County officials urge rapid advocacy after BPA cuts Select Area Fisheries funding
July 02, 2026 | Clatsop County, Oregon
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County Manager Chuck Wheeler told the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners that the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has notified program partners it will cease contributions to the Select Area Fisheries Enhancement (SAFE) program.
"We did receive notice ... from BPA ... that they would be ceasing contributions that they had been making to the select area fisheries enhancement program," Wheeler said, adding the program has been in effect for about 30 years and supplies millions of fish to the Columbia River system, including Youngs Bay.
Wheeler said the SAFE program supports hatcheries and three net-pen operations that rear Chinook and Coho for release into the Columbia River. He estimated total program funding at about $2.4 million and said Clatsop County’s historical share has typically been roughly a half-million dollars, although the county budgeted $810,000 the last fiscal year because of resources tied to a recently decommissioned net-pen site.
A commissioner who responded at the work session called BPA’s decision "unconscionable," said "7 million fish" were at stake, and argued the impacts extend beyond a few local gillnetters to recreational and ocean fisheries that depend on fish produced through SAFE.
Commissioner Bangs asked whether SAFE funding was tied to moving gillnetters out of the Columbia River main stem and into terminal fisheries such as Youngs Bay. Wheeler said SAFE predates that agreement but described a "symbiotic relationship" in which terminal fisheries helped offset main-stem fishing impacts and benefit fish runs up and down the river; he also named Netarts Creek Hatchery as part of the regional effort.
Wheeler said county staff, the chair and vice chair, state partners and industry stakeholders are organizing a campaign to influence BPA and that the county has until Sept. 30—the date cited for the program to cease receiving federal funding through Bonneville—to press for reconsideration. He said staff prepared a letter to BPA and are coordinating with federal legislators and other stakeholders.
The county did not announce any formal vote or policy change at the work session; Wheeler described the current posture as advocacy and coordination with partners and legislators. He said the county would keep the board informed as the outreach continues.
The board’s next regular meetings were referenced but no further procedural steps were adopted during the work session.
"We did receive notice ... from BPA ... that they would be ceasing contributions that they had been making to the select area fisheries enhancement program," Wheeler said, adding the program has been in effect for about 30 years and supplies millions of fish to the Columbia River system, including Youngs Bay.
Wheeler said the SAFE program supports hatcheries and three net-pen operations that rear Chinook and Coho for release into the Columbia River. He estimated total program funding at about $2.4 million and said Clatsop County’s historical share has typically been roughly a half-million dollars, although the county budgeted $810,000 the last fiscal year because of resources tied to a recently decommissioned net-pen site.
A commissioner who responded at the work session called BPA’s decision "unconscionable," said "7 million fish" were at stake, and argued the impacts extend beyond a few local gillnetters to recreational and ocean fisheries that depend on fish produced through SAFE.
Commissioner Bangs asked whether SAFE funding was tied to moving gillnetters out of the Columbia River main stem and into terminal fisheries such as Youngs Bay. Wheeler said SAFE predates that agreement but described a "symbiotic relationship" in which terminal fisheries helped offset main-stem fishing impacts and benefit fish runs up and down the river; he also named Netarts Creek Hatchery as part of the regional effort.
Wheeler said county staff, the chair and vice chair, state partners and industry stakeholders are organizing a campaign to influence BPA and that the county has until Sept. 30—the date cited for the program to cease receiving federal funding through Bonneville—to press for reconsideration. He said staff prepared a letter to BPA and are coordinating with federal legislators and other stakeholders.
The county did not announce any formal vote or policy change at the work session; Wheeler described the current posture as advocacy and coordination with partners and legislators. He said the county would keep the board informed as the outreach continues.
The board’s next regular meetings were referenced but no further procedural steps were adopted during the work session.
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