Federal Judge Throws Out NW Salmon Plan; Feds Must Consider Breaching Snake Dams

[hatrack]

EDIT

Over a period of more than 20 years, wrote Judge Simon, "the federal agencies have ignored the (court) admonishments and continued to focus essentially on the same approach." He was referring to unmet promises of habitat restoration. The government's efforts have "cost billions of dollars" yet they are "failing" and leaving salmon stocks in a "perilous state," the judge added.

The extent of river habitat was limited when the Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams were built on the Columbia River without fish ladders, and when the Snake River was dammed in upper Hells Canyon by the Idaho Power Co.

But great habitat remains, notably the Salmon River in Idaho, a tributary of the Snake River that is the longest undammed river in the lower 48 states. Ex-Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus has long argued, "Idaho has habitat, needs fish." Andrus was a skeptic when the Army Corps of Engineers built four low dams on the Snake River, turning Lewiston, Idaho, into a barge port.

The feds will have to consider dam removal when they go back to the drawing board, Judge Simon ruled. He has given them until March 1, 2018 to come up with another salmon plan, or "biological opinion," as it is formally called. Any new opinion "may well require consideration of breaching, bypassing or removing one or more of the four Lower Snake River Dams," wrote the judge.

EDIT

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/U-S-judge-tosses-feds-salmon-plan-back-in-7394169.php

[montanacowboy]

1. Good! High time those dams are breached

But don't count on it

[truebluegreen]

2. Good!

The salmon (and steelhead) need to return to Redfish Lake....

[KT2000]

3. the good news is -

the Elwha River Dam was removed to restore salmon habitat. For about 100 years the salmon would try to scale the dam as there were no fish ladders. It was a sad sight as they could never get over the huge dam. After the removal, the first spawning season saw the salmon return to their habitats from 100 years ago! There are miracles occurring there as nature is reclaiming the area. There are tons of research sites that should help in other dam removals.

[MisterP]

4. Washington state's establishment depends on Federal money being poured into unprofitable reactors

and dams: after WWII the excess power couldn't be absorbed by Seattle-Vancouver-Portland and so they plunked Hanford down to absorb the unusable electricity

then we get Dixy Lee Ray and her "more white elephants since that means Washington's paying for 'em" philosophy--it's the extractive mentality, extended to the Feds

[Canoe52]

5. They need to do something to restore the

Salmon runs, the last I heard there may be no need to buy a fishing license this year for catching salmon.