salmon restoration plan insufficient, according to judge

May 19, 2009 | By DAMIEN SCHIFF

The Seattle Times reports that U.S. District Judge James Redden has "serious reservations" concerning the feds' latest plan to restore Columbia Basin salmon. From the Times:

Redden . . . wants a contingency plan that would include funding, congressional approvals and other steps needed to breach the lower Snake Rivers dams in the event other measures fail to restore salmon runs.

The letter sets the stage for a new round of out-of-court negotiations between plaintiffs — environmental groups and others — and the federal government over the program to revive endangered and threatened salmon runs in the Columbia River basin amid the operations of federal hydropower dams.

More from the Los Angeles Times' Greenspace and the Idaho Statesman.