Idaho Evans v. Oregon and Washington

• Citation: 100 S.Ct. 616,444 U.S. 380,62 L.Ed.2d 564
• Decision Date: 21 January 1980
• Docket Number: No. 67,O,67
• Parties: State of IDAHO ex rel. John V. EVANS, Governor; David H. Leroy, Attorney General; Joseph C. Greenley, Director, Department of Fish and Game, Plaintiffs, v. States of OREGON AND WASHINGTON. rig
• Court: United States Supreme Court

444 U.S. 380

100 S.Ct. 616

62 L.Ed.2d 564

State of IDAHO ex rel. John V. EVANS, Governor; David H. Leroy, Attorney General; Joseph C. Greenley, Director, Department of Fish and Game, Plaintiffs,

v States of OREGON AND WASHINGTON.

No. 67, Orig.

Argued Nov. 26, 1979.

Decided Jan. 21, 1980.

Syllabus

Held : Failure to join the United States as a party to Idaho's action against Oregon and Washington to secure equitable apportionment of various runs of anadromous fish migrating between spawning grounds in Idaho and the Pacific Ocean, will not prevent this Court from entering an adequate judgment. Pp. 387-393.

(a) None of the federal interests cited by the Special Master as rendering impossible an adequate judgment in the absence of the United States as a party—the Government's control over the ocean fishery on the runs of the fish at issue, its management of the various dams that separate the spawning grounds in Idaho from the Pacific Ocean, and its role as trustee for the various Indian tribes with treaty rights in the fish at issue—constitutes a sufficient reason for dismissing the action for the failure to join the United States as the Special Master recommends. Arizona v. California, 298 U.S. 558, 56 S.Ct. 848, 80 L.Ed. 1331, and Texas v. New Mexico, 352 U.S. 991, 77 S.Ct. 552, 1 L.Ed.2d 540, distinguished. Pp. 387-391.

(b) Washington's additional argument in favor of dismissing the complaint that any allocation of nontreaty fish to Idaho would abrogate an agreement between the Indian tribes and Oregon and Washington for managing the fish originating in the Columbia River System, is without merit, since such agreement only divides the available fish between treaty and nontreaty fishermen and does not purport to allocate the nontreaty share among the various States. Pp. 391-392.

(c) Washington's further assertion that for some time few if any fish have been taken from the runs at issue and that hence any further restrictions on fishing in zones open to commercial fishermen will have no appreciable effect upon the number of fish arriving in Idaho, goes to the merits of Idaho's claim and has little or nothing to do with the need to join the United States as a party. P. 392.

Exceptions to Special Master's report sustained, and case remanded.

David H. Leroy, Atty. Gen., Boise, Idaho, for plaintiffs.

James A. Redden, Atty. Gen., Salem, Or., for respondent, State of oregon.

Slade Gorton, Atty. Gen., Olympia, Wash., for respondent, State of Washington.

Louis F. Claiborne, Asst. Sol. Gen., Washington, D. C., for the United States, as amicus curiae, by special leave of Court.

Mr. Justice REHNQUIST delivered the opinion of the Court.

Invoking this Court's original jurisdiction, the State of Idaho brought suit against the States of Oregon and Washington to secure equitable apportionment of various runs of anadromous fish migrating between spawning grounds in Idaho and the Pacific Ocean. We granted Idaho leave to file its complaint, but left open the questions whether that complaint stated a claim upon which relief may be granted and whether the United States was an indispensable party to the action. 429 U.S. 163, 97 S.Ct. 544, 50 L.Ed.2d 371 (1976). We later referred the action to a Special Master. 431 U.S. 952, 97 S.Ct. 2671, 53 L.Ed.2d 268 (1977). On February 2, 1979, the Special Master recommended that Idaho's action be dismissed for failure to join the United States, but that the dismissal be without prejudice to Idaho's right to refile its suit at some later date if it is wholly unable to obtain a remedy through negotiation with Oregon and Washington. Idaho has filed exceptions to that recommendation.

I

The Snake River rises in northwest Wyoming and flows across southern Idaho, eventually turning northward and forming the boundary between Idaho and Oregon for approximately 165 miles and between Idaho and Washington for approximately 30 miles. It then turns westward and enters Washington, whence it proceeds for approximately 100 miles to its confluence with the Columbia River. The Columbia River rises in British Columbia and flows southward through eastern Washington to its confluence with the Snake River. Just below that confluence it turns westward, forming the boundary between Oregon and Washington until it empties into the Pacific Ocean 270 miles downstream.

