The federal agency that maintains the Columbia River’s shipping channel is proposing to build seven giant in-water pens as part of a $377 million project to manage dredge spoils over the next 20 years. Meanwhile, the river’s shipping industry is working to get local ports off the hook for part of the $132 million they will soon have to pay for the project.

Federal energy regulators on Jan. 29 greenlit a roughly $2 billion renewable energy megaproject on a Yakama Nation sacred site overlooking the Columbia River in Klickitat County.

Challenges include rising labor costs and stagnant prices paid to farmers, but also dramatic apple oversupply caused by increased farm efficiency and the loss of major international markets due to then-President Donald Trump’s 2018 tariffs.