E-Book on History of Columbia Basin Salmon Recovery Litigation Now Available

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

E-BOOK ON HISTORY OF COLUMBIA BASIN SALMON RECOVERY LITIGATION NOW AVAILABLE

BEND, OR February 19, 2009 --/WORLD-WIRE/-- Salmon and Hydro: An Account of Litigation over Federal Columbia River Power System Biological Opinions for Salmon and Steelhead, 1991-2009 has just been released as a digital download “issue summary” by the Columbia Basin Bulletin (http://www.cbbulletin.com), an e-mail newsletter and website focused on Columbia River Basin salmon recovery.

A NOAA Fisheries "biological opinion" is the federal government's primary guide for recovering thirteen species of Columbia River Basin salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act. A "BiOp" must insure these ESA-listed fish survive and thrive in the Columbia/Snake River Basin hydropower system.

Yet, since the first ESA listings of Columbia Basin salmon in 1991 (Snake River sockeye), these biological opinions have been the subject of continual litigation.

“It is in federal court where one sees most clearly the divisions and difficulties of Columbia Basin salmon recovery,” said Bill Crampton, editor and publisher of the Columbia Basin Bulletin. “This issue summary offers a historical account of this continual litigation since the first ESA listings and summarizes the major issues that have dominated Columbia Basin salmon recovery since 1991.”

Salmon and Hydro is the first in a series of issue summaries to be offered by the Columbia Basin Bulletin. It can be downloaded as a 77-page, easy-to-read PDF document with a secure payment system by going to http://www.cbbulletin.com/Issue+Summaries/default.aspx

“Our goal here is to give the reader a fairly quick read that provides a general understanding of the history of litigation of salmon recovery in the Columbia Basin, from the first salmon listings under the Endangered Species Act to the 2008 biological opinion for the hydro system,” Crampton said.

“We summarize the key issues involved in case after case, and bring the reader up to today’s situation where, eighteen years after the first listings, we are waiting again for a judge’s opinion,” Crampton said.

Much more information about Columbia River basin salmon and steelhead biological opinions, and all other aspects of basin salmon and steelhead recovery, can be found in the Columbia Basin Bulletin’s eleven years of archives (with an advanced search engine) at www.cbbulletin.com.

For more information contact Bill Crampton at bcrampton@cbbulletin.com or call 541-312-8860.