The most recent filings in U.S. District Court in Portland by plaintiffs in the latest challenge to the biological opinion of the federal Columbia/Snake river hydropower system’s impacts on salmon and steelhead does not have to do with impacts by the federal dams, but instead it is a plea to dismiss a nearly two-year old counterclaim by the state of Idaho.
In that counter claim, Idaho had asked the court to decide “that breach of the [lower Snake River] Dams is unavailable as a remedy” under the Endangered Species Act. Attorneys for the state of Oregon (intervenor-plaintiffs) and Earthjustice attorneys for the National Wildlife Federation et al (plaintiffs) both filed motions Nov. 7, 2025 to dismiss the Idaho plea, saying that Idaho was asking the court to decide a theoretical issue.
“Our motion says that’s not a real or current dispute before the court,” Jenny Hansson of Oregon’s Department of Justice wrote in an email. “Oregon hasn’t asked for dam removal in this case, so there’s no reason for the court to weigh in on that hypothetical issue. We’re simply asking the court to focus on the actual questions in the case instead of something that may never come up.”
Hansson noted that Oregon’s filing of a Motion for Judgement on Pleadings doesn’t change Oregon’s broader role in the case or its commitment to salmon recovery — it’s just a procedural step to clear out a claim that doesn’t belong in the lawsuit.
Earthjustice’s Motion for Judgement on Pleadings filed with the court on the same day as Oregon’s says that “While Idaho raises what it considers to be a genuine dispute regarding whether relief under the ESA extends to dam removal, that abstract concern—no matter how deeply felt—does not satisfy the need for an actual ‘adverse legal interest’ that is grounded in the law.”
In moving the Motion for Judgement on Pleadings to the argument stage, District Court Judge Michael H. Simon on Nov. 11 set a schedule to argue the issue. His scheduling order says: “As requested by the parties, the State of Idaho’s response to Plaintiffs and Intervenor-Plaintiffs’ Motions for Judgment on the Pleadings is due not later than December 1, 2025; with replies due not later than December 15, 2025. Ordered by Judge Michael H. Simon.”
This is the eighth time since 2001 that the plaintiffs have challenged NOAA Fisheries’ BiOp of operation and maintenance of the federal Columbia River hydro system in the U.S. District Court of Oregon, according to the Nov. 7 Earthjustice pleading. The most recent challenge came January 19, 2021 as the National Wildlife Federation and other plaintiffs filed with the court challenging NOAA Fisheries’ 2020 BiOp. The plaintiffs also challenged the 2020 Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the Bonneville Power Administration.
Some 13 species of salmon and steelhead in the rivers are listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead, particularly those that return to the Snake River to spawn, persist at dangerously low abundance and many continue to decline toward extinction, Earthjustice had said in its complaint.
In their challenge of the BiOp, the plaintiffs asked the judge to vacate the EIS and remand it back to the Corps and Bureau of Reclamation, and order NOAA to vacate and set aside the 2020 BiOp and accompanying incidental take statement and permits and “enjoin NOAA to notify the Action Agencies of these actions.”
The court challenge was paused December 14, 2023 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, also known as the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement, between plaintiffs and the U.S. government. It was the basis for the stay in the litigation that was to be effective through 2028.
The agreement was designed to restore Columbia River basin salmon and steelhead runs to “healthy and abundant levels.” It promised increased funding for fisheries projects and infrastructure and included $1 billion in federal investments planned over a decade. As part of the agreement, parties had agreed to a five-year pause in the litigation.
However, the Trump Administration on June 12 revoked the agreement, notifying the partners in the MOU in a June 24 letter.
Plaintiffs argued in September for the stay to be lifted and to resume their BiOp challenge in federal court.
On Oct. 14, Earthjustice filed a preliminary injunction with the court seeking emergency operational changes at federal Columbia and Snake river dams to protect endangered salmon and steelhead from harms caused by dam operations. Earthjustice said those changes it is asking the court to approve are “science-based measures” that will improve salmon survival as they migrate past dams and reservoirs in the Columbia and Snake rivers. They include increased spill, which allows juvenile fish to pass over the dams instead of through lethal turbines, and lowered reservoir elevations, which decreases the time salmon spend migrating through stagnant, overheated waters. That preliminary injunction is working its way through Simon’s court.
This latest pleading with the court began before the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement was signed. In December 2023 Intervenor-Defendant State of Idaho filed an answer to the complaint by Earthjustice that challenged the 2020 BiOp. At the same time, Idaho brought the counterclaim against NWF plaintiffs asking the court to decide if breaching lower Snake River dams could be a remedy in the case.
Why did it take the plaintiffs so long to respond to the Idaho counterclaim? “The court paused this case in 2024, which meant we didn’t have to respond to Idaho’s counterclaim at that time,” Hansson of the Oregon DOJ wrote in her email. “Now that the pause has been lifted, the case is moving forward again, and we’re taking the next required step by asking the court to dismiss that claim.
