Columbia River Basin Hatchery Funding Targeted in New Lawsuit

Salmon hatchery programs in the Lower Columbia River Basin actively harm threatened salmon species, and the National Marine Fisheries Service unlawfully funds these activities groups allege in a lawsuit filed Friday.

The Service and its parent agency, the Department of Commerce, approved funding for 25 hatchery facilities in the basin based on environmental studies that fail to address critical habitat modifications and genetic introgression, according to a complaint filed in the US District Court for the District of Oregon.

Wild Fish Conservancy and Wild Salmon Rivers allege the agencies distribute this money under the Mitchell Act, which directs the ...