Judge weighs fate of Montana water in his hands

Montana officials are paying close attention to a federal judge in Oregon who this week could substantially change summer operations at Libby and Hungry Horse Dams.

U.S. District Court Judge James Redden is holding a hearing Friday to consider immediate actions following his ruling last week that struck down the federal government's plan for assuring that the Columbia and Snake river hydrosystem doesn't jeopardize the survival of 12 salmon and steelhead stocks.

It was the second time in the last four years that a federal judge has found fatal flaws in "biological opinions" aimed at implementing protections for the fish under the Endangered Species Act.

In a 45-page order, Redden supported all claims made by plaintiffs in the case, which included the state of Oregon and a coalition of 15 fishing and conservation groups.

To improve conditions for salmon and steelhead in the lower Columbia River system, the plaintiffs are requesting in part that an additional 200,000 acre feet of water be released from Lake Koocanusa and an additional 50,000 acre feet be released from Hungry Horse Reservoir in July and August.

Redden will consider those and other requests for injunctive relief at Friday's hearing.

"That's the potential if the plaintiffs are given what they want," said Bruce Measure, one of Montana's representives on the Northwest Power Conservation Council.

Measure said those changes could run counter to efforts the state of Montana has pursued for years to improve ecological conditions above and below the Montana dams. Mainly, Montana officials have fought to end dam operations that result in "double peak" flows on the Flathead and Kootenai rivers.

For much of the 1990s, flows naturally ramped up on both rivers in the spring, but then they were ramped up again, in an entirely unnatural fashion, during the late summer to provide "flow augmentation" for migrating salmon in the lower Columbia.

Montana biologists have steadily built convincing scientific data showing how double peak operations hurt the Flathead and Kootenai rivers, along with protected populations of white sturgeon and bull trout.

Meanwhile, there is no conclusive evidence that flow augmentation helps salmon in the lower Columbia River.

The additional flows requested by the plaintiffs "might also cause those goofy double peaking operations that we had in the past," Measure said.

Greg Hoffman, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers biologist at Libby Dam, said drawing an additional 200,000 acre feet from Lake Koocanusa would definitely make a difference on the Kootenai River.

Current projections for the river call for flows running at a stable 14,000 cubic feet per second from June through the end of August, with the reservoir dropping to 20 feet below full pool by the end of summer.

According to the Corps Reservoir Control Center in Portland, providing an addtional 200,000 acre feet translates to flows being maintained at 15,700 cubic feet per second all summer, and the reservoir dropping 25 feet below full pool.

The problem with that, Hoffman said, is that when flows are reduced from 15,700 to the minimum flow of 4,000 cubic feet per second in September, the Kootenai River is dewatered to a greater degree, with biological consequences.

The same holds for the South Fork Flathead River above its confluence with the main stem of the Flathead River.

"That type of dewatering could be expected to significantly increase" if an additional 50,000 acre feet is tapped from Hungry Horse Reservoir, Measure said. "The dewatering effect you would get in the fall would be more severe."

But Measure said the Kootenai River, in particular, is bearing multiple burdens that may be too much. Flows have been fluctuating over the last few weeks to provide additional water intended to improve spawning conditions for white sturgeon upstream from Bonners Ferry.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com