Attorneys representing conservation organizations, Native American tribes, and the states of Oregon and Washington are heading back to court this Friday. They aim to push for operational modifications at dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers, after the collapse of an agreement with the federal government intended to aid severely threatened salmon populations.
Last year, President Donald Trump derailed a $1 billion, ten-year plan from the Biden administration designed to assist salmon recovery and support tribal clean energy initiatives. The White House labeled the plan “radical environmentalism,” warning it could have led to the removal of four contentious dams on the Snake River.
The plaintiffs contend that federal dam management breaches the Endangered Species Act. Courts have mandated adjustments over many years of legal disputes to benefit the fish. The current request seeks a court order for alterations at eight major hydropower dams, such as reducing reservoir levels to speed fish passage and increasing water spillage to help young salmon bypass turbines.
In its legal response, the federal government described the petition as a “sweeping scheme to wrest control” of the dams, arguing it would undermine their safe and efficient operation. The government also stated such an order might lead to higher electricity costs for consumers.
“We are returning to court because the plight of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin is critical,” stated Kristen Boyles, managing attorney at Earthjustice, the nonprofit firm advocating for conservation, clean energy, and fishing interests in the case. “Certain populations are teetering on the edge of extinction, and this species is fundamental to the culture and identity of Northwest tribes.”
The protracted lawsuit resumed after Trump withdrew from the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement last June. That accord with Washington, Oregon, and four Native American tribes had temporarily suspended the litigation.
The plaintiffs, encompassing the state of Oregon and an alliance of conservation and fishing bodies like the National Wildlife Federation, have submitted a motion for a preliminary injunction. Washington state, the Nez Perce Tribe, and the Yakama Nation have endorsed the motion as “friends of the court.” Oral arguments will be presented to the U.S. District Court in Portland.
Once the planet’s premier salmon fishery, the Columbia River Basin covers an area comparable to Texas and was home to at least 16 distinct salmon and steelhead runs. Currently, four of those runs are extinct, and seven are listed as endangered or threatened. A famed but endangered Northwest orca population also relies on these salmon.
The initial dams built on the Columbia River, like Grand Coulee and Bonneville in the 1930s, created employment during the Great Depression and supplied hydropower and river transport. They established Lewiston, Idaho, as the West Coast’s farthest inland port, and numerous farmers still depend on barges to transport their goods.
Groups opposing the proposed changes, including the Inland Ports and Navigation Group, argued last year that more spillage “can unduly harm navigation, causing commercial disruptions that severely damage our local communities and economy.”
Nevertheless, the dams are recognized as a primary factor in the salmon’s decline, a species that area tribes hold as central to their heritage.
The dams targeted for operational changes are the Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite on the Snake River, along with the Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, and McNary on the Columbia River.