Lawsuit Attacks Salmon Barging Plaintiffs Contend Government Agencies Haven’t Followed Plan Enough To Help Salmon Runs
The biggest court case to date for endangered Northwest salmon comes today before a federal judge who earlier scolded the U.S. government for failing to do enough to save the fish.
The lawsuit brought by environmentalists against several federal agencies could have significant implications for hydropower producers, shippers and irrigation farmers who don’t want to see big changes in the operation of the Snake and Columbia rivers.
The conservationists say past practices of barging and trucking salmon around dams have failed to reverse population declines. They want more water devoted to helping flush young fish to the ocean, at the expense of other commercial users of the river.
Ruling in a related case two years ago, U.S. District Judge Malcolm Marsh of Portland said efforts to protect the dwindling salmon runs were “seriously, significantly flawed.”
They consisted, he said, of “relatively small steps, minor improvements and adjustments” in operation of the hydroelectric dams and river navigational systems “when the situation literally cries out for a major overhaul.”
Marsh directed the agencies to find less risky ways to get the fish safely to the ocean and back.
Now, environmentalists are back in court arguing that nothing much has changed. They say the National Marine Fisheries Service, Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation have an inadequate plan to save several salmon species from extinction.
They say government officials have exacerbated the situation by failing to enforce the plan properly, for two years falling short of water flow targets needed to help young fish make it to the ocean.
“This could be a big turning point,” said Rick Taylor, spokesman for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission in Portland, which has filed court briefs supporting the conservationists.
The plaintiffs want Marsh to order the government to take specific actions to save the fish from extinction, ultimately drawing reservoir levels down to return the river to a more natural state where the currents run faster and cooler.
That would help the juvenile fish arrive at the ocean in a matter of days, as they did before the dams were built a half century ago, instead of the weeks-long journeys they now make through slack-water pools filled with predators.
But such an order also would make less water available to churn hydropower turbines during fish runs and shut down the navigational system that connects the port of Lewiston to the Pacific Ocean.
Federal scientists estimate overall salmon populations once numbered 10 million to 16 million in the Columbia River basin, but have fallen to only about 2 percent of those numbers and continue to decline.
Doug Arndt, senior program manager for the Army Corps of Engineers North Pacific Division in Portland, said the corps has struggled to provide a balanced approach.
“We have 13 Indian tribes, five states, any number of utilities and environmental groups all coming at this thing trying to present their points of view,” Arndt said. “There’s not even agreement we are chasing the right goal.” xxxx SALMON SPECIES Three salmon species are involved in the lawsuit over management of the Columbia and Snake rivers: Snake River sockeye salmon, listed as endangered Nov. 20, 1991. Smolts migrate downstream in April and May; return as adults July through September. Snake River spring-summer chinook, listed as threatened April 22, 1992. Smolts migrate downstream in April and May; return as adults May through September. Snake River fall chinook, listed as threatened April 22, 1992. Smolts migrate downstream June through August, return as adults in August and September.