REDDEN: UPPER SNAKE BIOP CAN BE SEPARATE, BUT IT’S FLAWED Posted on Friday, May 26, 2006 (PST)

A 2005 document giving Endangered Species Act clearance to federal dam operations on the upper Snake River is illegal, U.S. District Court Judge James A. Redden said in a Tuesday opinion and order. Read More...

BONNEVILLE DAM DETECTION DEVICE AIDS FISH PASSAGE RESEARCH Posted on Friday, May 26, 2006 (PST)

A significant gap in assessments of salmon survival through the federal Columbia River basin hydrosystem has seemingly been closed with the installation this spring of a fish detection device at Bonneville Dam. Read More...

SPRING CHINOOK RUN EXPECTED TO EXCEED LAST YEAR’S NUMBERS Posted on Friday, May 26, 2006 (PST)

Fishery experts now predict the 2006 upriver spring chinook salmon return Columbia River will total 125,000 adult fish, well beyond a preseason forecast of 88,400 and better than last year's final tally of 106,900. Read More...

RAPID RUNOFF HAS LIBBY DAM TURBINES RUNNING FULL CAPACITY Posted on Friday, May 26, 2006 (PST)

Last week’s rapid runoff in Northwest Montana filled Lake Koocanusa to a point where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers intends to run Libby Dam at full powerhouse capacity for the next few weeks. Read More...

NINTH CIRCUIT SET TO HEAR ORAL ARGUMENTS ON BASIN BIOP Posted on Friday, May 26, 2006 (PST)

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals next week will hear oral arguments over the legality of a biological opinion that gauges the effect of the federal Columbia River basin hydrosystem on protected salmon and steelhead. Read More...