Lawsuit Settlement Big Advance For Wild Steelhead Recovery
Friday, April 25, 2014 at 1:06PM 
Some huge news courtesy of the Wild Fish Conservancy.
Wild Fish Conservancy and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) have settled the lawsuit filed by the Conservancy March 31, 2014 seeking Endangered Species Act (ESA) compliance for WDFW’s “Chambers Creek” hatchery winter steelhead programs. Since the first listing of Puget Sound salmon under the ESA in 1999, almost all of WDFW’s hatchery programs in the region have continued to produce and release hatchery salmonids without the evaluation and legal permission required under the ESA. Under the settlement, WDFW will cease planting Chambers Creek hatchery steelhead in all Puget Sound rivers but one, until NOAA approves each specific hatchery program. The settlement also establishes a twelve-year moratorium of such hatchery plants in the Skagit River system, Puget Sound’s largest tributary and most important wild steelhead river.
wild fish conservancy in Announcements
Reader Comments (2)
More goodness for wild fish. Cheers, WSC. Keep it up.
Oh yea! There are some rich lawyers now. These stupid F&^*s couldn't just pick a river or two to try out, instead they will wreck the winter fishing and cost a bunch of lost revenue to small towns. It still doesn't eliminate the indian nets which don't discriminate. As someone stated you can't restore runs without eggs in the river. Good luck WFC.