Declaring the federal government’s newest salmon recovery plan "a good piece of work," U.S. District Court Judge James Redden on Monday appeared eager to resolve a 15-year legal battle about how to restore threatened and endangered fish runs in the Columbia River basin.
The Obama administration plan is backed by the state of Washington as well as six Indian tribes. It calls for wide-ranging efforts to improve fish habitat, reform hatcheries and try to ease the fish passage through hydroelectric dams and slow-moving water that backs up behind the dams.
Unlike a previous plan by the Bush administration, this restoration plan calls for a study on breaching four Snake River dams if runs go into sharp decline.