K.C. Mehaffey
Feb 26, 2026

U.S. District Judge Michael Simon has ordered higher spill at eight dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers beginning next month, but did not require lower reservoir levels compared to the last two years, or add nonoperational conservation measures, in a preliminary injunction issued Feb. 25.

Finding that the threats to Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead are “dire and immediate,” Simon also indicated that he will—in a forthcoming decision—deny a motion by federal agencies to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction due to the involvement of the Bonneville Power Administration (Clearing Up No. 2244).

“For decades, the battle for the life of threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead has not been fought at the end of a hook and line, nor in the woven threads of a fishing net, nor even based on the appetites of sea lions, avian predators, or killer whales. Instead, the greatest battle has been waged in the courts,” Simon lamented in his Feb. 25 opinion and order in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.

“It is reasonable to conclude that the listed species' prognosis is as bad as---or worse than it has ever been,” he wrote.

Plaintiffs in National Wildlife Federation et al. v. National Marine Fisheries Service et al. [01-640] filed the request for a preliminary injunction in October 2025, ending a five- to 10-year stay in the case. After the Trump administration withdrew from the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA), 10 conservation groups and the State of Oregon resumed the case by seeking a request for injunctive relief that would bring higher spill levels, lower reservoir elevations and require several nonoperational measures.

The preliminary injunction—if it stands—will dictate interim operations in the lower Snake and Columbia rivers until a final decision over the legality of the 2020 Columbia River System Operations record of decision and biological opinion is made.

Simon was careful to ensure that the injunction will not impact emergency protocols or prohibit the use of precoordinated operations and variances in the Fish Operations Plan.

Except for spill, Simon determined that many of the measures requested by plaintiffs were “outside of this Court's equitable authority to grant.”

Whether the order goes into effect this year may be up to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, as federal defendants indicated in prior filings that they will likely appeal Simon’s ruling.

With respect to spill, Simon said he was convinced that a draft 2026 Fish Operations Plan proposed by federal defendants would significantly change operations “in the wrong direction,” with spill levels below those proposed in the 2020 biological opinion.

“The Court agrees that doing nothing during the pendency of this litigation would not effectuate the congressional purpose behind the [Endangered Species Act],” he added.

With respect to reservoir levels, Simon ordered that this year, and until otherwise ordered by the court, reservoir forebay elevations will be operated under the same ranges used in 2025.

He noted that the plaintiffs’ request for nonoperational measures for steelhead kelt reconditioning, reduction of avian and nonnative fish predation, and Snake River Sockeye transportation are already included in the 2020 BiOp, so he “did not grant this requested relief, even though it would provide immediate benefit to the listed species.” He instead directed the federal defendants to file quarterly reports on the status of implementing those measures.

The decision is a temporary win for plaintiffs, and to some extent irrigators and other river users, but generally a loss for federal defendants and the hydropower industry, which will see reduced generation due to increased spill.

“The changes to the hydropower system ordered by the court today are immediate and reasonable steps to prevent salmon extinction,” said Amanda Goodin, senior supervising attorney for Earthjustice, which is representing the 10 conservation groups that sued. “Salmon need help now, and we’re encouraged the court has granted immediate, commonsense relief that will help protected imperiled Northwest salmon and steelhead,” she added.

Mike Leahy, senior director of wildlife, hunting and fishing policy for the National Wildlife Federation, added that returning to court was the only tool left to prevent the collapse of salmon populations after the Trump administration withdrew from the RCBA.

He added, “While these emergency measures are implemented, we’ll keep our eye on our long-term goal of helping the Tribes and the states restore Snake River salmon for the generations to come.”

Public-power advocates were disappointed by the ruling.

Scott Simms, CEO and executive director of the Public Power Council, said the Columbia River dams already operate under some of the most protective fish measures in the nation, supported by billions of dollars from public-power utilities over the decades.

“PPC is disappointed that the court adopted a sweeping operational injunction that will materially affect the region’s clean hydropower system and the millions of people who depend on it,” he said in a news release.

Simms also said PPC appreciates that the court declined to impose other measures included in the plaintiffs’ request and accepted PPC’s proposal to adopt the 2025 Fish Operations Plan spill regime at Ice Harbor and John Day dams during the summer.

“Our focus now is ensuring that the region can implement this order in a way that protects electric reliability and affordability while continuing to support fish recovery,” Simms said, adding, “Public power utilities will remain engaged in the legal process and in regional collaboration to pursue solutions that work for salmon, communities, and the Northwest economy.”

“Today’s order is both entirely unwelcome and entirely unsurprising,” Northwest Requirements Utilities Executive Director Zabyn Towner said in a news release.

Towner said NRU is pleased that the court included some moderating suggestions from intervenor-defendants as part of the preliminary injunction. However, he added, NRU “is continuing our review to analyze the financial and operational impacts of this decision, and to determine if it is appropriate to appeal all or part of it to a higher court.”

Darryll Olsen, Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association board representative, told Clearing Up in an email that the renewed litigation has been intense, but Simon seemed convinced that the CSRIA “brought a moderate, thoughtful tone to the lawsuit.”

Referring to the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the RCBA, Olsen said, “The Administration actions, encouraged by some of the regional industry groups, was a self-inflicted wound. Unwise.”

Olsen predicts that breaching the four lower Snake River dams will be back on the table soon.

“Whatever goodwill existed between the Plaintiffs and Defendants under the 2024 litigation Settlement Agreement had been trampled. The Judge’s ruling invokes more costs on the federal hydro system, and now a reinvigorated fight will recommence over dam breaching on the Lower Snake River,” he said.

The Inland Ports and Navigation Group said increasing spill will have systemwide implications across the 465-mile navigation channel, affecting navigation safety, commerce, energy reliability and irrigation.

In an email to Clearing Up, IPNG said it will continue to advocate modeling operational changes ordered by the courts prior to implementation to ensure changes will be safe for navigation and benefit fish.

“Adjustments to spill levels, flow regimes, or reservoir elevations can have significant safety implications for barge and passenger vessels transiting locks and dams. Real-time operational flexibility is essential to protecting river users and the communities that depend on this critical infrastructure,” IPNG Co-Chair Leslie Druffel said.

Simon’s order for spill involved some compromises as proposed by the Defendant-Intervenor Group, a joint defendant-intervenor coalition consisting of the Public Power Council; the states of Idaho and Montana; Inland Ports and Navigation Group; and Northwest Requirements Utilities.

For spring spill, Simon agreed to the levels requested by plaintiffs, which are the same levels implemented in 2024 and 2025, except at John Day Dam, where spill will be implemented for 24 hours a day.

For summer spill, the court adopted the 2025 Fish Operations Plan spill level for Ice Harbor and John Day dams—a change proposed by the Defendant-Intervenor Group.

For fall and winter spill, Simon approved the plaintiffs’ request to spill more water for longer hours and for more days, in various combinations at the dams, finding it “will provide immediate benefit to the listed species.”

With respect to the increased spill, Simon wrote, “The Court is unpersuaded by arguments that spill will create various catastrophic results. Defendants have raised these concerns each time spill is litigated without them coming to fruition. The majority of the spill has been implemented over the years without such negative repercussions, and the Court does not anticipate such calamities will ensue from the current spill order.