“Doing this now helps keep the case focused on the issues that matter — like how dam operations affect protected fish — instead of spending time and resources on a question that isn’t part of the dispute,” she continued. “It’s about keeping the process efficient and on track.”
Although the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement did not call for the removal of the four lower Snake River dams, it did provide for the studies and economic underpinnings that would have made their removal possible.
However, in its online briefing, Earthjustice said “Put simply, the agreement brought all the stakeholders together and was a promising step toward breaching the four dams on the Lower Snake River, where every salmon population is currently threatened or endangered.”
Plaintiffs in the case with 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 in the case are the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and NOAA Fisheries.
For background, see:
— 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/
— CBB, January 19, 2025, COUNCIL PANEL HEARS DETAILS ON $1 BILLION ‘RESILIENT COLUMBIA BASIN AGREEMENT,’ EXTENT OF ‘COLLABORATION’ QUESTIONED, HTTPS://COLUMBIABASINBULLETIN.ORG/COUNCIL-PANEL-HEARS-DETAILS-ON-1-BILLION-RESILIENT-COLUMBIA-BASIN-AGREEMENT-EXTENT-OF-COLLABORATION-QUESTIONED/
— CBB, December 22, 2024, Agencies Taking Another Look At 2020 Eis Detailing Impacts Of Columbia/Snake River Federal Hydrosystem On Imperiled Salmonids, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/agencies-taking-another-look-at-2020-eis-detailing-impacts-of-columbia-snake-river-federal-hydrosystem-on-imperiled-salmonidsagencies-taking-another-look-at-2020-eis-detailing-impacts-of-columbia-snak/
— CBB, December 22, 2024, Council Shows Total Salmon/Steelhead Return Numbers To Columbia River Through The Years Short Of Goal; Esa-Listed Fish Continue To Struggle, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/council-shows-total-salmon-steelhead-return-numbers-to-columbia-river-through-the-years-short-of-goal-esa-listed-fish-continue-to-struggle/
— CBB, December 15, 2024, Despite Habitat Improvements Over 20 Years, Spring Chinook In Washington’s Tucannon River Still At Risk Of Extinction, Steelhead Doing Better, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/despite-habitat-improvements-over-20-years-spring-chinook-in-washingtons-tucannon-river-still-at-risk-of-extinction-steelhead-doing-better/
— CBB, December 9, 2024, Shifting Currents In Columbia/Snake River Salmon Recovery: Efforts To Save Snake River Fish Runs Likely To Look Different Under Trump, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/shifting-currents-in-columbia-snake-river-salmon-recovery-efforts-to-save-snake-river-fish-runs-likely-to-look-different-under-trump/
— CBB, October 18, 2024, Northwest Power/Conservation Council Issues Draft Annual Report To Congress On Council Progress With Fish, Power, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/northwest-power-conservation-council-issues-draft-annual-report-to-congress-on-council-progress-with-fish-power/
— CBB, June 21, 2024, Administration Report Describes Harm Of Dams To Columbia Basin Tribes, White House Sets Up Task Force To Coordinate Basin Salmon Recovery, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/administration-report-describes-harm-of-dams-to-columbia-basin-tribes-white-house-sets-up-task-force-to-coordinate-basin-salmon-recovery/
— CBB, Feb. 9, 2024, Federal Judge Approves Years-Long Pause On Basin Salmon Recovery Litigation So Parties Can Pursue Tribal-States-Feds Restoration Plan, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/federal-judge-approves-years-long-pause-on-basin-salmon-recovery-litigation-so-parties-can-pursue-tribal-states-feds-restoration-plan/
— CBB, Dec. 15, 2023, Biden Administration, Two States, Treaty Tribes Reach MOU On Columbia River Basin Salmon Recovery, Litigation Paused For At Least Five Years, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/biden-administration-two-states-treaty-tribes-reach-mou-on-columbia-river-basin-salmon-recovery-litigation-paused-for-at-least-five-years/
— CBB, July 15, 2022, White House Issues Reports On Basin Salmon Recovery, Costs; ‘Business As Usual’ Not Restoring ESA-Listed Salmon, Steelhead, https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/white-house-issues-reports-on-basin-salmon-recovery-costs-business-as-usual-not-restoring-esa-listed-salmon-steelhead/
— CBB, October 22, 2021, Parties Put Salmon/Steelhead BiOp Litigation On Hold, Commit To Working Together To Find ‘Comprehensive, Long-Term Solution’ https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/parties-put-salmon-steelhead-biop-litigation-on-hold-commit-to-working-together-to-find-comprehensive-long-term-solution/
— CBB, February 5, 2021, “Conservation Groups File Complaint Against New Columbia River System Operations EIS, BiOp For Salmon, Steelhead,” https://columbiabasinbulletin.org/conservation-groups-file-complaint-against-new-columbia-river-system-operations-eis-biop-for-salmon-steelhead/