Conservationists say the situation is so dire, that they filed a notice of intent today to sue federal water managers.
Environmentalists hope to force the feds to allocate more water to the refuge.
Kristian Foden-Vencil reports. If there is not any water in that refuge's wetlands, that refuge won't be able to support even the minimal number of water fowl that serve as food for bald eagles. Wood says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's own numbers indicate that 950 of a total population of 1,100 eagles could be harmed from an inadequate supply of water. He understands that farmers and irrigators have been virtually cut off, but says Wood, the Bureau of Reclamation has the infrastructure to bring water from the nearby Lost River Basin to alleviate the situation. We are only asking that the water that the biological opinion already provided for the refuge, that that water be delivered.