TU intervened in two lawsuits brought by farm and irrigation groups seeking to remove steelhead from the list of protected species based on the presence of rainbow trout and hatchery fish. These groups argued that NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency responsible for protecting anadromous fish, unlawfully distinguished between resident and anadromous and hatchery and wild fish in making their decision to protect certain populations of steelhead. Initially two separate cases (Modesto Irrigation District and California State Grange), the court combined the two cases and issued a combined ruling on Monday, October 27th. The court rejected all of the claims put forward by the plaintiffs, ruling in favor of Trout Unlimited and upholding ESA protections for these valuable fish populations.
Learn more about the court decision and its impacts on Pacific steelhead:
For more information, contact Kate Miller at kmiller@tu.org.
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