Supreme Court Declines To Take Delta Smelt Case

"The Supreme Court [Monday] decided -- for now -- not to get involved in ongoing litigation over California's endangered delta smelt."

"The justices decided against taking up a constitutional challenge to the small fish's listing under the Endangered Species Act.

The species has been the center of a legal fight after U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service efforts to protect its habitat in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta prompted opposition from local businesses and water districts.

A 2008 biological opinion concluded that water flowing to irrigation districts and farms in the Central Valley had to be reduced in order to protect the tiny fish."

Lawrence Hurley reports for Greenwire October 31, 2011.