PULLMAN RADIO KQQQ - AUG 2, 2026

Water releases out of Dworshak Reservoir near Orofino are increasing to cool the Snake River to help migrating sockeye salmon. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are increasing the flow from Dworshak Dam this week. The increased flow will continue all month. Officials are alerting the public about higher water levels in the Lower Clearwater River and its North Fork.

NORTHWEST PUBLIC BROADCASTING. JULY 29, 2026

A proposed wind project on Washington’s Palouse has raised concerns about views and proximity to hiking trails. But now, it’s drawing support from some Nez Perce tribal members.

The Harvest Hills Wind project would add 45 wind turbines to private agricultural land in Whitman County.

ANI MEDIA - FEB 1, 2026

In late November 2025, Oscar‑nominated actor Lily Gladstone spoke about her deep cultural and personal connection to buffalo (American bison) as she narrated and served as an executive producer on a new documentary titled Bring Them Home (directed by Ivan MacDonald, Ivy MacDonald and Daniel Glick). Gladstone described growing up with an inherent sense that buffalo are “the heartbeat” of Blackfeet identity.

FORTUNE - NOV 13, 2025

In the midst of the record U.S. federal government shutdown in late 2025, delays and cuts to food assistance programs - especially Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits - left many Native American communities facing severe food insecurity. On rural Great Plains reservations such as Fort Peck in northern Montana, where roughly one‑third of tribal members rely on monthly benefit checks (nearly triple the national rate), partial or missing payments forced tribal leaders to find alternative ways to feed people. Other Native communities turned to traditional foods like moose, deer & trout as federal nutrition assistance faltered.

MOUNTAIN JOURNAL - NOV 9 2025

The article highlights three very different on‑the‑ground situations: Yellowstone National Park, where bison migrate but face restrictions and culling when they leave park boundaries due to concerns about disease transmission to cattle; The Blackfeet Indian Reservation, where the Tribe has expanded genetically pure herds and negotiated agreements allowing them freer movement into adjacent grasslands; and American Prairie, a large conservation reserve in central Montana that aims to rewild large tracts of prairie but manages its bison in ways that critics say resemble livestock rather than wild herds.

THE SEATTLE TIMES,  SEP 11, 2025

In September 2025, a long‑running legal fight over the federally operated Lower Snake River & Columbia River dams flared up again. The renewed effort was prompted by the Trump administration’s withdrawal earlier in 2025 from the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement, a historic pact signed in December 2023 between the U.S. government, the states of WA and OR, and Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs & Yakama) Tribal Nations, backed by about a billion dollars in federal funding to restore threatened & endangered salmon and steelhead populations & modernize regional energy infrastructure.

NORTHWEST PUBLIC BROADCASTING. JULY 29, 2026

Julian Matthews is the coordinator for Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment, a native-led nonprofit. Matthews recently visited Klamath Falls, where four dams were taken down. “It was really inspirational to see how that water flows freely now, and the fish are already starting to come back where the dams were removed,” he said. “This is the most watercraft I've seen for one of these events, so it's turned out really good, and I'm really glad that we have such support for pushing the issue of dam breaching on the Snake River dams,” Matthews said. “It is a health issue, a lot of the foods that we ate before the migration, buffalo, deer, elk and moose, are really dwindling also, besides the salmon.”

IDAHO STATESMAN, JUL 28, 2025

The Nez Perce traditionally relied on salmon as a critical part of their diet, and the tribe for years has advocated for dams to be breached because they impede salmon migration to and from the ocean. On Thursday, Kennedy, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, spoke of a future without dams on the Snake River and advocated for increased access to the tribes’ traditional foods, including salmon. Whereas, Trump had taken executive action to reverse a previous federal agreement that would have supported salmon restoration and opened the door to discussions about breaching the dams, framing that move as defending energy infrastructure and local economies.

SIERRA CLUB IDAHO - MAY 22, 2025

In May 2025, Julian Matthews, a member of the Nez Perce Tribe and Wildlife and Lands Coordinator for the Idaho Chapter of the Sierra Club, presented a resolution to research and develop a buffalo (bison) program for the Tribe. Inspired by meetings with other tribes—including the Kalispel, Yakama, and Colville Tribes—that have successfully restored buffalo herds for cultural, nutritional, and ecological purposes, Matthews proposed bringing buffalo back to Nimíipuu lands. The resolution received overwhelming support and plans are underway to assess suitable lands, develop herd management, and hold informational sessions as the program moves forward.