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Best Science on Salmon Demands Dam Removal by KylaJ2 The Oregonian, May 10, 2011

The Oregonian Editorial Board simply has it wrong when they say, "We think Redden ought to approve the biop, which is the best plan the feds, supported by a large group of tribes and other states, have ever produced for Columbia salmon."

The 2010 BiOp, which attempts to address the harm federal dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers cause to endangered salmon and steelhead, is almost indistinguishable from the two previous plans, both of which were rejected by the courts. Additionally, the current plan curtails vital protections now in place and will cost nearly $1 billion per year over the next 10 years.

While it is true that a few states and tribal groups support the BiOp, many conservation groups, fishing groups, the State of Oregon and the Nez Perce Tribe do not. When Judge James Redden took the bench yesterday to hear oral arguments on the Columbia-Snake salmon plan, he stated, "The job is not done." I could not agree more. The current BiOp is failing these endangered fish and costing taxpayers and ratepayers billions of dollars.

The science is clear: removing four inefficient and out-dated dams on the lower Snake River is the most effective path to restoring sustainable wild salmon and steelhead populations in the Columbia-Snake River system.

Breaching the Dams? by Peter DeFazio, Eugene Weekly, 5/3/11
DeFazio's Role in the Columbia Basin Salmon Crisis by Sheena Moore, Eugene Weekly, 4/21/11
Saving Salmon: Time to Get Out of the Courtroom and Into the River by Doc Hastings & DeFazio, The Oregonian, 3/11/11