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<P><B>Judge won't pull coho protections</B>
<P>By John Driscoll The Times-Standard
<P>Wednesday, January 12, 2005 -
<P>An Oregon judge on Tuesday denied a request by the Pacific Legal Foundation
to remove <BR>protections for coho salmon in the Klamath River Basin.
<P>With roots in the wrangling over water for fish and farms in the basin, it's
the second case of its <BR>kind recently brought against the federal government.
The ruling is being hailed as a victory for <BR>American Indian tribes and
fishing interests in the lower basin.
<P>Judge Michael Hogan ruled from the U.S. District Court bench in Eugene, Ore.,
that although the <BR>Endangered Species Act listing of the region's coho salmon
was legally deficient, the protections <BR>should remain until the federal
government issues its new policy on hatchery born salmon.
<P>That final decision is expected this summer. The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric <BR>Administration has recommended reinstating protection for the
coho.
<P>Yurok Tribe Executive Director Troy Fletcher said he believes the tribe's
attorneys were able to <BR>show that the Indian fishery in the Klamath would be
harmed by removing protection for the <BR>coho.
<P>"The judge properly left the listing in place, partly because of the effect
it would have on tribal <BR>fisheries," Fletcher said.
<P>He said the Endangered Species Act protections are an important tool in
holding the line against <BR>further degradation of the river.
<P>The Yurok Tribe intervened in the case.
<P>The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation operates its central Oregon-California border
irrigation project in <BR>a balancing act between endangered species, irrigators
and wildlife refuges.
<P>In 2001, the bureau for the first time shut off water to many of the Upper
Klamath Basin's farms <BR>to provide water to salmon and endangered suckers,
prompting protests from irrigators. The <BR>following year the bureau crimped
water to the river to deliver full supplies to farms, and <BR>34,000 to 68,000
salmon died -- including some coho.
<P>Glen Spain with the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations --
which also intervened <BR>-- called the suit an attempt by irrigators to grab
more water from the river without regard to <BR>threatened fish.
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