Three former Northwest governors are asking for support against a Bush-era salmon plan.
Former governors of Oregon, Idaho and Washington issued a letter to the Obama administration, urging the White House to reject a plan from the Bush era that was designed to save Northwest salmon.
The administration has until Aug. 14 to decide whether to defend, amend or ditch a plan put forward last year to run federal power-producing dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers without pushing imperiled salmon closer to extinction.
U.S. District Court Judge James Redden has hinted that the plan, supported by most Northwest tribes and the state of Washington — but not Oregon or a coalition of environmental and fishing groups — may not meet the requirements of the Endangered Species Act.
“We think the District Court’s guidance letter, issued May 21, indicates that the plan, like its two predecessors, is likely to be found illegal if you decide to support it. We urge you not to take that course,” wrote John Kitzhaber, Cecil Andrus and Mike Lowry, the former governors of Oregon, Idaho and Washington, respectively.
Read the full story at OregonLive.com.
