ELR Citation: 51 ELR 20171
No(s). 3:18-cv-00437-HZ (D. Or. Sep 1, 2021) (Hernández, J.)

A district court granted interim injunctive relief for environmental groups in a lawsuit concerning the Army Corps of Engineers' operation of dams in the Willamette River Basin. The groups sought injunctive relief to remedy the Corps' substantive and procedural ESA violations previously found by the court but yet to be resolved by the agency, namely jeopardizing the survival and recovery of listed salmonids in the basin, "taking" the species in excess of a 2008 biological opinion's incidental take statement, and delaying reinitiating consultation. The court found the groups were entitled to interim injunctive measures that would improve fish passage and water quality in the basin, and ordered the Corps to take specific interim measures to protect the listed species.