The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) was hoping that NOAA's completion of a draft environmental assessment would lead to approval of their steelhead hatchery operations and clear the way for the releasing of steelhead into several Puget Sound rivers. Unfortunately for the state and hatchery welfare advocates, NOAA's decision to go with the more rigorous environmental impact statement means that a decision on approval of the WDFW hatchery programs would come after the 2015 release window which stops the program for another year.
Here's to the power of grassroots advocacy.
According to NOAA the decision was based, in part, on more than 2,000 public comments that expressed a wide range of questions and concerns about the environmental impact of hatchery steelhead programs.
Needless to say the WDFW and their pro hatchery constituents are not happy.