Suit says floodplain building hurts salmon

At first it sounds like a stretch, but bear with us here: Environmentalists are pressing a suit in Oregon targeting federal flood insurance that they say harms salmon by encouraging building in floodplains. You see, the green roups already won a ruling to that effect in the Puget Sound region. (http://www.seattlepi.com/local/381087_endangered30.html)  Federal flood insurance should be denied to those building where rivers might jump or overflow, which harms the natural character of the river, the environmentalists argued in the Puget Sound case. That harms  salmon – and orcas that eat them, according to a decision by federal judge in Seattle. Both animals are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Now enviros are targeting the 32,000-plus flood insurance policies covering more than $6.8 billion in property in Oregon,  Phuong Le’s Associated Press story says. http://bit.ly/xrYwh