NRCS Beats Property Owner Bid to Block Oregon Canal Replacement

A group of property owners and a nonprofit trying to stop open-air irrigation canals in Central Oregon from being replaced with high-density polyethylene piping lost their bid for a preliminary injunction.

The nonprofit Save Arnold Canal sued the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Arnold Irrigation District seeking to halt their Arnold Irrigation District Infrastructure Modernization Project. The nonprofit claimed the pipes would “eliminate a century-old dependence of seasonal water by local wildlife, vegetation, trees, and aesthetic enjoyment by the residents of the canal.”

Magistrate Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai of the US District Court for the District of Oregon ...