(Wide stance) Craig thwarted by Senate Democrats

Craig thwarted by Senate Democrats

By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press Writer Thu Dec 20, 4:37 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats thwarted Idaho Sen. Larry Craig's bid to use a federal spending bill to dictate water flow for Northwest salmon.

A bill approved by Congress removed a Craig-sponsored amendment directing the Bush administration to go forward with a policy on Northwest fish that a judge has twice ruled illegal.

"Endangered and threatened salmon and steelhead are vital to communities in the Northwest, and it is critical that we get the salmon protection plan right," said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who led the effort to remove a provision inserted by Craig, a Republican, in an earlier version of the spending bill.

The amendment would have directed the Interior Department to implement without further delay a salmon recovery plan issued by the Bush administration in 2005.

A federal judge ruled last year that the plan violated the Endangered Species Act because it did not do enough to promote recovery of threatened salmon. The policy by the National Marine Fisheries Service does not provide enough water to allow salmon to thrive and shifts the burden for recovery of the threatened fish to Oregon and Washington state, U.S. District Judge James Redden ruled.

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