Douglas County v. Fish and Wildlife Commission

OAR 635-600-6775(6)(b) explicitly allows the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to start and end hatchery programs.

Petitioners petitioned for reconsideration of the Court's holding in Douglas County v. Fish and Wildlife Commission, 323 Or App 720, 525 P3d 504 (2023). The issue in the initial case arose when the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission decided to terminate the Rock Creek Hatchery summer steelhead hatchery program. The Court accepted the petition to reconsider to correct factual errors. The relevant rule, OAR 635-600-6775(6)(b), explicitly allows the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to start and end hatchery programs. The Court reasoned that ending "the hatchery program was not an amendment to a rule" because the rule itself regulated "the starting and ending of hatchery programs." The Court changed the language in the initial opinion from "'two hatchery' area" to "'two-hatchery-program' area." Otherwise, the Court adhered to its former decision. Reconsideration allowed; former opinion modified and adhered to as modified.