The group, now joined by Upper Mississippi Waterway Association leaders, Gary Williams, executive director, and Jeremy Putnam, president, arrived in Memphis. While this was mostly a travel day, the group was able to fit in a last minute tour of one of American Cruise Line’s (ACL) vessels that was docked…
After arriving in Minneapolis the night before, the Columbia-Snake River System group traveled to La Crosse, Wis., to attend a meeting of the Upper Mississippi Waterway Association (UMWA). At the UMWA meeting, the Pacific Northwest group spoke about the issues on the Columbia and Snake rivers, specifically the efforts to…
At the end of June, a group of Columbia-Snake River System stakeholders returned from a tour down the Mississippi River impressed with the need for collaboration among all U.S. river systems and a reminder of how much of the nation’s commerce relies on these river highways. “While there are many…
Last month, Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) Past President Andy Juris joined a roomful of agricultural stakeholders to examine how the regulatory burden affects Washington state farms. Juris participated on a panel at the 2024 Washington State Agricultural Viability Conference in Kennewick, Wash. The Washington State Department of Agriculture…
If you’ve followed the controversy over the Columbia-Snake River System, you might have wondered who was representing the people and businesses that are dependent on the waterways for their livelihoods. That would be the Inland Ports and Navigation Group (IPNG). IPNG is a subgroup of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association…
One of the most important highways in the Pacific Northwest isn’t paved, but that doesn’t stop billions of dollars of goods and services from flowing up and down its length. Marine Highway 84, or M-84, is comprised of portions of the Columbia, Snake, and Willamette rivers and stretches from Lewiston,…
Staff and leaders of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) closed out January by traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet with federal legislators and take part in the National Association of Wheat Growers’ (NAWG) winter conference. “With so many critical issues being talked about in Congress, such as the…
Since the Biden Administration officially announced an agreement with plaintiffs to litigation regarding the lower Snake River dams in December, wheat industry leaders haven’t stopped advocating for the dams in local and national news. “There is so much misinformation out there regarding the dams and how critical they are to…
Last month, 19 wheat representatives spent a day and a half visiting 49 state legislators and agencies to talk about the industry’s priorities during the Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ (WAWG) annual Olympia Days trip. Cookies were also involved. “We had some very good discussions with legislators on both sides…
The fight over the lower Snake River dams reached a milestone in mid-December when the Biden Administration officially announced an agreement with plaintiffs to the litigation regarding the lower Snake River dams that prioritizes fish recovery and was written with little to no input from agricultural stakeholders. “The plan announced…