Tipping a Really Big One for the Homies

Area dam managers are releasing water to flush young salmon out to sea, despite the governor's opposing plan of airlifting the fry downstream. A court of appeals yesterday ordered the government to continue spilling water from dams and reservoirs on the Snake and Columbia rivers.

From the PI:

"Spills will continue and that is good news for salmon, and that is good news for all the fishermen that depend on them and all the jobs that they support," said Todd True, lead attorney for environmental and fishing groups fighting for stronger protections for the fish.

"It's good news for the whole region," True said.

On Monday, the Army Corps of Engineers began releasing increased volumes of water from four Snake River hydropower dams. McNary Dam on the Columbia will increase spills next month.

The National Wildlife Federation has won a series of court cases against the National Marine Fisheries Service over the best way to protect the region's salmon population.

"We really firmly believe that spilling fish in a low water year puts them at risk," said Brian Gorman, spokesman for the Fisheries Service in Seattle. "The river moves more slowly; the reservoirs get warmer. Our science shows us that in low water years the safer thing to do is to move them past the dams and past the turbines."