"Finding the keys to managing risks to salmon and steelhead the length of the Columbia River system could use less lawyering and something more akin to a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Yes, the name comes from the South African panel formed to reconcile decades of apartheid. Get all the grievances and hard feelings in one room, and work them out.

U.S. District Court Judge James Redden issued a 24-page ruling Tuesday that slapped down another federal plan for operating the economic interests of the Columbia and Snake rivers, while working to save endangered fish.

Redden has seen and heard it all over the years, and the frustration shows. The judge can tick off the excuses and stalls, from no plans, no water, no money, dams do not count and farmed fish count as wild."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Columbia River salmon plans: The judge is not amused (The Seattle Times 8/4)

Also Today:
Federal judge shoots down plan for Columbia River Basin dams and salmon for third time (The Oregonian 8/3)