Who’s defending Pushpum?
14 groups have it in their care
Sacred site in Washington, managed by FERC licensed project.
The defenders
Nobody has claimed this fight yet
No group in our directory carries Pushpum in its work yet. That is not the same as nobody fighting: if you know the group that belongs here, tell us and our editors will look at it.
14 more groups also work this ground
On the ground in Washington
More ways in
The situation
What’s happening to Pushpum
Pushpum, the Mother of All Roots, rises above the Columbia River near Goldendale in Klickitat County. It is one of the last seasonal gathering grounds where Yakama families harvest endemic heirloom root foods, a living pantry and a sacred site within the Nation’s ceded lands where treaty gathering rights still run. Rye Development wants to carve the ridge into the largest pumped storage project in the Pacific Northwest, and in January 2026 FERC granted the final license over the Nation’s objection. The Yakama Nation has supported renewable energy across the region, but not here. Rehearing was denied in March 2026, and the Nation and Columbia Riverkeeper have taken the fight to federal court while state permit appeals continue.
- 2021Rye Development advances the Goldendale Pumped Storage proposal at Pushpum
- 2026FERC approves the final project license over Yakama Nation objection (January 2026)
- 2026FERC denies rehearing requests from the Yakama Nation and Columbia Riverkeeper (March 2026)
Source: Washington State Standard · February 2, 2026
Source: Columbia Riverkeeper
No public comment window is open on Pushpum right now. A call script is ready on the Public Lands Action Network, and the groups above are how the fight gets funded and argued in the meantime.
Your move
How to stand for Pushpum
Pushpum has defenders. It needs more.
The work is theirs. The backing is yours.