With New Biop Out, WFC No Longer Pursuing Mitchell Act Lawsuit

A litigious native fish group appears to be in the process of dropping its complaint against federally funded Columbia River salmon and steelhead hatcheries.

The move comes after the National Marine Fisheries Service earlier this month published a new biological opinion governing fish production at Mitchell Act facilities.

Yesterday saw the Wild Fish Conservancy file a motion in U.S. District Court in Portland to not pursue its pending preliminary injunction against NMFS, which oversees the Congressionally funded hatcheries, or to amend or supplement the lawsuit it filed late last March.

The new biop allows for increased spring Chinook and coho production at select hatcheries, reduced fall Chinook production in the Lower Columbia and phasing out of out-of-basin steelhead smolt releases, among other changes.

Lawyers for the Duvall, Washington-based organization and NMFS will meet in early February.