NMFS

For once, regulation precedes crisis

Often government doesn’t notice, or at least isn’t sufficiently motivated to respond to, the need for regulation until after something goes badly wrong (witness the financial market meltdown). But this week the National Marine Fisheries Service got ahead of the curve. On Monday, NMFS finalized a rule prohibiting all fishing for krill, the non-charismatic but …

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Is dam removal in the offing on the Lower Snake River?

For most of two decades, environmentalists have sought removal of four federal dams on the Lower Snake River for the sake of the northwest’s wild salmon runs. So far, they have been stymied by the agencies that operate the dams — the Corps of Engineers and Bonneville Power Administration — and local utility and industry …

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Time for NMFS to lead on hatcheries

Demonstrating once again the importance of presidential elections and appointments, the 9th Circuit has upheld the National Marine Fisheries Service’s policy on considering hatchery fish in listing Pacific salmonids.  (Hat tip: ESA blawg.) Hatchery fish can be a boon or a bane to salmon conservation. Because hatchery programs have emphasized production of fish for harvest, …

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Bad ESA rules not yet undone

(Cross-posted at the Center for Progressive Reform blog.) The Bush administration’s last-minute ESA (non)consultation rule is getting almost as much attention now as it did during the comment period. Then, the administration reportedly received more than 300,000 comments, the vast majority of them negative. Those objections were, of course, quickly swept under the proverbial rug …

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