Plaintiffs in long-running court battles that since 2001 have challenged environmental impact statements and biological opinions regarding the impact of operations of Columbia and Snake river federal dams on imperiled salmon and steelhead are heading back to court, according to a filing by the groups this week in U.S. District Court in Oregon.
The states of Oregon and Washington, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs joined in the request to lift a stay in litigation on Sept. 11. The stay had been in effect since December 2023.
Other plaintiffs are National Wildlife Federation et al. v. National Marine Fisheries Service et al 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. The groups are represented in court by Earthjustice.
Defendants in the case are the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and NOAA Fisheries.
The plaintiffs asked the court in their motion to lift the stay to expedite the court’s decision, also stating that the federal defendants do not oppose the stay motion. However, the motion to lift the stay says, “Federal Defendants do not agree that expedited consideration of the motion to lift the stay is warranted. Given that the administrative records have been compiled, the Federal Defendants’ position is that this case could proceed directly to summary judgment.”
On the same day that the states and tribes asked U.S. District Court of Oregon Judge Michael H. Simon to lift the stay, he did so in a one-line order that simply says “The Court GRANTS the parties’ joint motion to lift stay.” If Simon agrees to proceed directly to summary judgement, the case could potentially be raised to an appeals court.
Other plaintiffs in the case are National Wildlife Federation et al. v. National Marine Fisheries Service et al 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.
A Biden-era Dec. 14, 2023 Memorandum of Understanding, also known as the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement, between plaintiffs and the U.S. government 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.” Those who supported the agreement touted it as a long-awaited collaborative and funded effort that finally would give restoration of salmon runs in the basin a chance.
The agreement promised increased funding for fisheries projects and infrastructure, a federal-state partnership to analyze replacement of the energy, transportation, irrigation and recreation services provided by four dams on the lower Snake River, and investments in new tribal clean energy projects. It included $1 billion in federal investments planned over a decade.
As part of the agreement, parties had agreed to a five-year pause of litigation that could have been extended five more years – as long as the agreement was in effect and the federal government continued to work with the states and tribes on a plan to restore the basin’s imperiled salmon, steelhead and other native fisheries while investing in affordable, clean and resilient energy across the Pacific Northwest, Earthjustice said in a news release.
However, the Trump Administration on June 12 revoked the agreement and notified the partners in the MOU in a June 24 letter that said in part:
“The undersigned signatories to the MOU now withdraw the United States from the MOU. It should be noted, however, that none of the undersigned agencies are opposed to seeking a satisfactory solution to the pending litigations and concerns of the various stakeholders and are willing to engage in good faith in efforts to achieve such a result,” the revocation letter said.
The Trump Administration’s unilateral decision to abandon the agreement removes the basis for the stay of litigation, plaintiffs argued in their filing this week for the stay to be lifted.
“The Trump administration’s recent actions leave us with no choice but to return to court,” said Earthjustice Attorney Amanda Goodin. “Since this administration has reneged on this carefully negotiated agreement – with no alternative plan to restore our imperiled salmon and steelhead – we find ourselves once again on a course towards extinction of these critically important species. Earthjustice and our plaintiffs, alongside state and tribal partners, have spent decades protecting Pacific Northwest salmon and steelhead – and we won’t back down now.”
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said that extinction of Columbia River basin salmon and steelhead is “not an option,” and that the President’s decision to withdraw from the agreement means further litigation.
“The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative represents a shared, scientifically sound vision for restoring healthy and abundant salmon populations in the Columbia River that all of our governments committed to implement under the 2023 agreement,” Kotek said. “Healthy runs are key for successful fish migration – and our salmon and steelhead runs are in crisis. President Trump walking away from these commitments presents a very real threat at a time when the fish are on the brink of extinction. It also continues our nation’s shameful legacy of broken promises to sovereign tribal nations that this partnership sought to repair.
“Extinction of iconic Columbia River salmon runs is not an option; we can have both healthy and abundant fish runs and power to meet our growing energy needs. Working with the sovereign tribes and state of Washington, I have directed staff and agencies to protect existing salmon runs and advocate for sustainable salmon population restoration. The state of Oregon will return to federal court and seek an injunction to address urgent needs for the fish, including requiring the federal government to operate the hydropower system to help salmon complete their downstream migration next spring, maximizing the chance that they will return as adults.”