Numerous species of anadromous fish spawn in the gravel bars of the Columbia/Snake River System. After remaining in their hatch area for approximately two years, these fish migrate downstream to the Pacific Ocean, where they spend anywhere from one to four years. Near the end of their life cycle the anadromous fish return to the Columbia River and migrate upstream toward the waters of their origin to spawn. At issue in the present case are three particular runs of anadromous fish: spring chinook salmon, summer chinook salmon, and steelhead trout. To a significant extent, these three runs originate in, and would return to, spawning grounds within the State of Idaho.

A number of manmade conditions have combined with natural obstacles to deplete seriously the number of fish that return to Idaho successfully. During both their downstream and upstream migrations, anadromous fish originating in Idaho must cross a series of eight dams built and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The Bonneville Dam, built in 1938, lies closest to the mouth of the Columbia River. Fish crossing the Bonneville Dam on their way to Idaho also encounter the Dalles Dam, the John Day Dam, the McNary Dam, the Ice Harbor Dam, the Lower Monumental Dam, the Little Goose Dam, and, finally, the Lower Granite Dam. During their downstream migration, of course, the fish cross these dams in the reverse order.

At each of these dams, a portion of the water is released through turbines used to generate hydroelectric power. Water passing through these turbines is not conducive to either the "smolts" migrating downstream or the mature fish migrating upstream. Each dam is therefore equipped with a spillway, over which smolts can pass, and a "fish ladder," up which mature fish can climb. Because water sent over the spillways or fish ladders is not available to generate power, and because river conditions vary over time, the Corps of Engineers ¹ is often faced with a choice between generating power and facilitating migration. Even under optimal conditions, when the Corps can allocate adequate water to the spillways and the fish ladders, those mechanisms themselves will cause a significant number of mortalities among migrating fish.

In addition to confronting these hurdles, anadromous fish afford a catch for both sport and commercial fishermen. The Federal Government regulates the ocean fishery in a zone stretching seaward from 3 to 200 miles from the seacoast. See Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976, 16 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq. Within the 3-mile limit and throughout their in-river migrations, however, the anadromous fish are the subject of state regulation.

In 1918, with the consent of Congress, Oregon and Washington entered into the Oregon-Washington Columbia River Fish Compact, ch. 47, 40 Stat. 515. The Compact attempts to assure uniformity in the regulation of anadromous fish in the Columbia River by preventing either State from altering its fishing regulations without the consent of the other State. Pursuant to this Compact, Oregon and Washington have divided the Columbia River below the McNary Dam into six zones, with Zones 1 through 5 stretching between the Pacific Ocean and the Bonneville Dam and Zone 6 stretching between the Bonneville Dam and the McNary Dam. Idaho has attempted on a number of occasions to become a party to the Compact, but its efforts thus far have been unsuccessful.

In 1968, a number of Indian tribes who fished along the Columbia River brought suit against Oregon to protect fishing rights allegedly granted them under various treaties with the United States. See Sohappy v. Smith, 302 F.Supp. 899 (D.C.Or.1969). The District Court concluded that Oregon was obligated to structure its regulations so that the Indians would have "an opportunity to catch fish at their usual and accustomed places equal to that of other users to catch fish at locations preferred by them or by the state." Id., at 910. The suit remained pending in the District Court, and, in 1974, Washington moved to intervene as a defendant. Eventually, the District Court determined that the treaties in question gave the Indians a right to 50% of the fish taken from the Columbia River. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed this determination. See Sohappy v. Smith, 529 F.2d 570 (1976).

On February 25, 1977, the parties in the Sohappy litigation entered into a 5-year agreement for managing the fisheries on stocks of anadromous fish originating in the Columbia River System above the Bonneville Dam. Under the agreement, Zones 1 through 5 are open to all commercial fishermen. Zone 6, which extends from the Bonneville Dam 130 miles upstream to the McNary Dam, is restricted for use by Indians fishing pursuant to their treaty rights. A "technical advisory committee" estimates the number of fish in various runs entering the Columbia River "destined to pass [the] Bonneville Dam." An agreed-upon "escapement" for spawning is subtracted from this total in-river run size; the remaining fish in the run are then allocated between treaty and nontreaty fishermen. Thus, for spring chinook salmon, one of the runs at issue here, the plan sets an escapement goal of 120,000 fish passing into Zone 6.² Where the run size exceeds the escapement goal by less than 30,000 fish, no nontreaty fishermen may take spring chinook salmon at any time before the fish pass into the Snake River on the other side of Zone 6. Where the run size exceeds the escapement goal by more than 30,000 fish, nontreaty fishermen may take 60% of that excess while treaty fishermen may take 40%. Other...