The State - News from Sept. 1, 1985

A Merced County rancher and a hunters’ group have agreed to drop a lawsuit against the Interior Department because it has promised to shut down the polluted Kesterson Reservoir. Robert James Claus, who owns property next to the federal wildlife refuge, said he had little to gain by pursuing the suit now that a timetable has been set for Kesterson’s shutdown. However, Claus said he will pursue an action pending before the U.S. Court of Claims in Washington that charges that water leaking from Kesterson sickened his cattle and ruined the soil.