Friday June 19, 2026
Courthouse New Service —
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 dissent misconstrues the direct issue on appeal here, which is whether the district court erred by granting declaratory relief on the question whether ‘[the Bureau of] Reclamation’s operation of the Klamath Project, including the exercise of its rights to store water in [Upper Klamath Lake] for irrigation use, is subject to compliance with the ESA.’ Our case law supports that the answer to this question must be ‘yes,’” U.S. Circuit Judge Ronald Gould, a Bill Clinton appointee, wrote for the majority.