A federal judge signaled that he could accept at least some operational changes at lower Columbia and Snake river dams proposed by the state of Oregon and conservation groups in October. However, it will depend on what plaintiffs and defendants agree on in a long-running court case that could decide the fate of threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead.

After hearing oral arguments by the two sides in U.S. District Court in Portland last Friday, Feb. 6, Judge Michael H. Simon said that he would rule Feb. 23 on a preliminary injunction submitted to the court by Oregon and a coalition of environmental groups last October.
Simon said he’d also rule Feb. 23 on the Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction, a motion promoted by the Bonneville Power Administration that has to do with which court should be reviewing the preliminary injunction.

But first he ordered both sides to get together and come up with a revised proposed preliminary injunction order and submit it to the court Feb. 20. He also suggested the two sides color code what they agree on, and where they don’t agree to make suggestions on alternatives.

“I don’t want to cause more unintended consequences,” Simon said, as reported Feb. 6 by Monique Merrill in a Courthouse News Service story.
The request for the preliminary injunction that seeks operational changes at the dams was filed by plaintiffs Oct. 14, 2025. The changes outlined in a proposed order include increased spill, which allows juvenile fish to pass over the dams instead of through turbines, and lowered reservoir elevations through restrictions on minimum operating pools, a change that Earthjustice, the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, says would decrease the time salmon spend migrating through stagnant, overheated water.

In addition to changes to dam operations to aid fish, Earthjustice and plaintiffs petitioned the court to approve a set of emergency conservation measures for what they say are some of the most imperiled populations that are on the brink of collapse. These include removing passage barriers slowing the migration of Tucannon River spring Chinook, a population that is rapidly approaching extinction, as well as increasing federal efforts to control predators like invasive walleye and some birds that prey on salmon and steelhead.
The proposed preliminary injunction with its emergency measures would likely not have been needed if the federal government had not altered course and reneged on a Biden-era Memorandum of Understanding between plaintiffs and the U.S. government, according to court documents.

The MOU, signed in December 2023, known as the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA), was to be effective through 2028 and was designed to restore Columbia River basin salmon and steelhead runs to “healthy and abundant levels.”
Simon had approved a stay in the original and long-running lawsuit that challenged NOAA Fisheries’ 2020 biological opinion and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision as long as the agreement was in place. However, the Trump Administration on June 12, 2025 revoked the agreement and notified the partners in the MOU in a June 24 letter.
Plaintiffs in the case went back to the U.S. District Court in Oregon to ask the court to lift the stay and resume the court case that had been on pause for nearly two years.

“About 2 1/2 years ago, I thought it had settled, but apparently not,” Simon said.
Plaintiffs are the National Wildlife Federation, American Rivers, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Institute for Fisheries Resources, Sierra Club, Idaho Rivers United, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, NW Energy Coalition, Columbia RiverKeeper and the Idaho Conservation League.

Defendants are the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and NOAA Fisheries.

There has been stiff opposition to the operational changes proposed in the plaintiff’s preliminary injunction. Briefs filed with the court in December said the operational changes would lower the amount of electricity that could be generated by the dams, costing the region more for electricity, while also resulting in higher releases of carbon dioxide when making up for those losses.
River users said the changes would provide negligible benefits to fish populations while increasing risks to navigation safety and river system reliability.

NOAA Fisheries said the measures proposed in the preliminary injunction would likely lead to a higher risk of salmonids listed under the Endangered Species Act falling below quasi-extinction thresholds than would the 2020 Columbia/Snake river biological opinion for salmon and steelhead, which is again being argued in Simon’s court.

“Despite consistent increasing spill since 2017, trends in juvenile survival have progressively declined, and there has been no statistically significant improvements in smolt-to-adult return rates,” defendants said in their Dec. 15 opposition to the preliminary injunction. “That evidence undermines Plaintiffs’ basic hypothesis that decreasing powerhouse encounters by increasing spill will result in higher smolt-to-adult returns. But Plaintiffs also avoid discussion of the several reasons high levels of spill degrades migration conditions for both juvenile and adult salmon and steelhead. High spill can impede returning adult access to fish ladders, increase fallback, impede juvenile egress from tailraces, and increase predation.”

