James Edward Chaney

James Edward Chaney

May 15, 2025

Harlingen, Texas - Ed Chaney, beloved partner, father, grandfather, brother, friend, and environmental warrior on behalf of endangered Snake and Columbia River salmon and steelhead left us on May 15, 2025. He wasn't ready to go. "I have to get back to work!" was his repeated plea to the dedicated medical professionals treating the many late-life conditions that colluded to bring him down. He was 83 years old.

Ed spent his professional career working on conservation and environmental issues in positions with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the Fish Commission of Oregon, the National Wildlife Federation in Washington, D.C, and later as an independent consultant for numerous governmental agencies and Indian tribes.

He founded the nonprofit Northwest Resource Information Center in Eagle, Idaho in 1976 in response to the threatened status of the wild salmon and steelhead produced in the vast Columbia and Snake River basins.

During his career he produced technical publications, papers and reports for the Bureau of Reclamation, EPA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, Bureau of Land Management, Northwest Power and Conservation Council, Pacific Fishery Management Council, Northwest Governors, Idaho, Oregon and Washington Indian Tribes, Resource Renewal Institute, Idaho Fish and Game Department, and the Idaho Conservation League.

Ed was a member on various state, national and international working groups with a focus on wild salmon and steelhead. His expertise was often called upon in many 9th Circuit Court of Appeals cases for failing to comply with the provisions in the Northwest Power Act for migratory fish in the Columbia River Basin.

He was declared Idaho's Conservationist of the Year in 1983 by the Idaho Wildlife Federation, and during his career he was also the recipient of awards from The Nature Conservancy, Henry's Fork Foundation, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, and other business and environmental groups for his work in conservation.

Ed enjoyed chukar hunting with English Setters in Hells Canyon, the Owyhees and Nevada. He also was a skilled white water rafter with many trips on Oregon and Idaho wild Rivers.

Ed was born November 6, 1941, in Rolla, Missouri to parents Walter Wilbert Chaney and Velora Pearl Branson. He had two brothers, Robert and Timothy. He was a graduate of SW Missouri State College with degrees in English and Conservation.

During later years, Ed wanted to live in a warm climate on the coast, where he could continue his work on behalf of wild salmon and simultaneously fish the Laguna Madre. He and Charlotte moved to south Texas seven years ago.

He is survived by his life partner Charlotte Chaney in Laguna Vista, Texas, his brother Timothy and son Eric (Heather), grandchildren James and Anne of Bellevue, Washington and son Mark of Seattle, Washington.

Memorials in Ed's name can be made to ASCPA.org or Truthout.org.