New deal seeks to extend truce in court battle over Columbia River salmon
The long-running court battle over federal management of the Columbia River hydrosystem, launched more than 25 years ago, would remain on hold under an agreement announced Thursday by the federal Interior Department.
The agreement, if approved by the U.S. District Court in Portland, would extend by up to one year a stay put in place last October.
In a Thursday statement, the Interior Department called the stay “an important step” to charting a path forward for the operation of the Columbia River Basin dams.
The agreement comes amid escalating regional tensions over the direction of salmon restoration, which over decades has involved billions of dollars in federal spending and changes in dam management, in a so-far-unsuccessful effort to restore salmon runs protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/deal-seeks-extend-truce-court-120000582.html