US District Judge Redden of the Oregon District has invalidated the 2004 Biological Opinion Re Columbia & Snake River Salmon

In a May 26, 2005 Opinion and Order concerning the fourth biological opinion issued by NOAA covering operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System (DAMS) in the Columbia and Lower SnakeRivers, the Court found

that the 2004BiOp is legally flawed in four respects: (1) the improper segregation of the elements of the proposed action NOAA deems to be nondiscretionary; (2) the comparison, rather than the aggregation, of the effects of the proposed action; (3) the flawed critical habitat determinations; and (4) the failure to consult adequately on both recovery and survival in the jeopardy determination.

The two attachments to this Opinion and Order contain interesting information on previous Biological Opinions and the salmon species under consideration.