After reading into the issue today it seems that the federal judge in issuing his ruling in response to the lawsuit by farmers, constructions interests et al, he have put the Bush administration on notice to respond to the lawsuit within 30 days from yesterday. NOAA and NMFS are really the ones in the middle of this and they seem to be saying that their hatchery plans will also be out in 30 days. They claim that no doom and gloom will come out of this and that wild fish will still be protected.

In the absence of political oneupsmanship we might want to protest the idea of wild and hatchery fish being lumped together but we might want to also look deeper into the facts of the case. The lobby behind the lawsuit is made up of some really powerful stakeholders so I wouldn't underestimate their clout. I'm not sure what the response to the lawsuit will be but I'm sure it will have to be based on the legal merits of the case and not on anything emotional. Perhaps some of the good evidence gatherers here can dig up some substance.