President Trump Revokes Biden Memorandum to Restore Healthy and Abundant Wild Salmon and Steelhead in the Columbia River Basin

By Denise Rivette

Fishery on the Columbia River (USFWS Pacific, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Today, President Trump signed a memorandum to the secretaries of the Interior, Commerce, Energy and Army as well as the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality with the subject: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Generate Power for the Columbia River Basin revoking President Biden’s Presidential Memorandum of September 27, 2023 (Restoring Healthy and Abundant Salmon, Steelhead, and Other Native Fish Populations in the Columbia River Basin). The official fact sheet on the Memorandum can be found HERE.

Below is the entirety of President Trump’s memorandum with links to documents added.

06/12/25

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR

THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY
THE CHAIR OF THE COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

SUBJECT: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Generate Power for the Columbia River Basin

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct:

It is essential to protect Americans' ability to take full advantage of our vast natural resources to ensure human flourishing across our country. My Administration is committed to protecting the American people from radical green agenda policies that make their lives more expensive, and to maximizing the beneficial uses of our existing energy infrastructure and natural resources to generate energy and lower the cost of living.

The Presidential Memorandum of September 27, 2023 (Restoring Healthy and Abundant Salmon, Steelhead, and Other Native Fish Populations in the Columbia River Basin), for example, elevates "equitable treatment for fish" and misplaced concerns about climate change above the Nation's interests in reliable energy resources and the needs of American citizens. Among other things, the actions that the Biden Administration contemplated in furtherance of the policy stated in the Presidential Memorandum of September 27, 2023, included breaching four dams on the Lower Snake River, eliminating over 3,000 megawatts of secure, reliable, and affordable hydroelectric generating capacity. The negative impacts from these reckless acts, if completed, would be devastating for the region, and there would be no viable approach to replace the low-cost, baseload energy supplied; the critical shipping channels lost; the vital water supply for local farmers reduced; or the recreational opportunities that would no longer be possible as a result of these acts.

To prevent these harmful impacts, I hereby revoke the Presidential Memorandum of September 27, 2023. Further, within 15 days of the date of this memorandum, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works under the direction of the Secretary of the Army (heads of departments) shall take all appropriate steps to withdraw from the Memorandum of Understanding filed on December 14, 2023, in the Columbia River System litigation, National Wildlife Federation v. National Marine Fisheries Service, 3:01-cv-640-SI (D. Or.), Dkt. 2450-1 (MOU).

The heads of departments shall also rescind the "Notice of Intent to Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Columbia River System Operations" published in the Federal Register on December 18, 2024. As appropriate, the heads of departments shall develop a schedule to complete the Supplemental Columbia River System Environmental Impact Statement and reissue the Notice of Intent pursuant to that schedule and in alignment with any updated National Environmental Policy Act procedures of the heads of departments. The heads of departments shall submit the schedule to the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Chair shall convene regular meetings among the heads of departments and any additional appropriate Federal stakeholders for updates on the status of the environmental review process.

Within 30 days of the date of this memorandum, the heads of departments shall identify and report to the President through the Chair of CEQ on:

(i) all actions taken pursuant to or consistent with the Presidential Memorandum of September 27, 2023, including the MOU;

(ii) the status of all Federal commitments made pursuant to the Presidential Memorandum of September 27, 2023, and the MOU along with an identification of any such commitments that may be consistent with the policies of my Administration;

(iii) any steps that may be taken to rescind or recoup Federal funds obligated to implement the MOU; and

(iv) any actions that have been taken and future steps that must be taken to withdraw from the MOU.

This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

DONALD J. TRUMP