By MATT WEISER, Sacramento Bee

Fishermen are targeting salmon returning to spawn in the American River and other central California streams, despite a virtual ban on all salmon fishing this year.

California forestry officials have rejected an emergency petition to protect coho salmon in coastal streams, even though federal fisheries regulators said it would help the imperiled fish.

The petition before the state Board of Forestry comes as California salmon are at historic lows, requiring regulators to suspend all salmon fishing on the coast this year -- a first.

A California law firm known for its conservative advocacy is poised to join the political melee over the fate of the polar bear, vowing to sue the government if it cites global warming as a threat to the species.

BYRON, Calif. -- Inside a makeshift collection of modified shipping containers lined up on a patch of asphalt, a system of gurgling pipes and buckets holds the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta's future. Or, at least, one future.

Wildlife officials have moved for early closure of seven coastal salmon fishing zones in California and Oregon, a sign of dire conditions facing the Central Valley chinook.

The action came in a conference between fisheries managers gathered in Sacramento, Calif., for a series of meetings by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council.

A complete closure of salmon fishing in California and Oregon this year appears more likely, as federal managers grapple with the hard facts.

Water users who benefit most from tapping California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have been given an unprecedented role in drafting new rules to manage water diversions.

Critics call it a "fox in the henhouse" situation that may further imperil the Delta, where experts believe water diversions have already contributed to a broad ecosystem collapse.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Officials warn that a total closure of commercial and recreational salmon fishing may be needed this year to protect dwindling Sacramento River fall-run chinook populations.

State wildlife officials have recommended denying endangered species status for the mountain-dwelling American pika, a rabbit relative that is the first animal proposed for protection under California law because of climate change.

The big, tasty and hard-fighting striped bass is a top prize for fishermen in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

For everybody else who depends on the Delta's limited water, the racy chrome fish has become a flash point in California's next water war.