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EPA Must Protect Salmon from Warming Waters, Judge Rules by Courtney Flatt Oregon Public Broadcasting, October 17, 2018

A federal court ruled Wednesday that the Environmental Protection Agency must come up with a plan to protect salmon from warm water temperatures. The summer of 2015 was a bad one for salmon. Water temperatures spiked in rivers across the Northwest. Fish can die when water temperatures hit the 70s. In the summer of 2015, around 250,000 adult sockeye died in the Columbia and Snake rivers.

The record-high temperatures and salmon deaths led conservationists and fishing groups to sue the federal government. Now, a judge has ruled the Environmental Protection Agency must develop a plan to protect threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead from dangerously warm rivers.

The ruling says dams are a big reason rivers get too warm. Waters are predicted to get even warmer with climate change.

"Because of today's victory, EPA will finally write a comprehensive plan to deal with dams' impacts on water temperatures and salmon survival," said Brett VandenHeuvel, executive director of Columbia Riverkeeper, in a statement.

The Environmental Protection Agency has 30 days to respond to the court's ruling.

Related Pages:
Warm Water Wreaks Havoc on Columbia River Fish by John Harrison, NW Power & Conservation Council, 8/12/15
Sockeye Arrives at Stanley Despite Warm Water by Associated Press, Teton Valley News, 7/29/15
Salmon Dying by the Thousands in Hot U.S. Rivers by Ted Ranosa, Tech Times, 7/29/15
First Sockeye of Year Returns to Redfish Creek Despite Hot Rivers by Rocky Barker, Idaho Statesman, 7/28/15
Why Are Thousands of Migratory Salmon Dying Before They Can Spawn? by Courtney Sherwood, Christian Science Monitor, 7/27/15
Biologists Bring Sockeye into Idaho on Trucks to Get Them Out of Hot Water by Rocky Barker, Idaho Statesman, 7/17/15
Sockeye Salmon Suffer Infections in Warm Columbia River System by Rich Landers, Spokesman-Review, 7/17/15
Half of Columbia River Sockeye Salmon Dying Due to Hot Water by Associated Press, The Oregonian, 7/18/15