You wonder what they really expected. Maybe they hoped that by now President Obama’s environmentally sensitive and righteously wise appointees would be planning the first Snake River dynamiting ceremony at Lower Granite. Maybe former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt would push the plunger.

Not yet. The appointees of President Obama Tuesday released the latest revision of the latest plan to protect and recover endangered Northwest salmon. To the shock and dismay of many environmentalists, it turned out to be not so very different than the last salmon recovery plan submitted during the Bush administration. Breaching the four Snake River dams, the ultimate goal for many that must “rise to the top” if any salmon plan is to be acceptable, was placed “back on the table.” But dam breaching is only a contingency, a last resort, an act of desperation that looks very unlikely. The Obama administration policy on dam breaching is this: “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will prepare a study plan to develop scope, budget and schedule of studies needed regarding potential breaching of the lower Snake River dams.” This will happen “starting immediately.” So there will be a study of a plan to study what is needed for a plan. Now that’s a solid commitment.

Tuesday’s development was just one more move in two decades of salmon restoration efforts conducted mostly in federal courtrooms. There are 13 species of Columbia and Snake River salmon and steelhead listed for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The law requires the government to compile a plan to operate federal facilities so as not to drive these to extinction. It is called the “Biological Opinion,” or the “BiOp,” a far-reaching and complex document that outlines how the many dams in the Northwest will operate, what will be done to protect salmon, when we may make electricity and when we may not, and who pays for the entire project. It will affect every human being in four Northwest states, and then some.

The traditional pattern over the years is that the plan is proposed, lawsuits filed, it is rejected by a judge as inadequate, then it is revised, lawsuits filed, then it is rejected again. In the recent cycle there was new hope, since the plan was revised and broadened and subjected to a wide collaborative effort with previously antagonistic states and tribes. Many endorsed the plan, which calls for $1 billion a year in salmon restoration efforts paid for mostly by electric ratepayers. It was opposed by environmentalists, the Nez Perce tribe and the state of Oregon. All sued. Federal Judge James Redden of Portland, a veteran rejecter of salmon plans dating back to the Clinton administration, first said the new plan was “close” to being good enough. Then, in May, he sent a letter saying he had “serious reservations.” The Obama administration, new on the scene, was given time to study the matter, revise and report back.

Which it did Tuesday. The Obama plan, it turns out, is a beefed up version of the Bush plan. Jane Lubchenco, a Ph.D marine ecologist now the administrator of NOAA, overseer of fisheries, said “This plan is scientifically sound and precautionary. It is flexible enough to adapt to future changes, specific enough to tell us when immediate actions are needed, and forward-looking enough so that it will remain effective over its 10-year lifespan. For the sake of the people and fish of the Northwest, it’s time to set this plan in motion.” Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said the BiOp is “backed by sound science and tremendous state and tribal support, will help preserve the vibrancy and vitality of the Columbia and Snake River basins for generations to come.”

Opponents cringed. Obama’s people had “embraced” Bush policies, they said. “The government has failed completely.” They will tell that to Judge Redden.

And Judge Redden awaits. The changes to the BiOp appear specifically designed to appease him. He will decide soon whether efforts to restore salmon continue to take place in his courtroom, or in the rivers.

Tracy Warner’s column appears Tuesday through Friday. He can be reached at warner@wenworld.com or 665-1163.