Enviros Sue Feds Over Decline Of Willamette River Salmon And Steelhead

"A pair of dams in Lane County are at the heart of a lawsuit focused on declines of salmon and steelhead in the Willamette River and its tributaries.

Cougar Dam near Blue River and Lookout Point Dam near Lowell both should have a way for the ocean-going fish to swim past them added by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, contend the Native Fish Society, Northwest Environmental Defense Center and Wildearth Guardians. The conservation groups Tuesday filed the suit in Portland’s federal court, saying the agency that operates the dams is neglecting required improvements.

Chinook salmon and steelhead remain cut off from key spawning habitat as a result, said Mark Sherwood, executive director of the Native Fish Society in Oregon City. “The corps is not doing what they are supposed to doing,” he said."

Dylan Darling reports for the Eugene Register-Guard March 14, 2018.