The Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River. A court battle has been revived over how Lower Granite and seven other dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers operate.
May 15, 2019
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October 16, 2025 5:29 p.m.
Renewed legal battle ramps up over Columbia Basin dams and salmon
A long-running court battle over how to balance protections for endangered fish with hydropower dams in the Columbia River Basin has resumed after a two-year pause. Conservationists, anglers and clean energy groups, along with the state of Oregon, asked a federal court Tuesday to grant a preliminary injunction that would change how eight dams on the lower Columbia and Snake rivers operate. They argue that these changes would improve the conditions for salmon and steelhead survival.