Endangered Species Law & Policy

On October 20, 2024, I published a post on the Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management’s DeltaCurrents blog discussing early lessons from the Klamath Dam Removal Project. The removal of four hydroelectric dams on the lower Klamath River is the most ambitious dam removal effort in the history of the United States.

While the jury is still out with respect to the effort’s success when measured in terms of increased salmonid abundance, there are lessons to be learned now regarding characterization of science pertaining to policy both by scientists in the ...

On November 17, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) voted unanimously to issue an Order Modifying and Approving Surrender License and Removal of Project Facilities (“Order”) for the Lower Klamath Project (“Project”). The Order allows the dams’ private operator to surrender its operating license and was one of the final hurdles for the largest dam removal project in United States history. The $450 million project involves the removal of four dams along the Klamath River near the border of Northern California and Southern Oregon.

A noteworthy ...

On May 16, 2018, the House Committee on Natural Resources passed six bills, including the Federally Integrated Species Health Act (H.R. 3916).  H.R. 3916 is sponsored by Representative Ken Calvert, a Republican representing the 42nd Congressional District in California.  The bill proposes to amend the federal Endangered Species Act to vest the Secretary of Interior with Endangered Species Act authority over fish species that migrate between fresh and ocean waters, such as the endangered Sacramento River winter-run Chinnok salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).  ...