The battle over keeping industrial aquaculture out of our National Wildlife Refuges, is still being played out in the courts. Recently three environmental organizations have successfully sued to get the US Fish & Wildlife Service to complete a “compatibility determination (CD)” for the industrial operation. The court has ruled that a CD must be performed. It is not clear whether the company must now stop any work in the refuge.
Here is the press release from the plaintiffs. Please consider donating to any of them to help offset the costs of the lawsuit. It’s *our* wildlife refuge at stake.
In 2023, Protect the Peninsula’s Future, Coalition to Protect Puget Sound Habitat, and Beyond Pesticides sued the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for its failure to conduct a compatibility determination (CD) for a proposed industrial shellfish operation at the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR). The case is being reviewed by the U.S. Federal District Court in Tacoma.
USFWS regulations state that for any project on or near one of its refuges, a CD must be written. These cases are not unusual, and the Dungeness case is especially important because if the case is lost, industrial shellfish operations might be free to open at other Refuges.
Last year the Court ruled the case should proceed because it is clear the USFWS must write a CD.
The industrial shellfish operator – the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe (JST) – sought to moot the plaintiffs’ case due to potential financial impact to the JST. The JST received various agency permits to plant 80,000 non-native oyster spat (larvae) in large plastic bags to be anchored to the substrate in the refuge area on 34 acres. The then manager of the DNWR had determined the shellfish operation was incompatible with the mission of the refuge, but higher ups in the agency overruled her and refused to write a CD. In the meantime, the JST started planting oyster spat.
The federal court allowed the JST to present arguments against the plaintiffs’ suit.
On 15 May 2025, the court responded in our favor. The case will not be mooted; the USFWS must follow its regulations.
From the Court documents:
“Compliance with the statutory procedures in the Refuge Act is undoubtably a public right that safeguards environmental protection.
Only the public right to administrative compliance with the Refuge Act procedural requirement to complete a compatibility determination and/or require a special permit are ripe for adjudication.
Drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of plaintiffs, Jamestown appears to have planted seeds after it was aware that it was probable the Service would conduct a compatibility determination.
Therefore, it is hereby ORDERED that Jamestown’s motion to dismiss, Dkt 44, is DENIED. “
The plaintiffs now wait for the Court’s final ruling against the USFWS, ordering it to write a CD.