At oral arguments last week, according to Courthouse News Service, federal defendants claimed that plaintiffs “were attempting to override the government’s discretion and seize control of the dams.”
Still, the federal attorneys admitted the government’s position wasn’t far from what the plaintiffs are seeking, which led Simon to ask both parties to seek an agreement between them.

In addition, in December BPA argued the plaintiffs don’t have jurisdiction in District Court because it is unlawful to challenge a BPA decision in the lower court, although it can be argued in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The power marketing agency has not been named a defendant by plaintiffs in the court case (National Wildlife Federation et al v National Marine Fisheries Service et al), but BPA said the actions of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation are “inextricably intertwined with Bonneville’s final action and decision” and that the “Court cannot adjudicate claims over NMFS’s Biological Opinion without attacking an essential ingredient of Bonneville’s decision, rendering those claims subject to the Northwest Power Act’s exclusive review provision.”

“Careful Pleading’ cannot overcome the Northwest Power Act’s jurisdictional barrier,” BPA said of plaintiff’s choice not to include the agency in the lawsuit.

Plaintiffs’ replied Jan. 15 that a long history in District and Appeals courts proves otherwise.

“Twenty-four years and eight supplemental complaints after this case commenced in 2001—and thirty-one years after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued the controlling opinion on jurisdiction—Federal Defendants have moved to dismiss this case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, claiming that the jurisdictional provision of the Pacific Northwest Electric Planning and Conservation Act, compels dismissal of all claims against all Federal Defendants,” Plaintiffs wrote in their brief. “Federal Defendants move despite the fact that the Bonneville Power Administration, the only federal agency to which the jurisdictional provisions of the Northwest Power Act apply, is neither named as a defendant nor are any of its final actions challenged in the Eighth Supplemental Complaint.”

Specific operational and infrastructure repair changes proposed by plaintiffs in their Oct. 14 proposed order include:

* Changes to Lower Snake and lower Columbia River dams:
— Spring spill, beginning April 3 and lasting through June 15, at lower Snake River dams would be to the 125 percent gas cap 24 hours per day (125 percent Gas Cap spill means spill to the maximum level that meets, but does not exceed, the Total Dissolved Gas (“TDG”) criteria allowed under state laws), the plaintiffs proposed order says.

— Spring spill, beginning April 10 and lasting through June 15, at McNary, John Day and Bonneville dams would be to the 125 percent gas cap 24 hours per day. Spring spill at The Dalles Dam would be 40 percent spill up to the 125 percent gas cap 24 hours per day.

— Zero flow operations would be prohibited at lower Snake dams.

— All Lower Snake River dam reservoirs will be operated at minimum operating pool with a 1-foot operating range allowance from March 1 through August 31.

— McNary, The Dalles and Bonneville reservoirs will be operated at a combination of lowest “normal” (i.e., recent) operating elevation and MOP with a 1.5-foot operating range allowance from March 1 through August 31.

— The John Day Dam has some special operations, including operating at minimum irrigation pool elevation with a 1.5-foot operating range March 1 through June 15, and from June 16 through Aug. 31 operations would be at 1 foot above MIP with a 1.5-foot operating range.

* Changes to summer spill at lower Snake dams is on a dam-by-dam basis, June 21 through Aug. 31 (for details on this and all plaintiffs’ proposals, see the proposed Preliminary Injunction at fish-nat-wildlife-pi.pdf).  All changes require more spill 24 hours per day beginning this year than what was required in 2025. Changes at lower Columbia dams, June 16 through Aug. 31, also require 24 hour spill. McNary is 57 percent spill, John Day is 40 percent spill, The Dalles is 40 percent spill and Bonneville is 95,000 cubic feet per second.

* Infrastructure Repair and Maintenance:
— The Dalles Dam: By Feb. 28, 2027, complete necessary repairs to return spill bay 9 to service and ensure it remains fully functional so spill can continue.

— Bonneville Dam: By Feb. 28, 2027, complete installation of barriers in the stilling basin that will allow Bonneville to operate at 125 percent TDG during spring spill. Once barriers have been installed, ensure the stilling basin remains unobstructed so spill can continue.

— John Day Dam Fish Ladder Temperatures: By Feb. 29, 2028, complete installation of a cooling structure, with real-time temperature recording at the exit of the John Day fish ladder.

