Sandy River hatchery lawsuit ruling:
U.S. District Court Judge Ancer Haggerty ruled last week on a preliminary
injunction that requested a halt to this spring’s releases of salmon and
steelhead from the Sandy River hatchery by the Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife (ODFW).
The legal action was filed by the Native Fish Society, a non‐profit
fish conservation group, based in Oregon City. The ruling restricts ODFW to no
more than 132,000 smolt releases in 2013 - a reduction from the 300,000 called
for in the hatchery plan. In a preliminary ruling, Judge Haggerty also found
that it is likely that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) violated
the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act in
approving the Hatchery’s operation plans. A final decision on the case will be
issued later this year.
The
Oregonian also covered the story
