the film forum library tutorial contact

Thanks to Courts, Agencies Get a Jolt of Scientific Sanity by Jill Wasberg Seattle Times, June 18, 2007

Editor, The Times:

I applaud U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour's rulings regarding hatchery-raised and wild salmon ["Judge: Bush policy errs on species protection," Times, Local News, June 14].

Thank goodness the courts are putting some element of scientific sanity into the otherwise reckless federal agencies.

As with so many other issues, this administration's track record on Columbia-Snake Basin salmon recovery has been nothing short of atrocious, and we in the Pacific Northwest are paying the price for it.

After more than two decades of wasted tax dollars and salmon declining toward extinction, a real plan to recover these fish is desperately needed.

With a new plan due later this year under court order, I am relieved to know that we have the judiciary to hold the administration accountable.

And yet, we can't rely on the courts to solve this problem. We need our members of Congress in Washington state. But where are they?