Craig Welch of the Seattle Times ran a story on hatchery reform this morning on page B1. Here are some highlights:

A panel of scientists reported back yesterday after spending over three years evaluating more than 100 salmon and steelhead hatcheries in coastal Washington and in Puget Sound. The panel recommended over 500 changes to the hatchery system, the world's largest.

Barbara Cairns, executive director of Long Live The Kings , heads reform efforts that began in 2000 with the so-called hatchery Scientific Review Group, a panel of scientists. The group was charged with ensuring that science came first when advising governments how to revamp the region's hatcheries. ...Cairns said: " it's the first time you've ever had a group working this carefully and this systematically."

Current budgets in the state include another $7 million for this program. Everyone realizing how important the hatchery system is to the economy. WDFW director Koenings said: " It is THE cash flow in a lot of our communities." The system supports hundreds of jobs and produces 75% of the salmon caught in Puget Sound and 90% of those in the Columbia River system.

Few dispute the quality of the science behind the report. Bob Lohn, regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency that oversees salmon recovery, says: " It's great stuff, and we intend to use it.

" But hard decisions are yet to come. By 2004, the science panel will recommend ways to ensure its proposals are instituted by various governments that run hatcheries Thosed changes will take years and cost millions."

I urge you to read the whole story in the Times. It shows that a lot of work has been going on to reform the messed up hatchery system here in Washington and it also points out that it won't happen over night. While this really large group works to recommend changes and the government finds money in this horrible economy to support the reforms , Washington Trout is not at the table with them..they are in court suing WDFW to suck out some of that scarce funding to pay their lawyers and throw parties to raise more money to sue more people and throw more parties to raise more money to sue more people.......................