Judge Halts NorCal Reservoir Water Releases for Salmon
August 21, 2013
Byline: Associated Press
FRESNO (AP) — A U.S. District judge in California has temporarily halted the planned releases of water from a Northern California’s Trinity Reservoir that had been designed to prevent a salmon kill in the Lower Klamath River.
The order came after farmers in California’s San Joaquin Valley sued the federal government over the releases, alleging they would be unlawful and would further decrease the little water available to them for irrigation.
In 2002, lack of water left tens of thousands of salmon in the Klamath dead before they could spawn.
This year, authorities expect a large fall run of salmon, yet the river is extremely low.
Environmental groups and Indian tribes said the order to stop the releases could be disastrous for the salmon.
