United States v. Oregon

KENNEDY, Circuit Judge:

The primary issue in this appeal is whether the district court had jurisdiction to enjoin the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation [Yakima Tribe] in an ongoing fishing dispute. The present dispute centers around the annual spring run of Columbia River chinook salmon. In recent years, that run has severely declined. In an attempt to preserve the species, the United States District Court for the District of Oregon enjoined virtually all Yakima *1011tribal fishing of the spring chinook. The Tribe argues that this injunction extinguished its treaty fishing…