Senate Democrats thwarted Idaho Sen. Larry Craig's bid to use a federal spending bill to dictate water flow for Northwest salmon.
A bill approved by Congress removed a Craig-sponsored amendment directing the Bush administration to go forward with a policy on Northwest fish that a judge
has twice ruled illegal
"Endangered and threatened salmon and steelhead are vital to communities in the Northwest, and it is critical that we get the salmon protection plan right," said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who led the effort to remove a provision inserted by Craig, a Republican, in an earlier version of the spending bill.
The amendment would have directed the Interior Department to implement without further delay a salmon recovery plan issued by the Bush administration in 2005.
A federal judge ruled last year that the plan violated the Endangered Species Act because it did not do enough to promote recovery of threatened salmon. The policy by the National Marine Fisheries Service does not provide enough water to allow salmon to thrive and shifts the burden for recovery of the threatened fish to Oregon and Washington state, U.S. District Judge James Redden ruled.
The order marked the second time that Redden has overturned Bush administration salmon policy. Redden ordered federal officials to submit a new plan that would balance demands of dams and threatened or endangered fish runs in the Columbia and Snake rivers.
"For over two years, local, state, federal and tribal authorities have worked in a court-ordered collaborative process to develop a plan to protect the Columbia and Snake River salmon plan," Cantwell said.
Working with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., "we were able to ensure that independent judicial process is not undermined by congressional intervention," Cantwell said.
In a statement issued by the entire Idaho congressional delegation, Craig, fellow Republican Sen. Mike Crapo and GOP Reps. Mike Simpson and Bill Sali said the Bush administration's salmon policy remains intact, despite Redden's ruling.
"The language we worked to insert into the omnibus appropriations bill was meant to reaffirm Congress's commitment to the law of the land," the statement said. "Regardless, the law still stands, and we hope that federal judges pay attention to that because it is our best hope to restore salmon and maintain our economy."
Democrats and salmon advocates said the new spending bill would protect and restore salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake rivers. The two rivers span Idaho, Washington state, Oregon, Montana and Wyoming, as well as parts of Canada.
http://rainforest.care2.com/i?p=583091674
or was the comment there when quoted the posting 
:wink: 
:wink: 
