A protracted legal battle came to a close earlier this month when Avista
Corp. (formerly Washington Water Power) agreed to pay the Nez Perce Tribe
more than $39 million over the next 44 years as compensation for lost fishing
opportunities.
A mediator determined that a potential harvest of 1.5 million fish was
lost during the years the Grangeville and Lewiston dams blocked access
of salmon and steelhead to their historic Clearwater River spawning grounds
in central Idaho.
The …