Delegation Reacts To Upper Snake Lawsuit Announcement

Washington, DC â?? Idahoâ??s Congressional Delegation issued the following statement today regarding the announcement of further court action regarding the operation of dams along the Upper Salmon River in eastern Idaho: â??Historically, Idahoâ??s dams hold back water for irrigators, and Idaho has already agreed to send 427,000 acre feet of water down the river for salmon and steelhead recovery in years where the water is available. Weâ??d prefer the model of collaboration and consensus seen in efforts like the Snake River Basin Adjudication (SRBA) which solved many pending court cases over water rights. Lawsuits like the one filed today go against the spirit of the SRBA Agreement. These kinds of attacks in court will engender counter-attacks. The end result will be to crowd out solutions that might otherwise flourish through negotiation and collaboration.â??