Friends of the River Appeals Court Decision on Yuba River Dams and Endangered Fish

Sacramento, CA – Today, Friends of the River filed an appeal challenging a federal court ruling that lets the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) avoid responsibility for the harm caused by its dams on the lower Yuba River. Chinook salmon, steelhead, and green sturgeon are threatened with extinction because Englebright Dam and Daguerre Point Dam block high-quality habitat, inflict harms to the species, and are not managed in compliance with the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Corps has also failed to comply with the ESA in its management of the activities of third parties the Corps has authorized to use the dams.

In a decision issued March 31, 2026, Judge Calabretta of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California got it wrong when he ruled that the Corps has no duty under the ESA to mitigate any of the dams’ adverse effects. The Court declined to hold the Corps accountable for the harms caused by the dams blocking fish passage and creating deadly conditions for juvenile fish migrating out to the ocean. He further got it wrong in ruling that the Corps need not ensure that its contracts with companies that use Englebright Dam for hydropower generation are in compliance with the ESA.

“Populations of native fish in the Yuba River have never been lower, and this ruling leaves that crisis and its causes in place,” said Keiko Mertz, Policy Director of Friends of the River. “We are appealing because federal agencies cannot simply wash their hands of dams they own while those dams push endangered fish closer to extinction.”

“The Court missed a basic point,” said Chris Sproul, counsel for Friends of the River. “The Corps claims it has no discretion to help fish, yet it has already exercised discretion at these dams by adding fish ladders and making other modifications intended to benefit salmon. That is discretion in action, and with discretion comes legal responsibility.”

Friends of the River welcomed the portion of the ruling that requires a more complete ESA review of a water diversion that uses Daguerre Point Dam, called the Brophy Diversion. The Court agreed that the Corps’ licensing of the Brophy Diversion was a federal agency action subject to the ESA, and ordered the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to account for all of the Brophy Diversion’s adverse effects in the biological opinion that advises the Corps how to carry out its Yuba River activities in compliance with the ESA.

Englebright Dam and Daguerre Point Dam have long impaired fish migration and habitat in one of California’s most important remaining salmon rivers. Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, and Southern green sturgeon all rely on the Yuba River, and their populations remain in crisis.

Friends of the River will continue fighting to ensure federal agencies meet their obligations under the ESA and that the Yuba River’s native fish have a real chance at recovery.

Founded in 1973, Friends of the River works to protect and restore California’s rivers and advocate for sustainable, climate-resilient water management.