No, it won't...they have to have a permit, and they don't have one. If NOAA-F has been sitting on the application then WDFW needed to sue them to make them act upon it...that is their job.

WDFW is not excused for not having the required permit for the last 12 years if, hypothetically, NOAA-F has been sitting on it. NOAA-F has a statutory timeline they have to follow, and if they don't then it is WDFW's job to hold them to it, in court if necessary.

Regardless...it is not the WFC's fault in any way, in any scenario, ever, that WDFW has not obtained its permits.

Fish on ...

Todd