Under pressure from enviros, the feds yesterday proposed an endangered species listing for wild Atlantic salmon in eight Maine rivers. Thousands of salmon once swam up the rives from the Atlantic Ocean to spawn, but this year fisheries biologists counted only 29 adult salmon in the rivers. Under the proposal, the feds would have more authority to regulate fish farming, agricultural irrigation, and other threats to fish and their habitat. Still, enviros said it could be 15 months or more before federal protection actually takes effect and they pledged to press forward with a lawsuit to require immediate emergency listing. Maine Gov. Angus King (I) and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R) criticized the proposed listing and said it would impose hardships on Maine residents.
