A federal judge has rejected a rural Nevada water district's latest attempt to expedite construction of a storage tank in greater sage grouse habitat near the Utah line in a legal battle now expected to drag into the summer.
U.S. District Judge Miranda Du denied last week the final part of a request for a preliminary injunction that White Pine County officials say is necessary to set aside federal regulations protecting the bird so the town of Baker can replace a leaking water tank near Great Basin National Park.
In the Nevada case, Judge Du had allowed both sides to continue arguing about the water tank when she refused on Dec. 8 a broader request to immediately block the Bureau of Land Management from implementing the land use planning amendments in Nevada, California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Montana.
The Baker General Irrigation District is still considering whether to appeal the amended right of way the BLM issued Dec. 10, which allows for construction of the replacement tank on federal land but only during a narrow window from July to November so as not to disturb the grouse and its traditional breeding grounds less than a mile away.