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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT size=3><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><STRONG>Court Allows Salmon Advocates To Participate in
Case by Klamath Irrigators</STRONG> <BR><B>Seeking Taxpayer Money</B>
</FONT></FONT>
<P><B>Court recognizes fishermen's stake in outcome of farmers' bid for
federal</B> <BR><B>compensation</B>
<P>February 28th, 2005
<P><B><A
href="http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=961">http://www.earthjustice.org/news/display.html?ID=961</A></B>
<BR>Contact Info: <BR>Todd True, Earthjustice, 206-343-7340 x 30 <BR>Glen Spain,
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, 541-689-2000
<P>Washington DC-- In a case with a billion taxpayer dollars at stake, a federal
claims court has <BR>ruled that commercial salmon fishermen have the right to
fully participate and defend against <BR>Klamath irrigators seeking compensation
for receiving less than 100 percent of federal water <BR>deliveries in 2001. The
ruling marks the first time any group trying to protect fish and wildlife
<BR>has been allowed to intervene as a full party in a case in the Court of
Claims. The ruling from the <BR>United States Court of Federal Claims in
Washington, DC, came late Friday and granted the <BR>Pacific Coast Federation of
Fishermen’s Associations full party status. The federal claims court <BR>deals
with questions of monetary compensation from the federal government.
<P>During the summer of 2001, in a near-record drought year, government
officials reduced <BR>diversions of the Klamath River to farmers in order to
sustain federally protected coho salmon <BR>downstream. These irrigators claimed
the lack of water caused them economic losses and <BR>subsequently filed suit
seeking taxpayer compensation for an unconstitutional “taking.” When
<BR>commercial fishermen and conservation groups moved to participate in the
case, the irrigators <BR>strenuously objected. In Friday’s ruling, Judge Francis
Allegra found that the salmon advocates <BR>have a legitimate stake in the
outcome.
<P>“The irrigators argued that a billion dollar decision from the Court of
Claims is about as <BR>significant as a withdrawal from an ATM,” said Todd True,
an attorney with Earthjustice. “The <BR>order of the court embraces the contrary
common sense idea that a claim for a billion dollars has <BR>real world
implications for fish, fishermen, and their families.”
<P>Regulation of commercial salmon fishing in Northern California and Oregon is
largely governed <BR>by the health of Klamath salmon stocks. In 2002, an
estimated 70,000 adult salmon died in the <BR>river before they could spawn.
Scientists identified extremely low flows caused by the upstream <BR>irrigation
diversions as a primary cause of the fish kill. Fish surveys indicate salmon
stocks in the <BR>Klamath will be low for years to come with a small number of
adult salmon expected to return <BR>this year. Federal and state fishery
managers have indicated that the commercial salmon season <BR>for 2005 is likely
to be severely limited in order to rebuild the damaged salmon stocks.
<P>Farmers in California’s Central Valley brought a similar constitutional
“takings” claim that was <BR>successful in a lower court Instead of appealing
that decision, the federal government recently <BR>settled the claim and paid
the irrigators’ $16 million, a development fraught with peril for those <BR>who
commercially fish salmon from the Central Valley.
<P>The court here indirectly addressed such a situation, stating that the
interests of PCFFA “give <BR>rise to the distinct possibility that a ruling
against the United States would have significant <BR>impacts on the allocation
of the water in the Klamath Basin and corresponding negative impacts <BR>on
PCFFA’s fishing interests.”
<P>“Trying to resolve these claims without having a seat at the table for fish
and wildlife is like <BR>having a three-way debate with only two people,” said
Glen Spain of PCFFA. “If fish and wildlife <BR>had a seat at the table in the
California Central Valley litigation, it might have saved taxpayers <BR>$16
million dollars and ensured that water would be left in the river for fish.”
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<P>Earthjustice <BR>426 17th Street, 6th Floor <BR>Oakland, CA 94612-2820
<BR>Phone: (510) 550-6700 <BR>Fax: (510) 550-6740 <BR>Email:
eajus@earthjustice.org <BR>Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm
dedicated to protecting the magnificent <BR>places, natural resources, and
wildlife of this earth and to defending the right of all people to a <BR>healthy
environment. We bring about far-reaching change by enforcing and strengthening
<BR>environmental laws on behalf of hundreds of organizations and communities.
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