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Northwest Salmon Dam Dispute Returns to Court by Mary Hudetz, Associated Press The Seattle Times, March 6, 2009

PORTLAND, Ore. - A federal judge has begun to hear arguments in a dispute over how to balance energy and utility needs in the Columbia Basin with the restoration of imperiled salmon and steelhead.

The federal government has submitted a new plan for meeting the needs of salmon as well as people who use hydropower produced by dams on the Columbia.'

Environmentalists say the government plan does too little to protect fish. The state of Oregon and the Nez Perce Tribe also oppose the plan.

But federal officials note the new plan has been backed by Idaho, Washington and Montana and by most Columbia River tribes - a new development in the longrunning argument.