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A Dam Shame? by Staff Mother Nature Network, September 16, 2009

President Obama disappointed conservationists Tuesday by mostly sticking with his predecessor, President Bush, in crafting a recovery plan for the long-suffering Pacific Northwest salmon. Critics say the new plan doesn't do enough to improve habitats or raise water levels where the fish live and migrate throughout the Columbia River Basin, and also argue it should take more immediate action in exploring whether to tear down four dams along the Lower Snake River. The plan leaves such dam closures open as a "last resort" if salmon populations plummet far enough, but even then it would have to wait on a multiyear study to determine how much removing the dams would help salmon populations. Removing dams is an especially tricky maneuver now, as the Obama administration is pushing clean energy, like hydroelectricity, over heavy-polluting power sources such as coal.

(Sources: Los Angeles Times, NY Times)