The Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, acting on behalf of three environmental groups, notified the fisheries service Tuesday morning that it intends to take legal action against the rules. We will not see the return of healthy salmon runs in Washington if the state's largest industries are allowed to continue harming salmon. But organizations representing home builders expressed equal alarm. Neil Gaffney, a spokesman for the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, D.C., called the rules released Tuesday a federal intrusion into private life that would discourage new construction and hurt the region's economy. He predicted that developers in the region would be excessively cautious, choosing not to build rather then risking running afoul of the Endangered Species Act.
Housing is expensive in Portland as is.
It's going to get worse. Fisheries service officials conceded that the rules are vague, but they said they plan to incorporate local regulations that protect fish as they are developed and adopted. The rules that prohibit harming listed steelhead will become effective 60 days after the regulations are published, and rules that prohibit harming listed salmon will become effective 180 days after the regulations are published. Agency officials say the regulations will be published next week. Stelle, the agency's regional director, said he couldn't predict whether the new rule would survive legal challenges from conservationists who argue that they are not protective enough or from industry representatives who argue that they're too restrictive.