Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Forest Service to consult with other federal agencies about nearly two dozen water diversion projects in central Idaho's Sawtooth Valley that could be harming salmon, steelhead and bull trout.
U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill issued the order Monday following a lawsuit filed by the Idaho Conservation League in January 2018.
The environmental group said the Forest Service was violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to complete consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries about the water diversions.
Sockeye salmon are listed as endangered, while the other species are listed as threatened. All return to the high-elevation Sawtooth Valley after swimming some 900 miles (1,400 kilometers) up the Columbia, Snake and Salmon rivers.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
