WHEN FISH CLIMB LADDERS: NOAA FISHERIES' UNCONSCIONABLE NEW INTERPRETATION OF THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT AND THE DANGERS IT PORTENDS FOR SNAKE RIVER SALMON

The general operations and purposes of the federal Columbia River Power System and the special role played by dams in the lower Snake River are discussed. Multiple factors contributing to the decline of Snake River salmon are identified, highlighting the four dams on the lower river. Federal agency compliance with obligations imposed by the salmon's listing under the Endangered Species Act is surveyed, as are components of the recently issued and highly controversial Biological Opinion of NOAA. The agency now contends that no jeopardy exists if the only threat is to recovery and not to bare survival. NOAA's new interpretation of the Act to require only bare survival and not recovery has far-reaching effects for Snake River salmon and for other endangered and threatened species as well.