When Fish Climb Ladders: NOAA Fisheries' Unconscionable New Interpretation of the Endangered Species Act and the Dangers it Portends for Snake River Salmon
By Joanna M. Hooper
INTRODUCTION
As part of the Columbia River system, the Snake River drains an area about the size of France. The drainage area spans Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and parts of Wyoming, Nevada, Montana and Canada. The Columbia River system pours more water into the Pacific Ocean than any other river in the Western Hemisphere; its annual average flow is twice that of the Nile and ten times that of the Colorado River. The Snake is the Columbia's largest tributary, flowing for 1040 miles and draining a watershed area of 109,000 square miles. The Lower Snake River spans 140 miles, extending from just above Lewiston, Idaho to its confluence with the Columbia in Washington.
For centuries, the Columbia was “the most productive salmon river in the world.” Its basin, comprised largely of the Columbia itself and the Snake, supported historic runs of ten to sixteen million adult salmon and steelhead. After finding salmon in such abundance during weeks of travel on the river, explorers Lewis and Clark declared that they would rather eat dog than salmon. Many of these early salmon, especially members of the royal chinook species known as “June Hogs,” weighed as much as sixty pounds each. Today, however, there are as few as one million salmon making the thousand-mile journey up the Snake River to spawn. The salmon, after having inhabited the basin for more than five million years, face imminent extinction.
While there are multiple factors contributing to the decline of Snake River salmon, the most significant of these appears to be the presence of four federally operated dams on the lower stretch of the river. The dams are part of the mighty Federal Columbia River Power System. Every few years the federal agencies involved in the project submit an operations plan for the project, pursuant to the requirements of the Endangered Species Act, to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries (NOAA). NOAA in turn issues a Biological Opinion evaluating the plan and determining whether or not the project's continuing operations will jeopardize any endangered or threatened salmon. Last year's highly controversial Biological Opinion contains a major policy reversal and a new interpretation of the Endangered Species Act that is of questionable validity.
Part II of this Note describes the general operations and purposes of the Federal Columbia River Power System and the specific role played by dams in the Lower Snake River. Part III discusses multiple factors contributing to the decline of Snake River salmon including, most significantly, four dams on the lower river. Part IV outlines legislative efforts to stem the salmon's decline and the varying effectiveness of each, as well as the circumstances surrounding salmon's listing under the Endangered Species Act and resulting obligations incurred by federal agencies. Part V then details the agencies' compliance with those obligations and chronicles legal challenges to biological opinions for the project. Finally, Part VI discusses the most recent Biological Opinion's apparent sweeping changes to the jeopardy analysis for endangered and threatened Snake River salmon and steelhead.
As part of the Columbia River system, the Snake River drains an area about the size of France. The drainage area spans Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and parts of Wyoming, Nevada, Montana and Canada. The Columbia River system pours more water into the Pacific Ocean than any other river in the Western Hemisphere; its annual average flow is twice that of the Nile and ten times that of the Colorado River. The Snake is the Columbia's largest tributary, flowing for 1040 miles and draining a watershed area of 109,000 square miles. The Lower Snake River spans 140 miles, extending from just above Lewiston, Idaho to its confluence with the Columbia in Washington.
For centuries, the Columbia was “the most productive salmon river in the world.” Its basin, comprised largely of the Columbia itself and the Snake, supported historic runs of ten to sixteen million adult salmon and steelhead. After finding salmon in such abundance during weeks of travel on the river, explorers Lewis and Clark declared that they would rather eat dog than salmon. Many of these early salmon, especially members of the royal chinook species known as “June Hogs,” weighed as much as sixty pounds each. Today, however, there are as few as one million salmon making the thousand-mile journey up the Snake River to spawn. The salmon, after having inhabited the basin for more than five million years, face imminent extinction.
While there are multiple factors contributing to the decline of Snake River salmon, the most significant of these appears to be the presence of four federally operated dams on the lower stretch of the river. The dams are part of the mighty Federal Columbia River Power System. Every few years the federal agencies involved in the project submit an operations plan for the project, pursuant to the requirements of the Endangered Species Act, to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries (NOAA). NOAA in turn issues a Biological Opinion evaluating the plan and determining whether or not the project's continuing operations will jeopardize any endangered or threatened salmon. Last year's highly controversial Biological Opinion contains a major policy reversal and a new interpretation of the Endangered Species Act that is of questionable validity.
Part II of this Note describes the general operations and purposes of the Federal Columbia River Power System and the specific role played by dams in the Lower Snake River. Part III discusses multiple factors contributing to the decline of Snake River salmon including, most significantly, four dams on the lower river. Part IV outlines legislative efforts to stem the salmon's decline and the varying effectiveness of each, as well as the circumstances surrounding salmon's listing under the Endangered Species Act and resulting obligations incurred by federal agencies. Part V then details the agencies' compliance with those obligations and chronicles legal challenges to biological opinions for the project. Finally, Part VI discusses the most recent Biological Opinion's apparent sweeping changes to the jeopardy analysis for endangered and threatened Snake River salmon and steelhead.
