaty 

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Upcoming Revisions in the Columbia River Treaty 

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In 2024, the Columbia River Treaty is up for revision (Idaho Statesmen, 2019). This could impact water supply in the United States, you can learn more about it here:

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The Columbia River Treaty manages flood risk and the use of hydropower by both countries. Water is collected and stored in reservoirs throughout the year until released. 50% of released water in the US goes to Canada, and three large reservoirs in Canada serve as water sources for much of the United States.
(Idaho Statesmen, 2019).
Image: The United States-Canada Border Peace Arch.

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The Columbia River is governed as a combined effort from by the US and Canada through the Columbia River Treaty of 1964 (Cohens & Williams, 2012).

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The interior Columbia River Basin receives about 12-30 inches of annual precipitation but can vary depending on location in the watershed (Northwest Power and Conservation Council, 2019). Precipitation in the Columbia River Basin is heavily dependent on the rainshadow effect.
Image: A rainy day in
Portland, Oregon.

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Throughout the extensive political boundaries that the Columbia River Basin crosses, it also passes through many different climates. This is largely due to the rain shadow effect caused the Cascade and Canadian Rockies. Mountain ranges change the temperature of air and the ability to hold water vapor as it moves across the landscape, making the climate change throughout the basin from temperate rainforest to semiarid and arid.
Image: Detailing of the rain shadow effect on the Columbia River Basin.

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Within those seven US States and one Canadian Providence, the Columbia River Basin stretches across 258,000 square miles and travels a staggering 1,214 miles from Columbia Lake in British Columbia, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. The Columbia River is the fourth largest river in the world.
(Foundation for Water & Energy Education, 2019).
Image: Columbia Lake, British Columbia.

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The Columbia River basin encompasses seven US States, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, and Utah, as well as the Canadian Province of British Columbia.
(American Rivers, 2017).
Image: Map of Columbia River Basin, detailing the territories it crosses.