President Clinton enacted a policy which was designed to reduce paperwork and to speed up federal approval process for agencies where multiple federal agencies were needed in the approval proses. For example, land acquisition where it had to go through the BLM, the Natural Resources and Department of Interior. Those requests with multiple federal agencies could be "Fast Tacked".

What the Tribes did, as an end run to get around having to wait, and consequently give themselves a clear advantage over the state, was have BIF put a check mark on their permit requests that need NOAA approval due to the ESA issue, effectively making it a "multiple agency" request. Thereby qualifying for "fast track"

The State (us) do not have a multiple agency situation, there for if we don't "piggy back" on the Tribes fast track, our permits take months to get approval. They fish, we don't. And they hold that over our heads in the negotiations...you can only imagine how that goes when all they have to do is threaten to walk out and we don't fish..think the state has a fair bargaining position?