Property rights advocates and others filed a lawsuit filed before Judge Hogan in Oregon challenging NMFS’ decision to list salmon runs under the Endangered Species Act using the Hatchery Listing Policy. This case is a “cousin” of hatchery listing cases above. The plaintiffs alleged that if the Hatchery Listing Policy were applied properly, hatchery and wild salmon should not be distinguished at all in the listing consideration and as a result, the sixteen salmon listings are illegal. TU and a variety of groups intervened to protect the listings. In August 2007 the court granted summary judgment for the federal defendants and dismissed plaintiffs’ claims challenging the listing decision, confirming that the ESA is intended to protect wild populations of fish and the habitats on which they depend. The case has been appealed to the Ninth Circuit.
Hogan Decision Press Release
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