The plaintiffs challenged the salmon/steelhead BiOp Jan. 19, 2021, in the case National Wildlife Federation et al. v. National Marine Fisheries. It was the eighth challenge by Earthjustice since 2001 to federal hydroelectric system BiOps on the impacts of the dams on salmon and steelhead listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. That filing restarted the long-standing dispute over federal biological opinions assessing the impacts of Columbia and Snake river dams on federally listed salmon and steelhead.
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 said.
Of the 16 salmon and steelhead stocks that had historically returned to spawn upstream of Bonneville Dam, four are now extinct and seven others are listed under the ESA, including all that return to the Snake River, according to Earthjustice.
“For most of these ESA-listed salmon species, by far the largest threat in their freshwater life stage is the harm caused by federal dams,” Earthjustice said. “These dams kill and harm salmon both as they attempt to migrate past each dam and by transforming the river into a series of slack water, warm reservoirs.”
“Pacific Northwest salmon are facing extinction. Today—salmon, fishing, and clean energy advocates applaud the Tribes, States, and non-governmental organizations for filing a motion with the U.S. District Court in Portland to lift a litigation stay that had been put in place as part of an historic regional agreement,” said Joseph Bogaard, executive director of the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition. “Without the agreement in place, plaintiffs are left with no alternative but to return to court to seek critical near-term actions to improve the survival of ocean-bound out-migrating juvenile salmon and steelhead and adults returning in search of their natal spawning beds.”
“People in the Pacific Northwest finally came up with a way to increase salmon populations and fishing while improving public services, meeting the promises we made to Tribes, and cutting taxpayer subsidies,” said Mike Leahy, senior director of Wildlife, Hunting and Fishing Policy for the National Wildlife Federation. “It’s been disappointing to see the federal government overrule all the progress made in the region in favor of returning to court.”
“The unilateral and abrupt termination of the Columbia Basin salmon agreement by the Trump administration is counter-productive and wrong,” said Sierra Club Snake/Columbia River Salmon Campaign Director Bill Arthur. “Climate change and ongoing destructive impacts from the four lower Snake River dams, combined with the stagnant hot reservoirs they create, continue to keep our iconic salmon and steelhead runs at the brink of extinction. We have a responsibility to return to court to improve and modernize our hydropower system so we can have affordable and reliable clean energy well into the future, alongside healthy and salmon and steelhead runs. These wild native fish are essential to tribal cultures and important to sport, commercial, and tribal fishing communities and economies throughout the Pacific Northwest. We can and must do better.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’ final EIS and NOAA Fisheries 2020 BiOp, currently litigated in Simon’s court, are the culmination of a National Environmental Policy Act process begun by court order in May 2016 when Simon rejected NOAA Fisheries’ 2014 BiOp.
In his opinion, Simon said the rejected BiOp “continues down the same well-worn and legally insufficient path” followed by previous recovery plans over the past 20 years and ordered a new BiOp that had the foundation and support of a full National Environmental Policy Act process.
In their latest challenge to 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.”
In their complaint, the plaintiffs noted the goals of the Columbia Basin Partnership and Northwest Power and Conservation Council, and stressed the struggles of Snake River salmon and steelhead listed under the ESA, saying that breaching of the Lower Snake dams is the path to recovery.
“The agreement had set us on a path to restore a strong fishing economy, honor tribal treaty rights and secure a bright future across the Northwest. Now that the Trump Administration has reneged on the agreement, we must find other ways to keep moving Columbia Basin restoration forward – and that includes returning to court,” said Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association Policy Director Liz Hamilton. “Losing our irreplaceable salmon would harm everyone, including the sportfishing industry that generates over $5 billion in economic output for the region, creating jobs for nearly 37,000. We won’t give up on these fish – and no one else should either.”
In its Motion to lift the stay, Earthjustice wrote that “The reasoning underpinning the Court’s decision to impose the stay has been nullified by recent events. The Court should lift the stay in this case and allow interested parties to proceed with the litigation.”
President Trump’s June 12 Memorandum rescinding the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement is here: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Generate Power for the Columbia River Basin – The White House
Earthjustice’s motion to lift the stay is here: 1404-motion-to-lift-stay-final.pdf
For background, see:
— CBB, August 11, 2025, After Withdrawal Of Biden Administration’s Basin Salmon MOU, Plaintiffs Tell Federal Court They Are Considering Next Steps, After Withdrawal Of Biden Administration’s Basin Salmon MOU, Plaintiffs Tell Federal Court They Are Considering Next Steps – 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/