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<P><B>Klamath coho listing ruled illegal but protection stays for now</B>
<P>By JEFF BARNARD <BR>The Associated Press <BR>1/11/2005, 4:42 p.m. PT
<P>GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that coho salmon in
the Klamath <BR>River should not have been listed as a threatened species
without taking into account <BR>hatchery fish along with wild, but let stand the
Endangered Species Act protection pending a <BR>federal review.
<P>In a repeat of his 2001 finding that struck down protection for Oregon
coastal coho over the <BR>lack of genetic distinction between hatchery and wild
salmon, U.S. District Judge Michael <BR>Hogan ruled from the bench in Eugene in
favor of a lawsuit brought by property rights <BR>advocates challenging
threatened species status for coho salmon in a region of Northern <BR>California
and Southern Oregon that includes the Klamath and Rogue rivers.
<P>However, he granted a motion from NOAA Fisheries to let stand the threatened
species listing <BR>until the agency completes a comprehensive review of 26 West
Coast salmon listings <BR>prompted by the Oregon coastal coho ruling.
<P>That review, which considers hatchery fish along with wild, is expected to be
finished this <BR>June, said NOAA Fisheries spokesman Brian Gorman.
<P>The ruling affects coho in the Klamath River, where agricultural and fishing
groups and <BR>Indian tribes have been fighting over scarce water since the Bush
administration was forced <BR>by the Endangered Species Act in 2001 to shut off
water to farmers on the Klamath <BR>Reclamation Project to assure water for
threatened and endangered fish.
<P>NOAA Fisheries has already said it expects Klamath coho to retain threatened
species listing.
<P>Hogan allowed the plaintiffs, the California State Grange and Oregon State
Grange, to return <BR>to court if they are harmed by any actions based on the
listing, such as a repeat of the 2001 <BR>irrigation water cutbacks, said
Russell Brooks, an attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation, a <BR>property
rights public interest law firm that represents them.
<P>Brooks said the ruling left plaintiffs well situated to resume their
challenges of Endangered <BR>Species Act protections for salmon after the new
listings are issued this June.
<P>Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, which
represents <BR>California commercial fishermen and was an intervener in the
case, said it was an empty <BR>victory for property rights advocates.
<P>"I would say this is a victory of common sense over denial and efforts to
grab more water in <BR>the river," Spain said.
<P>Brooks added that they were considering appealing the case in hopes of
winning a U.S. <BR>Supreme Court ruling that would leave judges with no option
to let the threatened species <BR>status stand in future cases. A rule in force
in the West Coast jurisdiction of the 9th U.S. <BR>Circuit Court of appeals
allows that option. <BR>
<P>Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be <BR>published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. <BR>
<P>Copyright 2005 Oregon Live. All Rights Reserved.
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