NYT: Govt Shirked Duty to Wild Fish, Judge Rules (limited,skewed analysis)

[DeepModem Mom]

Government Shirked Its Duty to Wild Fish, a Judge Rules
By FELICITY BARRINGER
Published: May 27, 2005


WASHINGTON, May 26 - A federal judge in Oregon ruled Thursday that the Bush administration had arbitrarily limited and skewed its analysis of the harm that 14 federal dams cause to endangered Columbia and Snake River salmon and steelhead.

As a result, Judge James A. Redden of Federal District Court ruled, the administration had shirked its duty to ensure that government actions were not likely to jeopardize the survival of the species.

The ruling came in a challenge by environmentalists, fishing groups and Indian tribes to the administration's determination that the harm the hydropower dams were posing to the young salmon and steelhead could be remedied over the next 10 years by $6 billion in improvements to the dams, including spillways designed to get the fish through safely.

The ruling sends the issue back to the National Marine Fisheries Service for the third time. It also paves the way for the judge to rule on other pending requests by the same groups that the fish have a greater claim than they have had on limited water resources, especially when the Army Corps of Engineers manages the rate of flow this summer during the annual out-migration of year-old fish.

At least in the short term, these decisions could change the balance of power on the rivers. The rulings could give fish and fishing interests new leverage in the perennial competition among the hydropower industry, farming and ranching interests, Indian tribes and commercial fishermen, all of which want a share of drought-depleted water resources in Idaho, Washington and Oregon....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/27/national/27dams.html