For the second year in a row, the Snake River in Washington state has been declared the most endangered river in the U.S. by American Rivers. The enviro group is pushing the Clinton administration to call this summer for the breaching of four dams on the Snake to help threatened salmon runs recover. The feds are now studying the issue and are expected to make a recommendation on whether to breach later this year. Yesterday activists dropped off 120,000 cards and letters from people backing dam breaching at Vice President Al Gore’s office. American Rivers will release a full list of 10 endangered rivers on April 10, but the group wanted to make the Snake announcement prior to the March 31 close of the public comment period on the federal dams study. Meanwhile, Washington state lawmakers introduced bills in Congress yesterday that would channel $125 million to salmon restoration projects in Puget Sound.
