Judge Ponders Preliminary Injunction Over Klamath River Flows

A federal judge considered Wednesday a preliminary injunction request from Native American tribes and anglers who seek to protect endangered whales and threatened salmon by blocking the federal government from delivering water for irrigation.

The petition is the latest in the fight over the Klamath River and sustaining flows for the threatened Southern Oregon and Northern California coast coho salmon and endangered southern resident killer whales that depend on Klamath River Chinook salmon as prey.

Judge William H. Orrick, US District Court for the Northern District of California, said he’ll take under advisement arguments from tribes, fishermen, water users, ...