— Lower Granite Auxiliary Water Supply Pumps: By Feb. 28, 2027, replace Lower Granite fishway AWS pumps with pumps that will allow Little Goose Reservoir to be operated at specified MOP elevation.

— Lower Monumental Dam Fish Transport: Cease transportation of juvenile fish from Lower Monumental Dam, effective with the 2026 juvenile fish passage operations.

* Emergency conservation measures include:

— Move double-crested cormorant colony on the Astoria-Megler Bridge to East Sand Island and make sure there are no nesting Caspian terns on Blalock Island.

— Reduce non-native piscine predation on listed species at the Lower Granite adult trap.

— Ensure that wild/natural steelhead kelts in Snake Basin tributary weirs and Lower Granite, Little Goose, and Lower Monumental dams are collected and transported to the steelhead kelt reconditioning facility at the Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery within 24 hours of being notified of their presence, and are reconditioned at the Hatchery.
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– Snake River Sockeye: Take actions to reduce adult migration mortality include establishing a secondary broodstock and hatchery safety net, and reducing the risk of further genetic and demographic decline.

— Enhance hatchery operations and address adult salmon and steelhead access and juvenile salmon and steelhead predation bottlenecks at the mouth of the Tucannon River, in coordination with Washington Department of Fish Wildlife, Nez Perce Tribe and Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

Plaintiff’s Oct. 14, 2025 Proposed Order is here: Microsoft Word – NWF 0640 PLD Proposed Order. Plaintiff’s Oct. 14 Preliminary Injunction is here: fish-nat-wildlife-pi.pdf. Federal Defendants Dec. 15 Opposition to the Preliminary Injunction is here: gov-opposition-fish.pdf

For background, see:
— CBB, January 9, 2026, Judge Sets Oral Arguments Over Preliminary Injunction Request That Would Alter Columbia/Snake Dam Operations For Salmon, Steelhead, Judge Sets Oral Arguments Over Preliminary Injunction Request That Would Alter Columbia/Snake Dam Operations For Salmon, Steelhead – Columbia Basin Bulletin

— CBB, December 19, 2025, Over 30 Briefs Filed In Federal Court Opposing Request For More Spill For Fish, Lower Reservoirs At Columbia/Snake River Dams, Over 30 Briefs Filed In Federal Court Opposing Request For More Spill For Fish, Lower Reservoirs At Columbia/Snake River Dams – Columbia Basin Bulletin

— CBB, November 5, 2025, More Briefings Filed In Support Of Injunction Calling For Operational Changes At Columbia/Snake Dams To Protect Salmon, Steelhead, More Briefings Filed In Support Of Injunction Calling For Operational Changes At Columbia/Snake Dams To Protect Salmon, Steelhead – Columbia Basin Bulletin

— CBB, Oct. 19, 2025, Judge Denies Feds’ Request To Put Salmon BiOp Case On Hold Due To Shutdown, Plaintiffs Seek Changes To Dam Operations To Aid Fish, Judge Denies Feds’ Request To Put Salmon BiOp Case On Hold Due To Shutdown, Plaintiffs Seek Changes To Dam Operations To Aid Fish – Columbia Basin Bulletin

— CBB, September 26, 2015, Judge Sets Schedule For Continuing Litigation Over Columbia River Basin Salmon Recovery; Motions, Briefs Oct. 8 To Jan. 22, 2026, Judge Sets Schedule For Continuing Litigation Over Columbia River Basin Salmon Recovery; Motions, Briefs Oct. 8 To Jan. 22, 2026 – Columbia Basin Bulletin

— CBB, September 14, 2025, Plaintiffs Return To Federal Court To Continue Legal Battle Over Columbia Basin Salmon Recovery, Judge Lifts Stay, Plaintiffs Return To Federal Court To Continue Legal Battle Over Columbia Basin Salmon Recovery, Judge Lifts Stay – Columbia Basin Bulletin
— CBB, June 13, 2025, Trump Rescinds Biden’s Executive Order Aimed At Restoring Columbia Basin Salmon, Steelhead Runs, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/trump-rescinds-bidens-executive-order-aimed-at-restoring-columbia-basin-salmon-steelhead-runs/