Yurok Tribe v. Bureau of Reclamation

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 YUROK TRIBE, Case No. 20-cv-05891-WHO

Plaintiff,

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO

v. INTERVENE

U.S. BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, Re: Dkt. No. 33 Defendant.

12 Klamath Irrigation District (“KID”) moves to intervene in the stayed litigation between the Yurok Tribe and United States Bureau of Reclamation (“Bureau”) over the Bureau’s refusal to release water into the Klamath River for the Tribe’s 2020 Boat Dance ceremony. KID contends that the government is no longer representing its interests in the matter and seeks to intervene so that it can file an answer and crossclaim challenging the Bureau’s authority to allocate water from Upper Klamath Lake (“UKL”) for the Boat Dance. KID’s motion is DENIED. Although the Yurok Tribe waived its sovereign immunity by filing this suit, that waiver was limited and does not extend to the issues that KID seeks to interject in this case. The waiver was explicitly and only for the purpose of determining…