If we don't find a way to work together, I don't think we're going to succeed. Agency officials tout the plan, to be finalized by the end of the year, as the most comprehensive salmon-recovery effort ever in the Pacific Northwest. Among other things, it calls for improving salmon habitat, limiting harvests and reforming hatcheries to recover a dozen stocks in the Columbia Basin listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The document also calls for keeping four Snake River dams in southeastern Washington state for the time being, though federal officials say they could recommend breaching the Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Lower Granite and Little Goose dams after five years if leaving them in place doesn't work. He said the steps outlined in the administration's comprehensive plan will better serve the region's dwindling runs.
Environmentalists say the plan falls short, mostly because it protects the dams.
Industry officials complain that the document does not guarantee dams will be protected in future.