A VERY important action alert from the Wild Fish Conservancy.
After 11 years of NOAA promising an environmental impact statement (EIS) rigorously evaluating Puget Sound steelhead hatcheries, NOAA has suddenly withdrawn its draft EIS and opted for a cursory environmental assessment (EA), with only 30 days for public comment. This reversal of course comes at the request of the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and would support its proposed annual release of 290,000 Chambers Creek hatchery steelhead into three Puget Sound watersheds—the Nooksack, Stillaguamish, and Dungeness. The low bar of an EA does not fulfill the requirements or purposes of NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act). An EIS is needed to fully evaluate the cumulative effects of all Puget Sound hatchery programs on threatened species, including Puget Sound steelhead.
If you care about wild steelhead, please take a few minutes and tell NOAA that they need to require an EIS or at least add another 30-60 days onto the comment period for the EA. Hit the TAKE ACTION link below and simply fill in the pertinent contact info, click the "Submit" button, and your message will be sent to the appropriate recipients.
Comments must be received no later than 5p.m. Pacific time on April 27, 2015.