Federal court: Salmon must have protection from warm water
PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal court has ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must come up with a plan to protect salmon from warm water temperatures, which can be fatal for the fish species. ‘
Oregon Public Broadcasting reports Thursday that record-high water temperatures in rivers across the Pacific Northwest in 2015 led environmental groups to sue the agency.
That summer, around 250,000 adult sockeye died in the Columbia and Snake rivers.
The threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead can die if water gets above 70 degrees.