Local governments removed dams, which trapped pollution and impeded fish migration.
Dredging will not be allowed, and construction work will be forbidden during periods of heavy fish migration, Mr. Seebode said.
But farmers and anglers have raised concerns that they can damage the landscape and fish migration routes, and conservation efforts should be focused on the UK's existing wildlife.
If the site was on a fish migration route (salmonids, eels, shad) appropriate provision would need to be provided by means of fish passes etc.
Most of the Columbia's salmon and steelhead species are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, largely because of the effects of dam construction on fish migration.
Altering natural flow systems can lower water tables, increase saltwater intrusion to coastal areas, and harm fish migration and spawning, it said.
A scientist in his wheelchair is strapped to a bobsled behind a team of dogs in Alaska, hoisted by crane from a research boat above the Arctic Circle and lowered to the bottom of the sea to research fish migration.
Fishing for chinook and coho salmon, steelhead and rainbow trout is legendary on the Rogue and a number of dams have been dynamited in recent years to restore fish migration pathways.
Tony Grayling, head of climate change and sustainable development at the Environment Agency, said: "Some hydropower schemes have the potential to deliver low-carbon electricity and improve the local environment for wildlife, for example by improving fish migration.
The permit restricts the company, Castle Astoria Terminals, from dredging the material from two berths on the East River between January and October because of concerns for fish migration.
Even as advocates for salmon want some dams removed to ease fish migration, major renovations are under way this winter at three dams to ensure that the barge traffic they enable can continue for decades to come.
