The Ninth Circuit delivered a victory to the Yurok Tribe and fishing advocates on Wednesday, affirming a lower court’s finding that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation must comply with the Endangered Species Act when operating the Klamath Irrigation Project. In a 2-1 decision, the appeals panel held the Endangered Species Act applies to the government’s operation of the Klamath Irrigation Project and that the rights of Klamath Project water users are subject to the requirements of the ESA. The panel largely focused on the applicability of Section 7 of the ESA — which requires federal agencies to ensure that agency action “is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of habitat of such species” — on the Klamath Irrigation Project.

Other endangered species news:

• Bloomberg Law: Klamath River Releases for Endangered Species Upheld on Appeal
• Missoula Current (Mont.): Judge upholds protections for Southern California steelhead trout