Thursday, March 24, 2016

Federal judge denies motion to disrupt Deschutes irrigation for spotted frog



            A federal judge in Eugene has turned back an effort to force major changes in management of water releases into the Deschutes River that environmental groups claim are needed to protect the spotted frog.
            In a hearing March 22 US District Judge Ann Aiken said she was not convinced that the enviornmental groups had provided sufficient facts to justify issuing an injunction to alter water releases this Spring.
            Attorneys for the Center for Biological Diversity and WaterWatch of Oregon had asked the court to alter dam releases from Wickiup Reservoir in advance of the upcoming irrigation season.
            The injunction would have severely limited water available for irrigation downstream, especially for the North Unit Irrigation District that serves the region’s largest agricultural operations, and to a lesser extent Central Oregon and Tumalo Districts in the middle Deschutes Basin.
            Aiken acknowledged ongoing efforts to develop a habitat conservation plan to protect the frog, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. She said that effort could proceed without court intervention.
            Aiken said she would issue her written opinion following the March 22 hearing. Although the plaintiffs could appeal the decision to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, a report Friday in the Bend Bulletin said they have approached Aiken with a preposal to mediate with the Bureau of Reclamation, which manages dams on the Deschutes, and irrigation districts involved in the court case.

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 Thursday, February 18, 2016

Small frog makes big waves in Deschutes Basin: ESA listing spawns policy & legal wrangling