May 14, 2004
Dear Member of Congress:
I am writing to inform you about the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s (NOAA) upcoming proposals
to renew listings of Northwest salmon
populations under the Endangered Species
Act (ESA), to explain how hatcheries will
be taken into account in the proposals,
and to correct recent erroneous accounts
of how our hatchery policy will be used.
At President Bush’s direction, recovery of
salmon is the major focus for NOAA in the
Pacific Northwest, an objective widely
shared in the region and the nation. We
have been pleased to work with you and
Congress to direct over $100 million of
NOAA’s budget, and hundreds of millions
more from other federal agencies to the
cause of salmon recovery this year alone.
These substantial resources are enabling
the hard work of countless communities to
improve hundreds of miles of fish habitat,
to enhance fish passage to the habitat,
and to rebuild fish stocks in order to
re-establish sustainable natural salmon
populations. Combined with favorable ocean
conditions, this hard work is producing
dramatic increases in nearly all of the
salmon runs. Much work remains to be done
to expand the habitat to support future
generations of naturally spawning
populations.
NOAA will shortly propose a renewed set of
listings of salmon populations under ESA.
Since 1991, the federal government has
listed 26 species of salmon and steelhead
in the Northwest and California for
protection under ESA. In a lawsuit that
followed these listings, a federal judge
set aside the listing of Oregon Coast Coho
salmon because NOAA failed to include
closely-related hatchery fish in the
listing decision. Since the same flaw was
present in almost all of the other listing
decisions, NOAA voluntarily agreed to
reconsider all of our earlier listing
decisions and to adjust our policy for
considering hatchery fish in making those
decisions – and NOAA will be asking the
public to comment on both. NOAA’s
decisions are driven by the science, which
suggests benefits, risks, and
uncertainties regarding salmon hatcheries.
Simply put, some well-managed conservation
hatcheries are fostering recovery of
species, some hatcheries are having little
or no effect, and some hatcheries
potentially hinder recovery.
After re-evaluating the listing of 26
species of salmon and steelhead, and
considering the science on hatcheries, we
have preliminarily determined to propose
relisting at least 25 of the 26 species,
with evaluation of the remaining species
still underway. A final proposal will be
completed in the next two weeks and the
new hatchery policy will be only one
factor for the evaluation still under way.
The central tenet of the hatchery policy
is the conservation of naturally-spawning
salmon and the ecosystems upon which they
depend. As our preliminary conclusions
indicate, appropriate consideration of
hatchery fish does not lead to wholesale
de-listing of species as some are
claiming. Equally erroneous is the
suggestion our policy would allow the
purposes of ESA to be satisfied by having
all the salmon in a hatchery. Salmon
hatcheries have long played an important
role in the Northwest, including
fulfilling trust and treaty rights of
Northwest Indian tribes, and supporting
sport and commercial harvest cherished by
Northwest citizens. NOAA is encouraged by
improvements in hatchery management, and
is seeing their increasing contribution to
speeding the recovery of salmon.
The communities of the Northwest have set
high standards for their stewardship of
land and water and NOAA urges them to
continue this important work. NOAA
strongly applauds the inspiring
collaborative efforts underway in
communities across the Northwest states
and is pleased to be one of the region’s
most committed partners.
Sincerely,
Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr.
Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and
Atmosphere
