PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Humane Society of the United States has reached an agreement with state and federal governments that blocks killing or permanent removal of sea lions in the Columbia River until early 2009.

In return, the Humane Society will drop its appeal in federal court against the U.S. Commerce Department and the governments of Oregon and Washington, Sharon Young, the society's field director of marine issues, said Tuesday.

A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was to hear a case Thursday that could have led to killing some sea lions at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. An appeals court panel authorized nonlethal trapping earlier but banned killings until it could hear arguments.

State and federal governments would be allowed to move sea lions temporarily, brand them for identification and return them to their original habitats.

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