From The Oregonian today:
The state regulates several factors, but the Endangered Species Act will not apply
02/25/04
JOE ROJAS-BURKE
A federal appeals court Tuesday prohibited authorities from protecting Oregon coast coho under the Endangered Species Act, reinstating a 2001 order by U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan.
Conservation groups had sought to overturn Hogan's decision, which said the government erred by considering only wild spawned coho and ignoring the abundant supply of hatchery-born coho when it decided to list the fish for protection. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said it lacked jurisdiction to get involved.
the result: Oregon coast coho now appear to be in an endangered species limbo. The species is still listed as threatened, the appeals court stipulated. But the court then denied enforcement of the federal law unless a federal agency now studying the listings finds that the listings are legally justified.
"The immediate effect is Oregon coast coho will not be protected under the Endangered Species Act," said Bob Lohn, northwest regional director for the National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal agency responsible for protecting threatened and endangered sea life and studying the listings. Government agencies will not be required to seek permission from the service before taking actions that could harm coho, such as approving an expanded fishery.
But Lohn said coho will continue to be protected under Oregon's fishing, land-use and water laws and under the provisions of Oregon's plan for salmon and watershed restoration. Ocean fishing will be regulated by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council.
"As a practical matter, I expect the fish to continue to receive good protection from the state of Oregon," Lohn said.
Under orders from Judge Hogan, the service has been reviewing its findings on coho and the role that hatchery fish play in sustaining the population. Lohn said the order, reinstated Tuesday, does not dictate the status of coho; it required the service to make that determine after taking into consideration hatchery fish.
Lohn said the agency expects to propose the updated determination by early summer, after evaluating the strengths and durability of habitat restoration work by the state of Oregon. Oregon officials have been working on a plan for assuming responsibility for the recovery of coho.
Lawyers who brought the original case against the listing called the appeals court decision a significant victory for Oregonians' property rights.
"It means that the good citizens of the state of Oregon no longer have to suffer under needless restrictive land-use regulations imposed as a result of that listing," said Russell Brooks, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation in Seattle, a group that has represented home builders, farmers and ranchers, and other property owners.
Emboldened by the dismissal of environmentalists' case, Brooks said his group plans this week to ask a federal court to throw out endangered and threatened listings of steelhead stocks in the Columbia and Willamette rivers. The group has already challenged the listings of coho and steelhead in California, and chinook salmon in Puget Sound, all based on the exclusion of fish artificially produced by hatcheries.
Joe Rojas-Burke: 503-412-7073;
joerojas@news.oregonian.com Coho: Group plans to challenge other species' protection C1 approving an expanded fishery.
[ 02-25-2004, 05:56 PM: Message edited by: crabbait ]
No Federal Protection for Coho?
BrianMaguire
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