<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:14pt"><div><div>All sides have declared victory!</div><div><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 19px; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; "><a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/08/22/5102358/judge-says-calif-water-can-be.html">http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/08/22/5102358/judge-says-calif-water-can-be.html</a> <br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 19px; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px; "><h1 id="story_headline" class="entry-title" style="padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px;
padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 1.9em; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2; clear: both; ">Judge says Calif. water can be released for salmon</h1><div id="story_tools" style="padding-top: 10px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 10px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; clear: both; font-size: 0.9em !important; float: left; display: block !important; "><span class="bold story_tool_option published" title="2013-08-23T01:56:08Z" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; float: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: inline; position: relative; ">Posted Thursday, Aug. 22, 2013<div
style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font: normal normal normal 10pt/normal sans-serif; text-align: left; text-transform: none; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; "><br style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Read more here:<a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/08/22/5102358/judge-says-calif-water-can-be.html#storylink=cpy">http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/08/22/5102358/judge-says-calif-water-can-be.html#storylink=cpy</a></div></span></div></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 19px; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; "><div class="byline_credit" style="padding-top:
0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 0.9em; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; ">The Associated Press</div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; "><span class="dateline" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; ">FRESNO, Calif. — </span>A U.S. District judge ruled late Thursday that water can be released from Northern California's Trinity Reservoir to prevent a salmon kill in the lower Klamath River, but the amount of
water involved will be far less than the federal government initially asked for.</div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">The ruling from Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill comes after farmers in California's San Joaquin Valley sued the federal government over the releases of water, saying they would be illegal and would further decrease the little water available to them for irrigation.</div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">The judge had ordered the water releases temporarily stopped last week while
he made a long-term decision.</div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">He said in Thursday's ruling that in the week since, a change in environmental conditions and the federal position has meant that two-thirds less water than expected was required, making the decision easier and less harmful to farmers.</div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">Environmental groups, fishing organizations and Indian tribes supported the release of the water, and the judge said the modified decision should leave
both sides happy.</div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">"All parties have prevailed in a significant, responsible way," O'Neill said in the ruling. "All is being done that can reasonably occur to prevent a major fish kill."</div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">Advocates for the two sides, for the most part, agreed.</div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px;
color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">"The Trinity River is our vessel of life, and the salmon are our lifeblood," said Danielle Vigil-Masten, chairwoman of the Hoopa Valley tribe. "We applaud the decision to release this water to avert a fish disaster."</div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">However, Vigil-Masten also emphasized the need for longer-term solutions to the water and salmon problems.</div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;
line-height: 18px; ">The San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority, one of the groups that sued, declared victory over federal officials in the reduced water amount in the judge's order.</div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">"Clearly the scientific justification they provided last week just couldn't hold up," the group said in a statement.</div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">The water authority said it appreciated the decision but also cited the need for long-term answers for the fate
of Klamath water and salmon.</div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">The Trinity River is the main tributary of the Klamath. A large portion of Trinity water usually is sent south into the Sacramento River and is piped to farmers in the San Joaquin Valley through the Central Valley Project.</div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">This year, officials expect a large fall run of salmon. But they also expect low water levels, leading to fears that tens of thousands of salmon in the Klamath could
die before they spawn, as happened in 2002.</div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(17, 17, 17); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; ">Next year, unless a very wet winter restores nearly empty reservoirs, farmers predict they might get little or no water — and the lack of Trinity River water would further reduce their deliveries.</div><div style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; width: 1px; height: 1px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font: normal normal normal 10pt/normal sans-serif; text-align: left; text-transform: none; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; "><br
style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Read m</div></div></div></div></body></html>