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Tribe, Fishing Groups Sue Over Klamath River Water Allocations

/in , /by /Jefferson Public Radio (Ashland, Ore.)by Jes Burns

Fishing groups and tribes have filed a lawsuit challenging new endangered species protection guidelines for the Klamath River. The suit targets the biological opinion, which is an assessment of how the Bureau of Reclamation manages river flow, irrigation water and levels in Upper Klamath Lake to ensure protection of coho salmon and two species of sucker fish. The newest opinion was finalized earlier this year. The lawsuit filed by the Yurok Tribe, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and the Institute for Fisheries Resource says the biological opinion is too permissive, allowing irrigation withdrawals at the expense of fish.

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Interior Department Pulls Support From Klamath Dam Removal Project

/in , /by /Jefferson Public Radio (Redding, Calif.)by Liam Moriarty

The Trump Administration has withdrawn the previous administration’s support for the removal of four dams on the Klamath River in Southern Oregon and Northern California. Recently-appointed Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has rescinded a letter of support that Obama-era Interior Secretary Sally Jewell wrote in 2016. Jewell’s letter threw the agency’s weight behind the plan to take out four Klamath River dams to help threatened salmon and other fish. Matt Cox is with the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, the non-profit formed to implement the dam removal agreement. He says rescinding Jewell’s letter has no legal effect.

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