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Native America Calling: Columbia River tribes weigh in on future dredging plans
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
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Columbia River tribes weigh in on future dredging plans
As the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers releases its 20-year dredging plan for the Columbia River, tribes say they want more of a say in how the operation affects their fishing and cultural priorities.

The Army Corps acknowledges that its ongoing work to maintain the 43-foot deep channel is detrimental to salmon and other species. The Trump administration, which cancelled a historic river co-management agreement with tribes, now wants to facilitate larger, more powerful shipping barges on the river that already transports more than 26 million tons of grain a year.

But the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, the Cowlitz Tribe, and others say the waterway is more than just a highway for agricultural exports. They want their voices reflected in future river dredging decisions.

Columbia River
Dredged material is graded following shoreline placement on Pillar Rock Island in the lower Columbia River. Photo: US Army Corps of Engineers

Guests on Native America Calling
Roger Amerman (Choctaw), geologist and ethnogeologist

Virgil Lewis (Yakama), fish commissioner for Yakama Nation with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission

Erik Holt (Nez Perce), chairman of the Nez Perce Tribe Fish and Wildlife Commission in Idaho

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