Editorial
Hatching a salmon plan that also respects habitat

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Almost in the same breath Bush administration officials propose hatchery fish be used to inflate the count of wild salmon runs, they admit hatcheries can be part of the problem.

Officials of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration punctuated that point last week as they released a 17-page draft policy to count hatchery fish in determining whether some runs need federal protection.

That would be a dramatic change, and earlier rumors of such a recommendation exploded in big headlines. Friday's announcement was not far off, but the shock waves were cushioned by blast-dampening language.

NOAA did not remove any of 26 West Coast salmon species from protection under the Endangered Species Act, and recommended adding a 27th species to the list.

Further, NOAA offered a heavily qualified endorsement of the use of hatchery stock and emphasized the need to preserve habitat and naturally spawning salmon.

The draft policy is also emphatic that large numbers of hatchery fish will not determine if a run is viable, which conservative legal interests see as starkly flouting recent court decisions.

Any new policy direction on hatchery counts will have no credibility without substantial leadership on hatchery reform. As NOAA noted itself, "Scientific studies have found poor hatchery management practices can pose risks to the fitness of naturally spawning salmon."

All is not bleak. The tribes have outstanding examples of modern facilities, such as the Yakama Nation's Cle Elum hatchery. Environmental groups respect projects that essentially are captive breeding programs to rescue genetic lines about to expire.

Technological potential exists but the basics must be respected.

"The region's solution will include hatchery-origin fish, but it needs to preserve the genetic integrity and productivity of wild fish," William D. Ruckelshaus, a founder of the Shared Strategy for Puget Sound, wrote in a recent Times op-ed column.

Fundamental to salmon survival is the preservation of habitat, and questions abound. Is it easier, for example, to change dam operations or logging practices that degrade habitat if hatchery and wild fish are lumped together?

Over time, is there pressure to delist endangered fish when their numbers are inflated by hatchery fish? That question will be reopened very soon on two species, Oregon coastal coho and mid-Columbia steelhead.

Can this NOAA proposal be exploited to erode the Endangered Species Act protections for wild salmon stocks? Ninety days of public comment will explore that fundamental question.