SAPPHO — The Sol Duc Fish Hatchery will stay open.
After months of speculation that the hatchery was doomed, Legislators on Thursday approved the final budget, keeping the facility open.
“I’ve been on pins and needles all week waiting for word to come down,” Hatchery Manager Don Rapelje said Thursday. “This is wonderful news.”
“We’ve had some good support out here from a lot of different groups,” hatchery specialist Rich Watson said.
“We can pat them on the back for this.”
Word of the possible closure came in October after Gov. Gary Locke asked state agencies to cut spending by 15 percent to deal with the state’s largest ever budget deficit.
The supplemental budget passed Thursday closes tax loopholes, cuts state spending and uses state tobacco settlement funds to cover the $1.6 billion shortfall and leaves Sol Duc hatchery open.
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