| U.S. Court Protects Fish | 23 April 08 |
 A United States federal court ruling has stopped a controversial water plan that would endanger five species of protected salmon and steelhead trout within the California Delta. Judge Oliver W. Wanger invalidated a 2004 long-term water plan to pump water out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to farms and cities of California. The delta is the largest and most significant estuary on the West Coast. A National Marine Fisheries Service (NMSF) study indicated diverting water from the bay-delta was killing huge numbers of salmon and 66 percent of Central Valley steelhead. NMSF found that "current operations result in the loss of 42 percent of the juvenile winter-run Chinook population, and proposed project effects are expected to result in an additional 3 to 20 percent loss." "With his decision today, Judge Wanger has placed salmon survival back at the center of California's struggle to protect our natural heritage," said Earthjustice Attorney Mike Sherwood. View April 16, 2008 USA Federal Court Decision (PDF) View April 16, 2008 Indymedia article View April 16, 2008 Earthjustice press release View April 17, 2008 The Oregonian article View April 17, 2008 San Francisco Chronicle article Sources: Earth Justice, Indymedia, The Oregonian, San Francisco Chronicle |
|
 Print version |
Top |
