TWIN FALLS, Idaho — The waterfalls known as the "Niagara of the West" roared back to life this week for the first time in six years with the release of water from upstream dams to aid salmon migration.

The increased flow over the 214-foot-high Shoshone Falls followed an unseasonably rainy spring in southern Idaho that filled reservoirs in the Upper Snake River Basin to more than 80 percent of capacity.

That allowed the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to release additional water. It's the first time since 2001 that the dam management agency has been able to provide the full amount of water set forth in a federal-tribal agreement. The drought period stretched back to 1999.

"Compared to all the mountains, rivers and canyons we've seen, I think this is the most impressive," said June Burelison of Winchester, Ind., who was visiting the falls on Thursday with her husband.

Source: Associated Press