The lawsuit is said to file against the California Department of Fish and Game. In the suit, the Orleans-based nonprofit watchdog group says the DFG’s watershedwide incidental take permits would allow farmers and ranchers to take more water from the already depleted Scott and Shasta rivers.
Erica Terence, spokeswoman for Klamath Riverkeeper, said that these proposed permits are essentially license to kill salmon. She further said that with conditions deteriorating for fish every year on the Scott and Shasta, DFG should be proposing programs that expand protections for fish, not destroy them.
It is informed that the agency proposes shifting from individual permits for farmers and ranchers to a waiver for agriculture work in both valleys. Jordan Traverso, DFG spokeswoman in Sacramento, said the agency hadn’t yet been served with the suit. Joining Klamath Riverkeeper in the lawsuit are the Quartz Valley Indian Reservation, Environmental Protection Information Center, Sierra Club, Northcoast Environmental Center and Institute for Fisheries Resources.
