A federal judge in Oregon has ordered dams that operate on the Columbia and Snake rivers to generate less hydropower and allow more water to pass in an effort to keep salmon populations from dying out.

“A federal judge in Oregon has ordered dams that operate on the Columbia and Snake rivers to generate less hydropower and allow more water to pass in an effort to keep salmon populations from dying out…

““One of the foundational symbols of the West, a critical recreational, cultural, and economic driver for Western states, and the beating heart and guaranteed resource protected by treaties with several Native American tribes is disappearing from the landscape,” [U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon] wrote of Columbia River salmon in the 101-page order Wednesday. “And yet the litigation continues in much the same way as it has for 30 years.””