FISHING -- An update on the potential for reintroducing chinook to the Columbia River upstream from Chief Joseph Dam will be presented Tuesday during the Northwest Power and Conservation Council meeting at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane.

The council, which, in part, helps direct hydropower ratepayer money to dam-related fish and wildlife conservation projects, will meet Tuesday and Wednesday with an agenda of topics ranging from salmon and sturgeon to aquifer water storage and greenhouse gas emissions.

The Spokane and Colville tribes, at 8 a.m. on Tuesday will update their investigations on reintroducing salmon above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee dams.

The presentation will be followed by an update on predation by sea lions on salmon and steelhead at Willamette Falls.

Other items on the two-day meeting agenda include:

Tuesday Council meeting:

• 1:45 p.m., Presentation on Washington energy technologies: Tony Usibelli of the Washington Department of Commerce will present to the Council on state energy policy issues and will discuss the state’s investment in innovative energy technologies and financing programs through the Clean Energy Fund.
• 2:15 p.m., Update on Idaho Power Company’s integrated resource plan.

 Wednesday Council meeting:

• 8:30 a.m., briefing on the status of Middle Columbia and Upper Columbia sturgeon from the Spokane, Colville, and Yakama tribes, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and mid-Columbia public utility districts.
• 9:30 a.m., briefing on Avista Corporation’s integrated resource plan and Smart City demonstration project.
• 10:30 a.m., presentation by Steve Wright, general manager of the Chelan Public Utility District, on ways utilities can address greenhouse gas emissions reductions from a policy perspective
• 11:15 a.m., presentation by the Washington Department of Ecology on aquifer storage techniques to help meet ongoing and future demand for water, and Shell Oil on a proposal to build a pumped storage energy project in Lake Rufus Woods behind Chief Joseph Dam.