As governor, Kempthorne led the charge to strip protection from 60 million acres of America's last wild forests and he's consistently fought against protection for wildlife like grizzly bears and salmon in his home state of Idaho. |
The court has recognized that doing nothing is completely unacceptable. The ball is squarely in the federal agencies' court to come up with a plan that makes the major changes in dams and dam operations that our region needs. |
This ruling is important because it rejects a pretty extreme view of property rights and water law. |
Water is a resource that has to be shared and does not belong to one group. And there has to be a fair balance about how it's used. |
We think that the salmon and the people who depend on them in this region have waited too long for a plan that complies with the law. If the federal agencies want more than a year, they're going to need to show some real leadership. That's what people in this region deserve. |