Salmo, I was citing information i read in a 2013 book by Riffe native Buddy Rose. The book is titled Stories From Riffe,Wash.
In 1951 ,the examiner for the FPC,William J. Costello, denied Tacoma's application for the dams. He said Tacoma could get power they needed from from the BPA and that their plans to protect the river's fish resources were inadequate.
Costello was overruled by the head of the FPC, Monrad Wallgren, in 1951. Wallgren was a former Governor of Washington as well as a U.S. Representative and Senator.He had been appointed chair of the FPC 1950 during the Tacoma hearings there with help from Washington's Senator Harry Cain, a former Mayor of Tacoma. Cain was,understandably, a staunch supporter of Tacoma's Cowlitz dams. Within a month after the ruling in favor of Tacoma,Wallgren resigned as chairman and retired from public office.
Maybe I am going out on a limb to say he was in the pocket of the dam interests, but that is my opinion.

In Roy Wilson's book , History of the Cowlitz Tribe, he states that the tribe filed suit against the dams and Tacoma because of the waters covering up burial sites and important ritualistic areas. They pointed out where these were located and they won the first decision in 1950. This was overturned and Tacoma ordered to relocate the remains. This did not happen.
I for one would hope the Cowlitz tribe would pursue the matter of fishing rights and if they did win those rights, be a new voice in how the (mis-) management of the Cowlitz runs would be handled.