Steelhead Trout Streams in California Protected from Grazing, Oil & Gas Leases

Over 80 miles of the Big Sur River, Sisquoc River and Sespe Creek will receive protection under the federal Wild & Scenic River Act due to a legal settlement struck between the Center for Biological Diversity, Keep Sespe Wild, the Environmental Defense Center, and the Los Padres National Forest on 3-15-02. The agreement requires the U.S. Forest Service to complete a comprehensive management plan for the rivers, and in the interim, to prohibit grazing, and oil and gas leasing in the river corridors. These streams provide vital habitat for the endangered Steelhead trout.

The Forest Service failed to comply with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act which required formulating management plans for these rivers by 1995. Ending a six-year delay, the settlement will ensure that wildlife will be enhanced, riparian habitats will be preserved, and heavily used recreation areas will be restored.

The suit was argued by Neil Levine of the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, John Buse of the Environmental Defense Center, and Brent Plater of the Center for Biological Diversity.

For more information on the settlement: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/wildscenic.html

For more information on the Center's Wild & Scenic Rivers Campaign: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/programs/watersheds/wild/index.html