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📰 The quick summary: An Oregon hydropower facility shut down its smallest generator for four months to give migrating juvenile fish and bull trout a safer path through the McKenzie River, showing how energy operators can adapt their operations to support wildlife.
📈 One key stat: A planned $24 million permanent downstream fish passage facility at Trail Bridge Dam signals a long-term commitment to restoring safe fish migration in this section of the McKenzie River.
💬 One key quote: “The goal is to give young fish an easier pathway to connect to the rest of the McKenzie,” said Lisa Krentz, Chief Electric Operations Officer at EWEB.

1️⃣ The big picture: On Oregon’s McKenzie River, the Trail Bridge Powerhouse stopped generating electricity in July and will stay offline for four months so that migrating fish can travel more safely downstream. Rather than flowing through turbines, water is being directed over the dam’s spillway, giving juvenile fish and adult bull trout a clearer route through the river system. The shutdown applies only to Trail Bridge, which has a capacity of about nine megawatts, while the much larger adjacent Carmen Powerhouse at 110 megawatts continues to run. Federal regulators at FERC require this seasonal pause as part of the facility’s operating license, a condition that came out of the relicensing process to reduce harm to fish populations. The move is part of a broader, long-term effort to restore fish passage throughout the entire Carmen-Smith Hydroelectric System.

2️⃣ Why is this good news: Pausing power generation at a small facility to protect wildlife shows that energy operators and regulators can find real, workable compromises between clean energy production and ecosystem health. Because Trail Bridge contributes only a fraction of the overall project’s output, the tradeoff in lost electricity is minimal while the benefit to migrating fish is significant. Juvenile fish and adult bull trout gain a safer, unobstructed route through a key section of the McKenzie River, which can support healthier fish populations over time. Stronger fish populations in the McKenzie River system benefit local ecosystems, Indigenous communities, and recreational fisheries that depend on healthy salmon and trout runs. The fact that this seasonal measure is already locked into a federal operating license means it is not a one-off decision but a repeating, protected commitment to fish passage.

3️⃣ What’s next: EWEB is working with fisheries regulators to build a permanent trap-and-haul facility below Trail Bridge Dam that will move adult salmon and bull trout upstream and replace the current temporary measures. A separate $24 million permanent downstream fish passage facility is also planned at Trail Bridge to provide a longer-term solution for fish moving through this stretch of river. Once the permanent trap-and-haul facility becomes operational, nearly all power generation at Trail Bridge Powerhouse is set to stop under the terms of its federal license.

Read the full story here: Ecoportal – An Oregon hydropower dam switched itself off for four months, and the water it would have turned into electricity became a safer road for young fish and bull trout instead