The news last week that a federal judge ruled to keep the Sandy Hatchery open brought cheers to the NSIA office, and had us extolling the hard work and commitment of several members who spent many hours involved in the legal wranglings.
As many of you know, court cases are expensive, time consuming and nerve-wracking. While the lawsuit was in process, countless hours were spent monitoring, researching, surveying and trying to raise funds while we worked to keep this important state facility open. Without the following people the NSIA wouldn’t have been able to have been as involved as we were in this important lawsuit (You can support the NSIA by clicking here and donating to our legal fund).
Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife: Foremost we need to thank the staff and legal team of the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife for its excellent work. They went to the mat on this issue and stand ready to assist its strong efforts to defend the McKenzie River Hatchery program.
Maddy Sheehan: As our attorney doing all the filing in the case, Maddy not only gave the NSIA a tremendously reduced rate, but also worked tirelessly to make sure she met filing deadlines and gathered all the relevant information we needed to file with the court. Liz is convinced that without Maddy’s legally strategic hard work, the outcome of this case could have been far, far different. We would also ask the NSIA members who has the resources, to help us with the legal fund so we can help off-set some of the costs in hours and days that Maddy put out.
Jim Martin: Jim’s expertise was invaluable in this case. Knowing what information was going to be pertinent to the case, and then being able to find that information was an amazing asset to have. Jim filed twice in the case, which required researching and writing his testimony, and we cannot thank him enough for his efforts.
Dan Diggs: As a member of our Science and Policy Board and a 35-year veteran of United States Fish and Wildlife, his declaration was an important piece of the NSIA filing in the case. His experience with the Endangered Species Act and hatchery management expertise helped to outline the issue of the larger hatchery program, and for that we thank him.
Norm Ritchie: As someone who is in leadership at the Steelheaders, helping to set state policy and volunteering on the SandyRiver, his brief outlined the impact volunteer fishermen have on the SandyRiver basin and how closing the hatchery would impact the volunteer efforts. We thank Norm for taking on this writing assignment.
Dave Eng: Dave shared how his experiences with the closure of the hatchery on the ClackamasRiver has negatively impacted the public places. He talked about litter, crime and other activities that are happening along the river because anglers are not there. His testimony was a very important part of the case to let the judge know real-world impacts of taking this vital resource off the Sandy. Thank you Dave for your hard work on your brief!
Everyone who wanted to see the Sandy Hatchery stay open owes the people above a big thank you, and as an organization we cannot stress enough how lucky we are to have members who will step up and put their money and their time where their mouth is when the industry needs them the most.
We also would like to thank everyone who gave money to the legal defense fund. We are now moving in the McKenzieRiver lawsuit, so the fight isn’t over yet! Please consider supporting the NSIA in these lawsuits any way you can. Even at a highly reduced rate, our legal fees will soar into the thousands. We are also working to raise funds to do an economic study of the Willamette and Columbia fisheries sustained by the nearly 1 million hatchery smolts released from the McKenzie Facility.
“Without having people step up and help both with time and money, there is no way we could have been as effective as we were in the SandyRiver lawsuit,” said Liz Hamilton, executive director of the NSIA. “We should celebrate this victory, but keep in mind that the McKenzie lawsuit could have much bigger financial impacts if the hatchery program is shut down there. We need to keep working to protect these programs that are vital for our industry.
“The NSIA’s core mission is to protect and enhance sport fisheries, and well-run hatcheries are an integral part of that. As an organization working to protect wild salmon, we know that the hatchery versus wild debate is a false choice. This ruling is encouraging as we prepare our filings for the McKenzieRiver lawsuit.”
For more information, contact Liz Hamilton, executive director of the NSIA at 503-631-8859 or e-mail at nsializ@aol.com.