Fourteen of 25 groups of wild West Coast Pacific salmon and steelhead may lose their protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, following the federal government’s formal acceptance yesterday of petitions to de-list the groups. Last year, the National Marine Fisheries Service began evaluating the protected status of 23 of the 25 groups after a federal judge found the agency was wrong to declare Oregon coastal coho a threatened species, saying it had only looked at wild populations and not factored into its calculations the number of hatchery salmon in streams. The current petitions, which will be considered as part of the overall reevaluation, were filed by farm and property rights groups traditionally opposed to endangered species protection measures. The fishing organization Trout Unlimited criticized the petitions, saying they failed to live up to NMFS’ scientific standards and would drain much-needed resources.
