NOAA’s denial of endangered status for salmon sparks talk of legal challenge

Federal fisheries officials on Monday rejected a bid to designate West Coast chinook salmon as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

In response, one of the conservation groups that petitioned for the listing, the Center for Biological Diversity, says it is considering a legal challenge.

“The major species protections could have benefited not just the salmon, but other wildlife that feeds on them,” Jeff Miller, a senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity said, adding orcas, river otters, bald eagles, and bears as some of the examples.

“Unfortunately, the decision by the Fisheries Service really only benefits the logging industry and dam operators.”

In 2022, the Center for Biological Diversity and other partner groups filed their petition t