A coalition of environmental groups filed a motion in mid-September in a district court to end a pause on litigation to protect wild salmon and steelhead fish from dams in the Columbia Basin.
The states of Oregon and Washington and several Tribes joined the request to lift the stay. The Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement was signed in December 2023 by the federal government, Oregon and Washington, the four lower Columbia Basin Treaty Tribes and Earthjustice plaintiffs, which paused the litigation.
The agreement paused litigation for five years as long as the federal government worked with the states and Tribes on a plan to restore the basin’s fish. In June, the Trump administration withdrew the agreement.
