Judge orders state DEQ to do more to shield salmon streams

A logjam on River Island property on the Clackamas River provides shelter for fish. Removing shade trees near rivers makes the water too hot for fish to survive.

U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernández is ordering the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to do more to protect salmon streams harmed by logging operations.

He ruled in June in a clean water lawsuit filed by environmentalists that has been winding through the courts since 2012. The plaintiffs claimed the DEQ is not doing enough to protect salmon threatened by common logging practices, such as the removal of shade trees