Long Live the Kings and Hatchery Reform

Hatchery Reform Project Website

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The Puget Sound and Coastal Washington Hatchery Reform Project

In May 1999, a group of leading scientists issued a report to Congress saying that hatcheries have the potential to make a major, positive impact on the conservation of wild salmon and steelhead, in just a few years and at relatively small cost.

In response, Congress created and funded the Puget Sound and Coastal Washington Hatchery Reform Project, a groundbreaking, science-driven effort to rethink how hatcheries can be managed to help conserve naturally spawning populations and support sustainable fisheries. Congress established the Hatchery Scientific Review Group (HSRG), an independent panel of nine highly regarded scientists, as the heart of the reform effort.

Congress designated LLTK as the project's independent, third-party facilitator, based on our history of working with the state, Tribal, and federal fish managers, our experience rearing salmon at our own facilities, and our projects exploring ways hatcheries can be used to help restore wild salmon populations.

In addition to facilitation, LLTK provided project management and communications for the Puget Sound and Coastal Washington Hatchery Reform Project, which was complete in 2005. The project resulted in over 1,000 recommendations for programmatic changes. Learn more about the project at www.hatcheryreform.org.

In 2006, the HSRG, working with NOAA Fisheries, expanded its work to prepare recommendations on hatchery and harvest changes in the Columbia River.  For more information on that review process, visit www.hatcheryreform.us.

Pacific Region Federal Hatchery Review

Since July 2005, LLTK has provided facilitation, coordination, and strategic planning for the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Pacific Region Federal Hatchery Review. The project, funded by a direct contract with USFWS, is scheduled to be complete in 2010.

The goal of the Pacific Region Federal Hatchery Review is to make the principles and recommendations that were developed by the HSRG during the Puget Sound and Coastal Washington Hatchery Reform Project the official policy of the USFWS for all federally-operated and federally-funded salmon hatcheries.

To date, the USFWS Review Team has reviewed and published final assessments and reports for 12 hatchery programs and has drafted reports for 26 additional ones. The team's recommendations, which range from minor programmatic adjustments, to discontinuation of some programs entirely, can be viewed and downloaded by visiting the USFWS Pacific Region Federal Hatchery Review website.