Salmo

Kudos for an excellent and informative post on hatcheries and politics. The issue of hatchery existence or nonexistence is a real hot potato because the specter of a "no fishing" world that might emerge without hatcheries is very threatening to most fishing enthusiasts.
Atleast in the near term it is.

Politics and funding have an enormous amount to do with the issue and that is why simply suing WDFW to force supposed change is suspect at best and even possibly malicious. A lawsuit cannot force the government to reform hatcheries as fast as it can close them down. The funding dilemma in this wacky state is a real one. You are absolutely correct that the general fund has to come up with the money to fund the hatcheries..that would be the same group of politicians who must answer to the tribes who donate so much to their campaigns and to the farmers and commercial fishermen and loggers and businesses. So I ask , why try to cripple an agency that is already limping by suing? Could it be that suing was intended to further cripple and perhaps kill the hatcheries?

Since you know so much about hatcheries I am sure you know about the efforts going on to reform them and the studies recently released. Do you think those studies have promise? Did you notice the money the governor already pledged to the reform efforts? The money pledged and allocated by the feds for the same reforms? I think your answers would be welcome.