In March, Turtle Island Restoration Network ‘s Salmon Protection And Watershed Network (SPAWN) won a legal battle with the County of Marin to protect the last population of wild California coho coastal salmon. A California appeals court affirmed SPAWN's position that the Marin county-wide plan was unlawful because the county failed to analyze cumulative impacts and provided spurious mitigation for destruction of salmon habitat.

The California Court of Appeals found that the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) completed by the County as mandated by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) failed to do sound environmental analysis and failed to properly mitigate the impacts of future development. It directed the lower court to ensure that the County complete a proper and legal environmental analysis, including a cumulative impact analysis, in order to enact its 2007 Countywide General Plan. The case will now move back to the lower court with a clear mandate from the CA Appeals Court to adequately protect California’s endangered coho salmon.

“It's a damn shame that the Marin Supervisors have wasted hundreds of thousands of tax-payer dollars and years of inaction defending an indefensible and environmentally harmful position instead of working with SPAWN to take common-sense actions to save these endangered fish for the public good,” said Todd Steiner, wildlife biologist and executive director of Turtle Island Restoration Network’s SPAWN program.

Read More | Turtle Island Restoration Network | See Also: Marin County’s Golden Opportunity to Protect Region’s Endangered Coho Salmon | Salmon Protection Advocates File Lawsuit Against Flawed Marin County Streamside Ordinance