PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge who presided over Columbia River Basin salmon litigation for years before handing the case off to another jurist says the Snake River’s four hydroelectric dams should be breached to help wild salmon.
U.S. District Judge James A. Redden made his comments to Idaho Public Television. The brief audio and video clips released Wednesday were recorded for an Outdoor Idaho documentary on Idaho’s salmon. The documentary is scheduled to air in July.
“I think we need to take those dams down,” Redden said in the interview.
The Oregonian carried a report on the comments (http://is.gd/lTVhp8 ).
The 83-year-old Portland, Ore., judge stepped down from the Northwest salmon case last November, several months after rejecting a third federal government plan for balancing the needs of protected wild salmon against Columbia Basin hydroelectric dams.
U.S. District Judge Michael Simon now presides over the salmon case, overseeing the federal government’s efforts to balance hydropower dam operations with the needs of salmon and steelhead listed under the federal Endangered Species Act.
