ELR Citation: 51 ELR 20079
No(s). 1:21-cv-00556-CL (D. Or. May 6, 2021) (McShane, J.)

A district court denied a Native American tribe's request to limit water releases from the Upper Klamath Lake to protect two endangered sucker fish species. The tribe argued that the Bureau of Reclamation's plan to regulate water in the Klamath Basin violated the ESA by allowing the lake's water levels to fall below the level necessary for sucker fish spawning, and sought a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to reduce water releases from the lake. The court found that while the lake's water levels had fallen outside the scope of what was considered in FWS' and NMFS' biological opinions due to an exceptionally dry year, the Bureau had taken proactive steps to keep levels as high as possible by engaging in ongoing consultation with the Services as required by the biological opinions and by creating temporary operating procedures to adapt to the drought conditions. It denied the tribe's motions for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.