Victories

A Fighting Chance for Wild Salmon in the Columbia & Snake Rivers

In Brief: Juvenile salmon on the Columbia and Snake rivers have a greater chance of surviving into adulthood, thanks to action by Earthjustice.

Juvenile salmon will have enough water to migrate downstream this summer, thanks to legal action by Earthjustice.

On July 28, 2004, U.S. District Judge James Redden issued a court order requiring the release of water over dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers to protect juvenile salmon. The order came in response to a lawsuit filed by Earthjustice on behalf of fishermen, concerned residents and joined by local tribes. The federal government was planning to withhold the water release until ordered otherwise by the court. The government had decided killing the salmon was an acceptable tradeoff to generating a small additional amount of electricity. Juvenile salmon depend on adequate water levels for their migration out to sea, and this ruling will allow young salmon to bypass the deadly dam turbines on their way to the ocean.

Judge Redden stated that the long-term environmental health of the region outweighed the short-term economic benefits of using the water to increase hydroelectricity production for the summer.

The federal Bonneville Power Administration made an emergency request to stay the order, but on August 13, the Ninth District Court of Appeals ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers must continue to release the water this summer.

Updated: July 29, 2004