An en banc panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for the Karuk Tribe of California in a dispute about gold mining along the Klamath River.

By a 7-4 vote, the court ruled that the U.S. Forest Service failed to consult biologists from other agencies before approving the mining activities. The decision requires the agency to consider the impacts on endangered runs of salmon.

"The Forest Service's decision to place the search for minuscule flakes of gold above the needs of people who rely on clean water, and especially wild salmon, was unconscionable," Leaf Hillman, director of natural resources for the Karuk Tribe, said in a statement, the Associated Press reported.

Get the Story:
Court toughens up rules for small-time gold miners the West after suit on dredge mining on the Klamath (AP 6/4)
Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Rules in Favor of ESA (Dredging Today 6/4)
US 9th circuit ruling could reach further than gold dredge miners (Mineweb 6/4)

9th Circuit Decision:
Karuk Tribe v. USFS (June 1, 2012)