http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=648975The Bush administration is smarting after losing another round in an increasingly bitter battle over the fate of thousands of endangered river salmon in the American North-west.
A Federal appeals court decided on Tuesday to uphold an earlier decision requiring the operators of five federal dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers to release spills of water to help young salmon on their journey towards the Pacific.
The salmon runs have been blocked by the five dams, which generate hydro-electric power. It is estimated that about half of the salmon that attempt the journey down the Snake River in eastern Washington State towards the ocean in the early summer are lost because of the dams.
The federal agency that runs the dams, the Bonneville Power Authority, had opposed the spills, arguing that they would cost $67m (£37m) in lost generation capacity.